The word ‘socialism’ was coined in the early 1800s. It advocated policies which meet the basic needs of the entire society instead of policies that serve needs of individuals. Socialism opposed
competing ideologies (such as classical liberalism) that rank in their political priorities individualism abovethecommon good. Saint-Simon (1760–1825), Robert Owen (1771–1859), and Charles Fourier (1772–1837) were early socialists. They argued that competitive individualist societies destroyed the possibility of collective harmony. Individuals are capable of livingcooperatively, they insisted, and the socialist society would prove it. Saint-Simon envisioned socialism as a large, complex social system. In it, scientific planners would coordinate economic activity in order to produce goods in exactly the proper quantity and distribute it evenly throughout society without waste or shortages. Owen and Fourier believed in small self-sufficient cooperative societies. In these societies, all community members share both labour and the wealth it produces. .
Later, socialists were called social democrats or democratic socialists. They reject Marxism- Leninism. They see its advocacy of a vanguard party as authoritarian. Social democrats believe in integrating socialism and democracy. Unlike Marxist-Leninists, social democrats support peaceful, legal efforts to work toward socialism, and they believe in multiparty competition and civil liberties. They view socialism as a way of organizing society so that all groups are guaranteed some level of social well-being and economic security. They propose to distribute society’s riches among all sectors of the population by enacting public policies very similar to those advocated by modern liberalism. In fact, social democrats support extensive welfare programmes, which they believe, promote economic self-determination, just as democracy promotes political self-determination. As we mentioned earlier, socialist and liberal policies have come closer in Europe and USA.