What is the difference between socialism and communism? Communism and socialism are economic and political structures that promote equality and seek to eliminate social classes. Here you should know that communism is a subset of socialism.

Just take a read of this article to know the important differences between communism and socialism. In this comparison, you will look at the differences between socialism and communism in detail.

To better understand the slippery distinctions between communism and socialism, let’s find out meaning, definitions, and differences etc.

Socialism

Socialism is the first step in the process of developing the productive forces to achieve abundance and changing the mental and spiritual outlook of the people. It is an economic theory wherein the means of production, distribution, and exchange is owned and controlled by society as a whole. It is regarded as a more extreme form of socialism. It is the necessary transition stage from capitalism to communism.

Communism

Communism is described as a social organization system where the community owns the property and each individual contributes and receives wealth as per their needs and ability. It is the first form of the new society. Communism is a further development or “higher stage” of socialism. Communism is a form of socialism.

Today, we’re going to talk about the difference between communism and socialism and what these terms actually mean. So now you know the basic differences between communism and socialism.

Meaning

• Social organization system, that focuses on communal ownership and eliminating class distinction.
• Theory of social organization where there is public or cooperative ownership of the means of production.

Management of Resources

• Lies on few people belonging to a particular authoritarian party.
• Done by the people

Key Elements

• Centralized government, planned economy, the dictatorship of the “proletariat”, common ownership of the tools of production, no private property.
• The calculation in kind, Collective ownership, Cooperative common ownership, Economic democracy Economic planning, Equal opportunity, Free association, Industrial democracy, Input-output model, Internationalism, Labour voucher, Material balancing.

Political System

• A communist society is stateless, classless and is governed directly by the people. This, however, has never been practiced.
• Most socialists advocate participatory democracy, some (Social Democrats) advocate parliamentary democracy, and Marxist-Leninists advocate “Democratic centralism.”

Ideas

• All people are the same and therefore classes make no sense. The government should own all means of production and land and also everything else.
• All individuals should have access to basic articles of consumption and public goods to allow for self-actualization.

Private Property

• The concept of property is negated and replaced with the concept of commons and ownership with “users”.
• Personal property, such as houses, clothing, etc. owned by the individual. Public property includes factories, and means of production owned by the State but with worker control.

Social Structure

• All class distinctions are eliminated. A society in which everyone is both the owners of the means of production and their own employees.
• Class distinctions are diminished. Status derived more from political distinctions than class distinctions. Some mobility.

Religion

• All religious and metaphysics are rejected. Engels and Lenin agreed that religion was a drug or “spiritual booze” and must be combated.
• Freedom of religion, but usually promotes secularism.

Economic Coordination

• Economic planning coordinates all decisions regarding investment, production and resource allocation.
• Planned-socialism relies principally on planning to determine investment and production decisions.

Economic System

• The means of production are held in common, negating the concept of ownership in capital goods.
• The means of production are owned by public enterprises or cooperatives, and individuals are compensated based on the principle of individual contribution.

Examples:

• Communist: This has never been actually practiced and has just used a one-party system. Examples 0f Communist states are the erstwhile Soviet Union, Cuba, and North Korea.
• Socialism: Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR): although the actual categorization of the USSR’s economic system is in dispute, it is often considered to be a form of centrally-planned socialism.