Socialism is a form of utopian idealism that was put forward by Karl Marx and Fredrick Engels in the mid-1800s. They were considered to be radical thinkers of their time. Socialism Socialism in its most basic form is when the state, or government, or leaders are looking after everyone. This is how it was promoted. A socialist’s view of human nature is what separates them from their principle political rivals. Karl Marx and Fredrick Engels wrote a body of ideas they called “scientific socialism”. Marx believed that capitalism could only be overthrown by a revolution of the working class. Marx and Engels believed that the only way that a socialist community would work was that the working class had to have common ownership of their work place.