Socialism, as an alternative to capitalism, is an economic system which is controlled and regulated by the government so as to ensure welfare and equality of opportunity to the people.
In the Word of Dickinson, “Socialism is an economic organisation of society in which the material means of production are owned by the whole community according to a general economic plan, all members being entitled to benefit from the results of such socialised planned production on the basis of equal rights.
The main features of socialism are:
(a) The means of production arc collectively and socially owned and are not the property of private individuals as in capitalsim.
(b) Economic decisions regarding the allocation of resources to various ends, the goods to be produced and the methods of production are taken by a central authority and not left to the individuals as in the capitalist economies,
(c) The pricing process does not operate freely under the influence of market forces, but works under the control of the central planning authority,
(d) Broad objectives of a socialist economy are to increase the material and cultural standards of the people, to attain full employment and’to achieve economic equality.