Socialism: the problem and prescription's of Marx

[Beskar]

Socialism means the state owns the means of production.

Actually, you are misrepresenting it a little there. Ideally, it is 'Social Ownership', such as working collectives, common-ownership, cooperatives and it can include state ownership. Typically, state ownership by a democratic government.

There is also a difference in terminology when applied in the real world too. Socialism is seen as providing minimum wage, higher taxes for higher earners. All in all, trying to rein in the excess of making sure the poor are not completely left out to rot and the rich doesn't simply squander all the money.

So it does come down to what Lemur says. What do you mean by "Socialism" ? Could also even argue with "What do you mean by Capitalism?" I guess the best one-line definitions would be as follows:

Capitalism - Private Ownership of the Means of Production with the goal of producing as much profit as possible.
Socialism - Social Ownership of the Means of Production with the goal of satisfying economic demands and human needs.

[Brenus]

You basically right.

Capitalism believe in inequality as you do not born equal by nature as some are small, some are fat, some are and you can details all our differences. Capitalism believes that human have different values (in tem of money), and the “elite” (self-definition) should earn more because they got there first, and they got the ideas etc… The idea is that the Riches create jobs in allowing workers to have a salary. Capitalism believes that if the poor are poor it is their fault (or destiny).
Capitalism doesn’t like taxes as them deprive the Riches from what they earn by the work or ideas. Capitalism believes in Charity.

Socialism (in a very flexible definition) believes in equality and that all men born equal by law. Socialism thinks an enterprise as a community where ah of the individual work and have a decent living for it. Socialism believe that the Riches are rich because the labour of the workers producing the goods. Socialism believes that there are poor because there are Riches, and extreme poverty exist only because extreme greed.
Socialism aims to rebalance the natural inequality in redistributing the wealth.
Socialism believes in Justice

“Marx forgot the very "small" detail that humans don´t really want to be equal.”
Can’t remember this detail. In fact, I don’t remember where Marx did write about humans in such terms. I give you I didn’t read all Marx. Marx analysed a system and describe how it works. Equality is a political value.

[Lemur]

Since historical economic theory has never been my thing, I haven't read Marx. However, I do recall a historian saying that his analysis of capitalism was pretty good, and that very little of his writing had to do with communism. But like I said, I ain't read it myself.

Wealth of Nations, on the other hand, is surprisingly readable, and isn't nearly as radical or one-note monomaniacal as Adam Smith's latter-day idolatrists would have you believe.

[Fragony]

Since historical economic theory has never been my thing, I haven't read Marx. However, I do recall a historian saying that his analysis of capitalism was pretty good, and that very little of his writing had to do with communism. But like I said, I ain't read it myself.

Wealth of Nations, on the other hand, is surprisingly readable, and isn't nearly as radical or one-note monomaniacal as Adam Smith's latter-day idolatrists would have you believe.

For historical theory it doesn't have to do with communism, a marxist theory assumes a logical sequence of developments