New Harmony, a model community presented by Robert Owen, 1838

Socialism is an economic system in which major industries are owned or regulated by the government, rather than by private businesses. It is different from capitalism, where private actors, like business owners and shareholders, can own the means of production for themselves. Socialists believe that owning the means of production is a form of exploitation because it lets the owners get a portion of the money that workers produce, even though the owners haven't done any work.