Liberalism was a reaction to feudal society, involving:
focus on the individual,
idea of responsible government
support for Laissez-Faire capitalism,
belief in individual rights and freedoms
Liberalism was founded on the belief that :
man is naturally good
gov’t should interfere as little as possible in economic and social lives
individual rights are most important
people give gov’t the authority to rule, and can take it away if they are unhappy
Socialism was a reaction to the Industrial Revolution, characterized by:
rejection of the idea that the wealthy “deserve their wealth” because they created it – but instead an argument that wealthy exploit working classes
vision of society based on economic equality
belief in cooperation,
production for benefit of all
idea of public ownership of means of production
Socialism vs. Liberalism
all people deserve equal treatment
BUT
unlike Liberalism, Socialism did not believe people could develop individually
AND
Socialism is not suspicious of the state – in fact, Socialists rely on government to regulate services and to provide for common good
DISCLAIMER
Definitions can explain the differences
however definitions don't always reflect distorted real-world scenarios.
