Socialist state
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 who wish to emphasize that socialists 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 better known as "
Communist states" (though they never used this term to refer to themselves).
*A
socialist state may also be a country that uses the term "socialist" in its official name, regardless of the actual political and economic system it has in practice. Examples include the
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, the
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the
Socialist Republic of Vietnam, and the
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
*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. Indeed, there are many socialists who strongly oppose certain self-proclaimed socialist republics.
Trotskyists, for instance, are particularly known for their opposition to Communist states.
For more information see the main article on
socialism. See also
state socialism.
