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1.1 Branches of Socialism
Since the 19th century, socialist ideas have developed and separated into many different streams. Notable ideologies that have been referred to using the label "socialism" are:
The socio-political or intellectual movements basing themselves in the Marxist-Socialist tradition can generally be further divided into:
Several forms of "socialism" are considered by those further to the left to be reformist or revisionist. These include:
1.2 Other ideologies including the word "Socialism"
The German National Socialists (Nazis) claimed to be "socialist". However, even the subset of socialists that considers itself nationalist rejects the racialist theories and totalitarianism of the Nazis, who are not considered socialist by most political theorists (historians and political theorists generally argue that the term "socialism" in "national socialism" existed solely for propaganda purposes; see Socialism and Nazism). Similarly, the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party in Syria claims to be in a tradition of secular, non-Marxist socialism, but most political theorists (as well as nearly all other socialists) reject this claim.
Various Catholic clerical parties have at times referred to themselves as "Christian Socialists." Two examples are the Christian Social Party of Karl Lueger in Austria before and after World War I, and the contemporary Christian Social Union in Bavaria. Most other socialists would consider these two parties to be "socialist" in name only. However, there are other individuals and groups, past and present, that are clearly both Christian and Socialist, such as Frederick Denison Maurice, author of The Kingdom of Christ (1838), or the contemporary Christian Socialist Movement (CSM), affiliated with the British Labour Party. (See main article Christian socialism; see also Christian left and social gospel)
