25 Important Socialism Quotes For Your Political Studies

Whenever we come across socialism in our politics or political science syllabi, we also see some great names along with it.

Famous scholars, philosophers, and thinkers like Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky, Rosa Luxemburg, Frederick Engels, and more have contributed to theories about socialism and communism. Their contributions are also important for a holistic understanding of political theories especially those of socialist leanings.

Socialism is a theory often credited to Karl Marx, in which all human beings live in a classless and stateless society, where there would be the abolition of private property. If you want some really great quotes about socialism for your assignments that deal with history, power, economy, equality, governments, and resources, read on to enhance your knowledge about socialism.

There are many quotes on socialism that speak of the inherent virtues of socialism by pointing out the widening gap between the rich and poor in any nation. These are some famous socialist quotes that can be quoted by anyone if they want to argue that socialism is a superior form of the economic and governance system.

1. "For us, there is no valid definition of socialism other than the abolition of the exploitation of one human being by another."

- Che Guevara.

2. "The theory of the Communists may be summed up in the single sentence: Abolition of private property."

- Karl Marx.

3. "The thing that attracts ordinary men to Socialism... is the idea of equality; to the vast majority of people Socialism means a classless society, or it means nothing at all."

- George Orwell.

4. "Call it democracy, or call it democratic socialism, but there must be a better distribution of wealth within this country for all God's children."

- Martin Luther King Jr.

5. "Social democracy seeks and finds the ways, and particular slogans, of the workers' struggle only in the course of the development of this struggle, and gains directions for the way forward through this struggle alone."

- Rosa Luxemburg.

6. "Socialism builds and capitalism destroys."

- Hugo Chavez.

7. "Freedom in capitalist society always remains about the same as it was in ancient Greek republics: Freedom for slave owners."

- Vladimir Lenin.

Almost every renowned socialist and anti-capitalist has given a quote on the vices of the capitalist myths of the free man and market, as well as a good government that does not intervene in the affairs of the poor or the rich. There are many socialist quotes that will lay out the inherent vices of capitalist forms of economy.

8. "I am opposing a social order in which it is possible for one man who does absolutely nothing that is useful to amass a fortune of hundreds of millions of dollars, while millions of men and women who work all the days of their lives secure barely enough for a wretched existence."

- Eugene V. Debs.

9. "They talk about the failure of socialism but where is the success of capitalism in Africa, Asia, and Latin America?"

- Fidel Castro.

10. "Landlords, like all other men, love to reap where they never sowed."

- Karl Marx.

11. "Comradeship, dignity, amorosity, love, solidarity, fraternity, friendship, ethics: all these names stand in contrast to the commodified, monetized relations of capitalism, all describe relations developed in struggles against capitalism and which can be seen as anticipating or creating a society beyond capitalism."

- John Holloway.

12. "Capitalism cannot reform itself; it is doomed to self-destruction."

- W.E.B. DuBois.

13. "Think it over and see if it is not the law itself, the government which really creates crime by compelling people to live in conditions that make them bad. See how law and government uphold and protect the biggest crime of all, the mother of all crimes, the capitalistic wage system, and then proceeds to punish the poor criminal."

- Alexander Berkman.

14. "Capitalism inevitably and by virtue of the very logic of its civilization creates, educates and subsidizes a vested interest in social unrest."

- Joseph Schumpeter.

15. "Capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone."

- John Maynard Keynes.

For balance, after reading what people have said about socialism, we need to also understand the opposing ideology of capitalism. Many renowned scholars, authors, and statesmen like Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher have given their own different opinions on governments and socialists. The quotes in favor of capitalism are mostly about free markets and a world economic system that is not controlled by any one country or the state. These quotes also speak of human, social and civil rights and the right to work and acquire wealth by all those who have means.

16. "The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries."

- Winston Churchill.

17. "America’s abundance was created not by public sacrifices to ‘the common good,’ but by the productive genius of free men who pursued their own personal interests and the making of their own private fortunes... and thus the whole country was moving forward and profiting, not suffering, every step of the way."

- Ayn Rand.

18. "As we’ve learned from countless examples throughout history, including now Venezuela, the main difference between capitalism and socialism is this: Capitalism works."

- Mark J. Perry.

19. "Capitalism is a social system based on the recognition of individual rights, including property rights, in which all property is privately owned."

- Ayn Rand.

20. "Socialists cry ‘Power to the people’, and raise the clenched fist as they say it. We all know what they really mean-power over people, power to the State."

- Margaret Thatcher.

21. "Capitalism has brought with it progress, not merely in production but also in knowledge."

- Albert Einstein.

22. "The progressive historical role of capitalism may be summed up in two brief propositions: increase in the productive forces of social labor, and the socialization of that labor. But both these facts manifest themselves in extremely diverse processes in different branches of the national economy."

- Vladimir Lenin.

23. "Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery."

- Winston Churchill.

24. "Socialism is a plan of morally sanctioned theft. It is about dividing up what others have created. Consequently, socialist economies don’t work; they create poverty instead of wealth."

- David Horowitz.

25."Socialism is the same as Communism, only better English.'

- George Bernard Shaw