Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Socialism in the 20th and 21st Centuries

Socialism –noun 1. a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.
2. procedure or practice in accordance with this theory.
3. (in Marxist theory) the stage following capitalism in the transition of a society to communism, characterized by the imperfect implementation of collectivist principles.

At the beginning of the 20th Century, 50% of the people of the world lived under a monarchy.Thirty per-cent lived under the rule of other countries as colonies. This included much of Africa, as well as India and other places where Imperialism led to the subjigation of native people by Europeans. By the end of the 20th century, 65% of the world's people lived in some sort of democracy, 25% under Communist rule, 5% under military leadership and fewer than 5% under any sort of monarchy.

During the 20th Century ideas about how government should be structured and what role government had in the lives of the people was a real issue. It resulted in a shift in Europe and other parts of the world as people went through war and social change. Socialism was a major force (and still is) among the choices people have for government. The following video clips are part of a TV documentary aired by Glenn Beck on Fox News. After you have viewed the documentary, tell me what you think about its content in the comment area below this post.











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