Socialism vs. communism

[DoCt SPARTAN]

I have studied a lot about communism, socialism, Marxism but I can't really tell the major differences besides socialism and communism. I understand all the economic values of socialism. But then why does nazi Germany have socialism in its name even though their facist! Just a little confused need some clearification! Thx. Wrote this on my iPod so MITe be some mistakes In grammar

[Brosa Luxemburg]

Some of us argue that socialism and communism are interchangeable terms. Marx and Engels sure used them interchangeably. The idea the socialism=dictatorship of the proletariat came from Kautsky and Lenin.

Socialism (or communism) is a classless, stateless, moneyless, and marketless society of free producers holding the means of production in common.

Actually, there is a thread on this already that has gone into detail on this.

http://www.revleft.com/vb/socialism-vs-communism-t176768/index.html?t=176768

[Let's Get Free]

The term 'socialism' was generally used interchangeably with the term "communism" - right up to the early 20th century when the definition of "socialism" was RADICALLY changed - most notably by Lenin. Prior to that, people like Marx, Engels, Bebel, Morris, Kropotkin, Luxemburg commonly understood "socialism" to mean a society

- without wage labor.
- without buying and selling
- without money
- without classes
- without a state

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Socialism and communism are identifiable in what class conditions and social conditions are present in the revolutionary process. For ease I will be short and to the point.

Socialism: This is the transitional period between capitalism and communism. Lenin called it the Lower-Phase of Communism" where the working class has seized power and the bourgeoisie deposed. During this phase money still exists as do classes; building on this it is important to note that under socialism class warfare increases dramatically and is, in fact, even more pronounced under socialism. During socialism there still exists class antagonisms and social-ills (such as queerphobia, racism, chauvinism, etc). It is during socialism where a centralized state, or other such functionary serving as a state, guides, protects, and encourages the building of communism.

Communism: Is a stateless, classless society where money no longer exists. Social ills have been eliminated, there is no longer any class warfare, and the bourgeoisie are a thing of the past. The state has dissolved and workers manage their workplaces in an autonomous manner. Communism is as close to a utopia as one can get.

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The reason the Nazis had the word "socialist" in their denomination was because of the social conditions of Germany post-WW1. During this time actual revolutionary socialism was quite popular; nationalism and reactionary dogma, not quite so. So in order to survive in this environment Nazi leaders had to trick the working class by adding "socialist" to their name so as to appear "in with the masses". This is also much of why they kept around their Left-wing (the Strasserists) for so long. I believe that in due time, once the USSR had been defeated, the Nazis intended to change their name so as to ditch the "socialist" part altogether. In short: the Nazis did not represent any brand of actual socialism.

[tuwix]

I have studied a lot about communism, socialism, Marxism but I can't really tell the major differences besides socialism and communism. I understand all the economic values of socialism. But then why does nazi Germany have socialism in its name even though their facist! Just a little confused need some clearification!

The origin of words could be helpful. The socialism originated from Latin word 'societas' that means society. As an opposition to a capitalism which originated from 'capital', it's system in which society rules instead of capital. But communism originated from Latin word 'communis' that means common. And thusly communism is a system where (almost) everything is common.

[Blake's Baby]

Marx said (in the Critique of the Gotha Programme, 1875) that “Between capitalist and communist society lies the period of the revolutionary transformation of the one into the other. There corresponds to this also a political transition period in which the state can be nothing but the revolutionary dictatorship of the proletariat”. However, he never called this 'socialism'.

But as Brosa Luxemburg says, there's a large and recent thread about this, where all these arguments are rehearsed and thrashed over. It happens every couple of months; the Leninists argue that socialism and communism are different, that socialism is a 'stage', and everyone else tells them it isn't and Marx didn't differentiate between socialism and communism. Then the Leninists tell everyone that socialism is a 'stage', and everyone else... until galaxies collide and suns go out.