20+ Differences between Socialism and Marxism (Explained)

There are a tremendous number of different concepts that prevail in our world. Some people are in favor of them, while others are against them. Two of the most debated and poorly understood concepts are Socialism and Marxism.

Socialism can be best described as an ideology or government that works for the welfare of society and lets the public handle the production processes. At the same time, Marxism shows how capitalism increases the gap between the rich and the poor.

I/C

Key Differences

Socialism

It refers to an ideology or government that does not believe in the concept of capitalism. This ideology allows only the government to own the production and manufacturing processes of the nation.
In a Socialist economy, even though the government controls and owns the production, manufacturing process, and property, it still allows individuals to own things.
People who believe and are involved with this ideology are known as Socialists.
It does not represent the impacts of what would happen or not if businessmen controlled the production and manufacturing processes; instead, it is the practical implementation of government not allowing the private sector to own the nation.

Marxism

It refers to a political concept or ideology that is believed to have been coined by Karl Marx and thus named so. It can be best described as a concept that represents or tells what would happen if the private sector owned the production processes of a nation. It urges people to see how capitalism would only widen the gap between rich and poor.
Just like Socialism, in this concept, the government or public sector also owns the production processes. Still, the difference is that, in this political system, an individual can not own anything.
People who believe and are involved with this ideology are known as Marxists.
It only represents the impact of capitalism or a capitalist economy on other sections of society. It is not a practical implementation.

Table of Contents

Comparison Between Socialism And Marxism

Parameter	Socialism	Marxism
Origin	It is believed to have emerged way before the emergence of Marxism. The traces of its origin take us back to 1798.	It emerged after the emergence of Socialism. Karl Marx is referred to as the founder of this concept. The traces of its origin can be found as early as the 19th century.
Meaning	It refers to an ideology or a form of government that lets only the public sector to own the production and manufacturing processes of the nation. This form of government is concerned with working for societal welfare and eradicating discrimination and poverty.	It refers to an ideology that represents how capitalism affects an economy. This ideology greatly emphasizes the importance of the working class and how capitalists widen the existing gap between various societal classes. It also lets the government or the public sector own everything in a nation to eradicate the existence of societal classes.
Followers	People who believe in this ideology are referred to as Socialists.	People who believe in this ideology are referred to as Marxists.
Type	It is a type of political ideology or concept and can even be a form of government. Apart from being an ideology, it has been practically implemented in many regions as well.	It is only a type of political ideology or concept. It has not been very successful in gaining a practical implementation.
Individual	Even though the government or public sector handles the control over a nation’s production and manufacturing processes, it still allows individuals to own property as and how they like, and that too under their name.	One of the major drawbacks of this ideology is that it does not allow individuals to own anything under their name. Under this type of ideology, everything is controlled and owned by the government or the public sector. The main reason behind this is that this ideology focuses on completely eradicating societal classes.
Dictatorship	This ideology is less likely to end up as a Dictatorship because this offers more flexibility in comparison with Marxism. Unlike Marxism, an individual is allowed to own property under his name.	This ideology is more likely to end up as a dictatorship compared to Socialism. This is large because this approach has less flexibility, as an individual is not even allowed to own anything under his name.
Popular leaders	Vladimir Lenin, Salvador Allende, Fidel Castro, Nicolas Maduro, Dilma Rouseff, J.V. Stalin, etc.	Karl Marx, Leon Trotsky, Antonie Pannekoek, Guy Debord, etc.

Major Differences Between Socialism And Marxism

What exactly is Socialism?

Socialism can be best described as an ideology or a form of government that works for the welfare of society. In this type of political system, the government or the public sector owns the production and manufacturing processes of the nation.

The motive behind this is to work for societal welfare and eradicate discrimination based on class differences between the rich and poor. However, despite the government owning the nation, it still allows individuals to own property in their name.

I/C

Key takeaways: Socialism

It refers to a political ideology or a form of government that does not allow the private sector to own the production and manufacturing processes of the nation. In short, the concerned government or the public sector owns all the nation’s production processes.
This government works for societal welfare and the eradication of discrimination that is caused based on societal classes.
This ideology is against capitalism and believes that capitalism only widens the existing gap between the rich and poor.
To eradicate capitalism, this ideology or government works in desirable ways. It can be said it is the practical implementation to eradicate capitalism.
People who believe in this ideology are referred to as Socialists, and they highly believe that a nation should be independent of god.

What exactly is Marxism?

Marxism can be best described as a political ideology that represents how capitalism affects other sections of society. This ideology was defined by Karl Marx and is thus named so. It should be noted that this ideology remains a political ideology rather than a practical implementation.

