Introductory Articles
The following articles are recommended for those new to socialism and the World Socialist Movement. For more in-depth socialist analysis of particular topics, have a look at the Education index.
It is often assumed that capitalism, the social system in which we now live, has existed forever, or at least for most of human history. In fact, capitalism is a relatively new social system. But what exactly does ‘capitalism’ mean?
It seems obvious that something must be done about capitalism. But what? Can capitalism be made to work differently? Or must there be a social revolution to replace capitalism with some other society?
Socialism means a global system of social organization based on common ownership, democratic control by all, production for use, and free access.
“It’s a nice idea but it will never happen” is one of the most common responses to the suggestion that it is in our interests to work towards building a socialist society. The assumption is that socialism will rely upon everybody being altruistic, sacrificing their own interests for those of others. But socialism would actually involve the majority of people recognising their common interests.