"The idea that the economy's resources should be used in the interests of all its citizens, rather than allowing private owners of land and capital to use them as they see fit. A socialist economy requires voluntary cooperation and central planning. The idea was implemented by the USSR and allied countries between the 1930s and the 1990s when it was abandoned in favour of market economy, primarily because of lack of individual incentives, among other factors, having gradually led these countries to economic collapse."

-- Definition of "socialism" in A Dictionary of Economics: Oxford University Press (2009)

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