state socialism
noun
: an economic system with limited socialist characteristics that is effected by gradual state action and typically includes public ownership of major industries and remedial measures to benefit the working class
Examples of state socialism in a Sentence
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In these new circumstances, capitalism and state socialism competed over which system could best navigate the disappointment of citizens.
—
Foreign Affairs, 28 Feb. 2023
Under state socialism, difficult living conditions or a difficult personal situation were grounds for termination.
—Anne-Marie Kramer, Discover Magazine, 1 July 2015
Where many tales of state socialism are somber, even maudlin, Ypi is witty and acute.
—Sophie Pinkham, The New Republic, 1 Feb. 2022
Soviet-style planning and state socialism protected the family’s legacy licensed firms by keeping competition out.
—Andy Mukherjee | Bloomberg, Washington Post, 13 Nov. 2019
With the collapse of the Soviet Union, state socialism on the Eastern Bloc model had been discredited.
—John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 18 June 2019
Herbert Hoover, who could justifiably campaign as a progressive Republican, pigeonholed Smith as an advocate of state socialism (the same epithet that a spiteful Smith would hurl at Roosevelt in 1936).
—Sam Roberts, New York Times, 19 Apr. 2018
Yet since the country cast off state socialism in the 1980s, crony capitalists have come to control the Communist Party.
—Alice Han and, WSJ, 7 July 2017
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Foreign Affairs, 28 Feb. 2023
Under state socialism, difficult living conditions or a difficult personal situation were grounds for termination.
—Anne-Marie Kramer, Discover Magazine, 1 July 2015
Where many tales of state socialism are somber, even maudlin, Ypi is witty and acute.
—Sophie Pinkham, The New Republic, 1 Feb. 2022
Soviet-style planning and state socialism protected the family’s legacy licensed firms by keeping competition out.
—Andy Mukherjee | Bloomberg, Washington Post, 13 Nov. 2019
With the collapse of the Soviet Union, state socialism on the Eastern Bloc model had been discredited.
—John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 18 June 2019
Herbert Hoover, who could justifiably campaign as a progressive Republican, pigeonholed Smith as an advocate of state socialism (the same epithet that a spiteful Smith would hurl at Roosevelt in 1936).
—Sam Roberts, New York Times, 19 Apr. 2018
Yet since the country cast off state socialism in the 1980s, crony capitalists have come to control the Communist Party.
—Alice Han and, WSJ, 7 July 2017
Cite this Entry
“State socialism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/state%20socialism. Accessed 15 Jul. 2025.
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