Socialism is an economic and political system where the government or community as a whole owns or controls major industries, businesses, and resources, rather than private individuals owning them. In a socialist system, factories, farms, hospitals, and other important parts of the economy might be run by the government or cooperatively by workers, with the goal of sharing wealth more equally among all citizens.

The idea behind socialism is that if everyone shares ownership of important resources, then everyone can benefit more fairly from the wealth those resources create. Instead of one factory owner becoming very rich while workers earn modest wages, socialists believe the profits should be distributed among all the workers or used for public benefits like schools and healthcare.

Socialism exists on a spectrum. Some countries have mixed economies with both private businesses and some socialist elements, like government-run healthcare or education. Systems that tried to put many socialist ideas into practice include those in the former Soviet Union and in Cuba. These systems have had mixed results: some socialist policies have improved access to education and healthcare, but heavy government control has also led to economic problems, shortages of goods, and restrictions on personal freedom.

The opposite of socialism is capitalism, where individuals and private companies own businesses and property, competing in markets with less government control.