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Socialist Society in Israel

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Dictionary.com defines, “socialism”, as “a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.” Over the years, Israel has struggled with the ideals of socialism in conjunction with it’s reality. The concept of a successful socialist society in Israel has failed as shown through the collapse of the socialist economic system, the implementation of changes for a less involved government and the rise of a free market capitalist society. In the beginning of Israel’s history, government involvement in economics was enormous. There was a large economic burden to absorb new immigrants, in addition to the burden of the War of Independence. Due to the pressure that Israel was confronted with, the only way to provide basic needs for Israeli citizens was through government intervention. Socialist ideals were originally implemented not only because of ideological factors, but because of economic necessity. The Israeli government had a difficult time supporting their ideals, as they did not have significant ownership of means of production. The Labor Party involved itself in the economy through labor enterprises, but the profits from these companies were not sufficient. (Zilberfarb) Israel was faced with great economic challenges soon after the new state was established with socialist ideals in 1948. The trouble started with subsidies for goods

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