Collectivism

Collectivism is a word of recent origin, intended to express the central idea in the economic theory of socialism, that industry should be carried on with a collective capital. It means that capital should not be owned and controlled by individuals, but by groups of associated workers, that it should be the joint property of the community or other form of social organisation. Its exact meaning depends very much on the form of socialism with which the principle is connected. See SOCIALISM.