Skip to main content
Work with the NEU
What is ‘market socialism’?
Social ownership and democratic control of the means of production, distribution and exchange needs to include effective feedback mechanisms to ensure that output and demand are in balance, writes the Marx Memorial Library
China considers itself a socialist country but has embraced markets and globe-spanning chains like McDonald’s [Martin Lewison/Creative Commons]

ON THE face of it, “market socialism” may seem a contradiction in terms.  

Capitalism is sometimes characterised as a “market” economy in which supply and demand regulate prices so that production and consumption remain in balance.  

The reality of course is that it is a dysfunctional system, hugely exploitative of people and our planet and today dominated by multinational companies and financial institutions. It’s anything but a “free market.”  

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
Statue of Oliver Cromwell
Full Marx / 2 February 2026
2 February 2026

The selection, analysis and interpretation of historical ‘facts’ always takes place within a paradigm, a model of how the world works. That’s why history is always a battleground, declares the Marx Memorial Library

The front of the Marx Memorial Library
Features / 23 August 2025
23 August 2025

From hunting rare pamphlets at book sales to online panels and courses on trade unionism and class politics, the MML continues connecting archive treasures with the movements fighting for a better world, writes director MEIRIAN JUMP

U.S. Army aircraft Lockheed Martin C-130J-30 Super Hercules drops military equipment during a 'Swift Response 2025' military exercises at the Gaiziunai Training Area, some 130 kms (80 miles) west of the capital Vilnius, Lithuania, May 16, 2025
Features / 17 May 2025
17 May 2025

Speaking to a CND meeting in Cambridge this week, SIMON BRIGNELL traced how the alliance’s anti-communist machinery broke unions, diverted vital funds from public services, and turned workers into cannon fodder for profit