A Journalistic Look at the History of Socialism: From Its Origins to Its Global Influence [By Hallan de Oliveira]
Socialism, a socioeconomic system that advocates social or collective ownership of the means of production and distribution, has a rich and complex history. Its roots can be traced back to Enlightenment thinkers who questioned the prevailing social order, but its formulation as a theory was consolidated in the 19th century by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Marx and Engels, influenced by English political economy and French socialism, developed a critical analysis of capitalism, arguing that this system, based on the exploitation of the working class, would lead to internal contradictions and its eventual overcoming by socialism. The Communist Manifesto, published in 1848, became one of the most influential texts of the socialist movement, calling on workers around the world to unite against capitalist oppression. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, socialism spread throughout the world, with the formation of socialist parties and the organization of the workers' movement. T...