Socialism And Communism

Many people don't know that their is a difference between or cannot make the distintion between Communism and Socialism. To explain the difference, I offer the introduction to chapter nine, entiled 'Socialism And Communism,' by Maurice Cornforth found in his book 'Historical Materialism' on page 110.

The basis of socialist society is the social ownership of means of production. The working people are the rulers, there is no exploitation, and the aim of production is satisfaction of human needs.

Socialism is only the first phase of communist society. The transition from socialism to communism involves the transition

1. from a state in which each receives according to his [or her] work to one in which each receives according to his [or her] needs
2. from one in which incentives to labour are still necessary to one in which labour becomes life's prime want;
3. from one in which human capacities are stunted by sub-ordination to division of labour to one in which everyone is able to develop fully all his [or her] capacities;
4. from one in which not only public but also co-operative property exists, and in which consequently class differences still exist, to one in which there exists a single association of the whole people which disposes of all the means of production and all products, and in which products are no longer distributed as commodities.