socialismul

Socialismul is the Romanian term for socialism, a political and economic ideology that aims at social ownership and democratic management of the means of production, distribution, and exchange, with the goal of reducing social and economic inequalities and ensuring access to essential goods and services for all.

Origins and development trace to the 19th century, as a response to industrial capitalism. Early currents included utopian socialists such as Saint-Simon, Charles Fourier, and Robert Owen, followed by what has been called scientific socialism, developed by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, who argued that capitalism would be replaced by socialism through class struggle and, eventually, a stateless communist society. In the 20th century, many states experimented with forms of state socialism or social democracy, combining varying degrees of state planning, public ownership, and market mechanisms.

Variants and approaches differ. Democratic socialism and social democracy seek gradual reform within liberal democracies, expanding welfare provisions, regulating markets, and extending social ownership without abolishing private property. Market socialism envisions significant public or cooperative ownership alongside market mechanisms. Historical implementations range from centralized planning and one-party rule in some states to mixed economies in others, producing a range of political and economic outcomes.

In Romania, socialism has played a defining role, notably during the period of a Romanian Communist Party-led, one-party state aligned with the Eastern Bloc (roughly mid-20th century to 1989). Since the 1989 transition to democracy, Romania has moved toward a market economy and multiparty politics, while debates about social ownership, welfare, and economic planning continue in political discourse.