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The term socialist state (or socialist republic, or workers' state) can carry one of several different (but related) meanings:
- Strictly speaking, any real or hypothetical state organized along the principles of socialism may be called a socialist state. The term socialist republic is used by those socialists who wish to emphasize that they favour a republican form of government. Furthermore, since socialism purports to represent the interests of the working class, many socialists refer to a state organized according to their principles as a workers' state.
- According to Marxism, socialism is a stage of social and economic development that will replace capitalism, and will in turn be replaced by communism. Thus, in Marxist terms, a socialist state is a state that has abolished capitalism and is moving towards communism.
- Several past and present states have claimed to follow some form of Marxist ideology, usually Marxism-Leninism. Thus, in accordance with the definition given above, they referred to themselves as socialist states. The first example was the Soviet Union, which was proclaimed a "socialist state" in its 1936 Constitution and a subsequent 1977 one. Another well-known example is the People's Republic of China, which is a "socialist state" according to its 1982 Constitution of the People's Republic of China. In the West, such states are commonly known as "communist states" (though they do not use this term to refer to themselves).
- Some other countries use the term "socialist" in their official name or constitution without claiming to follow Marxism or any of its derivatives. In such cases, the intended meaning of "socialism" can vary widely, and sometimes the constitutional references to socialism are left over from a previous period in the country's history. Examples of countries using the word "socialist" in a non-Marxist sense in their names include the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. Countries with non-Marxist references to socialism in their constitutions include India1 and Portugal.2
- Because there are several different branches of socialism, a country's claim to the label of "socialist state" or "socialist republic" is almost always disputed by some branch. Indeed, there are many socialists who strongly oppose certain (or all) self-proclaimed socialist republics. Trotskyists, for instance, are particularly known for their opposition to Communist states.
See also
- List of socialist countries
- Bureaucratic collectivism
- Communist state
- Legislatures in communist states
- Deformed workers' state
- Degenerated workers' state
- Dictatorship of the proletariat
- Socialism
- State capitalism
- State socialism
References
- ^ The Preamble of the Constitution of India reads : "We, the people of India, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic, republic..." See Preamble to the Constitution of India.
- ^ The Preamble to the Constitution of Portugal states: "The Constituent Assembly affirms the Portuguese people's decision to defend their national independence, safeguard the fundamental rights of citizens, establish the basic principles of democracy, secure the primacy of the rule of law in a democratic state, and open the way to socialist society." [1]
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 16 November 2008, at 08:35.
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