Overview
Arab Socialism
Quick Reference
In the Arab context, defined as state-sponsored economic development, as manifested in Nasserism and Baathism as state ideologies of Egypt in the 1950s and 1960s and of Iraq and Syria from the 1960s until the mid-1980s. Developed after World War II when a consensus emerged among the educated middle class and the unofficial opposition that the most urgent national needs were independence and economic development. The state was understood to be the natural vehicle to carry out transformations. Stringent land reforms were introduced, and banking, insurance, foreign trade, large industries, and large private and foreign-owned companies were all nationalized. The economic program was accompanied by expansion in social, welfare, health, and educational services.
See also Socialism and Islam
