Socialism is a political, social, and economic philosophy encompassing a range of economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production and workers self-management of enterprises.
This means that an individual doesn’t own means of production, rather things are owned by a group of people. Depending on the size of the group, social ownership can be classified as follows:
This is one of the main characteristics of socialism. The reasoning behind this is if one does not own the means of production, one can’t use the means of production for profit, but in social interest. This is one of the main reasons socialism exists: to protect the working class from exploitation.
Example: the towns-hall isn’t own by somebody, but rather by the state
In a socialist system there isn’t a free market, so the economy is not driven by the laws of supply and demand. Instead, all economic activities are planned by a central planning authority. The prices of products are also controlled and regulated by a central authority.
Example: In a socialist society the central planning authority can say how much bread is produced and how much it will cost.
Regarding the progress, the fact that a central planning authority exists, means that the resources can be more focused.
Example: In a socialist society the central planning authority can say that in the next 5 years all resources should go towards artificial intelligence.
Notice how I didn’t say the government or the state. The central planning authority depends on the type of social ownership. It can be the state, it can be something else. Also it doesn’t need to be the social owner, it can be a part of it.
The socialist market tries to promote cooperation. If the means of production are not controlled by one, there isn’t any competition, as there usually is only one provider. So any work that you will do will be in favor of the group not of the individual.
Usually in a socialist system, social justice is a main focus. This means that a socialist society can try to make all people equal, not just in a economic way.
Even if some types of socialist system will try to destroy social classes, there will always be some form of hierarchy. The classes and their hierarchy depend a lot on the sub-type of socialist system that is used.
Because a socialist system will try on some level to promote an egalitarian society the social mobility is reduced.