State socialism

State socialism is a classification for any socialist political and economic perspective advocating state ownership of the means of production either as a temporary measure in the transition from capitalism to socialism, or as characteristic of socialism itself. It is often used, sometimes interchangeably with state capitalism, in reference to the economic systems of Marxist–Leninist states such as the Soviet Union to highlight the role of state planning in these economies. However, these states had only a limited number of socialist characteristics.

State socialism is held in contrast with libertarian socialism, which rejects the view that socialism can be constructed by using existing state institutions or by governmental policies. By contrast, proponents of state socialism claim that the state, through practical considerations of governing, must play at least a temporary part in building socialism. It is possible to conceive of a democratic state that owns the means of production but is internally organized in a participatory, cooperative fashion, thereby achieving both social ownership of productive property and workplace democracy in day-to-day operations.

State Socialism (Germany)

State Socialism (German: Staatssozialismus) was a term introduced to describe Otto von Bismarck's social welfare policies. The term was actually coined by Bismarck's liberal opposition but later accepted by Bismarck. They refer to a set of social programs implemented in Germany that were initiated by Bismarck in 1883 as remedial measures to appease the working class and detract support for socialism and the Social Democratic Party of Germany following earlier attempts to achieve the same objective through Bismarck's anti-socialist laws.

Intellectual predecessors and heirs

The Prussian welfare state was developed by the German academic Sozialpolitiker (Social Policy Supporter) group, intellectually associated with the historical school of economics.

At the time, they influenced social liberalism in the United Kingdom and Progressivism in the United States, and the current (Post-World War II) German economy, the social market economy, is a continuation of similar policies.