In this ideology, all the production and manufacturing processes are owned or handled by the public sector but do not allow an individual to own anything under his name. This ideology puts great emphasis on how capitalism widens the already existing gap between the rich and poor.

I/C

Key Takeaways: Marxism

It refers to a political ideology where only the government can own or handle the production or manufacturing processes. An individual can not have anything in his name.
An individual can not own property in his name because this ideology wants to eradicate the existence of societal classes.
This ideology is concerned with the representation of how the existence of capitalism only widens the gap between the rich and the poor.
This ideology urges people to realize the importance of the working class – laborers (who are the reason behind the success of the ruling class) instead of letting the ruling class – businessmen rule everyone.
People who believe in this ideology are referred to as Marxists, and just like Socialists, these individuals also think that a nation should be independent of god.

The Contrast Between Socialism And Marxism

Origin

Socialism – The word Socialism is believed to have originated from the Latin word “sociare,” which means “combining or sharing.” The roots of origin of this concept of Socialism can be found as early as 1789.

Marxism – The word Marxism is derived from the name of the founder of this concept: Karl Marx. The roots of origin of this concept take us back to the middle of the 19th century.

Meaning and purpose

Socialism refers to a political ideology or a form of government that does not allow the private sector to own or handle the production or manufacturing processes of the nation. Its sole purpose of doing so is to eradicate the discrimination that exists between the societal classes. It believes that the private sector owning the production processes does nothing but increase the existing gap between the rich and poor.

Marxism – It refers to a political ideology or concept that emphasizes the importance of the working class in an economy. The sole purpose of this ideology is to represent how capitalism increases the gap between various societal classes.

Type

Socialism – The hallmark feature of this ideology is that along with being a political concept or an ideology, it is also being implemented practically in many regions. Over the years, it has not stayed as a mere concept but has also been implemented in various economies.

Marxism – The classic feature of this ideology is that it has not been able to gain a practical implementation but has only stayed as a mere political concept.

Followers

Socialism – People who believe in this ideology or are involved with this ideology are referred to as Socialists.

Marxism – People who believe in this ideology or are involved with this ideology are referred to as Marxists.

Individual

Socialism – The major factor that helps distinguish this ideology from Marxism is that even though this ideology lets only the government or public sector own the production and manufacturing processes of the nation, it also allows individuals to own their property or various things under their name and control.

Marxism – One of the hallmark features of this ideology is that under this concept, the government or public sector controls and owns everything. Everything here means everything. An individual can not own anything he wants to own in his home. The main reason behind this is to eradicate the existence of societal classes completely.

Dictatorship

Socialism – This ideology is very less likely to take the form of dictatorship; this is largely because of the fact that this ideology works greatly for societal welfare. There is more flexibility in this ideology when compared with Marxism. The main reason behind this is that even though the government owns the production, it still allows individuals to own anything they want under their name.

Marxism – This ideology is more likely to take the form of dictatorship in comparison with Socialism. This is because there is typically lesser flexibility associated with this ideology. The main reason is not letting individuals own things they desire under their name.

Popular personalities

Socialism – Some of the most popular Socialist personalities are Vladimir Lenin, Salvador Allende, Fidel Castro, Nicolas Maduro, Dilma Rousseff, J.V. Stalin, etc.

Marxism: Some of the popular Marxist personalities are Karl Marx, Leon Trotsky, Antonie Pannekoek, Guy Debord, etc.

CONCLUSION

The political ideologies: Socialism and Marxism are often confused with one another due to various similarities surrounding them. However, both concepts are very different.

The major difference between Socialism and Marxism is that the former allows the public sector or government to own a nation’s production and manufacturing processes. At the same time, the latter represents how capitalism affects the working class and increases the gap between the working class and capitalists.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)

Q1. What is meant by Socialism?

Socialism can be best described as a political ideology or a form of government that allows the public sector to own the production processes of the nation and works for societal welfare along with eradicating discrimination based on societal classes.

Q2. What is meant by Marxism?

Marxism can be best described as a political ideology representing capitalism’s effect on an economy. It lets the government or the public sector own everything in a nation.

Q3. Why can an individual not own any property under Marxism?

An individual can not own any property under his name. This is because this ideology completely removes the existence of capitalism and societal classes.

Q4. When did Socialism and Marxism originate?

The former is believed to have originated before the emergence of the latter. The former is estimated to have emerged in 1789, while the latter is estimated to have emerged in the middle of the 19th century.