Which economic system allows ownership to be held collectively by a small community?

• A. Capitalism
• B. Market socialism
• C. Socialism
• D. Cooperative ownership

Answer: (C)

Collective ownership of the means of production is the key idea here. When a community owns the resources, factories, and land that drive production, decisions about what to produce and how to distribute goods are guided by social welfare and democratic choices rather than individual profit. This characterizes socialism, where the aim is to ensure resources serve the community as a whole.

Capitalism centers on private ownership and markets to allocate resources, so ownership isn’t held collectively. Market socialism blends public and private ownership but still uses markets for some decisions, not full collective ownership. Cooperative ownership involves members jointly owning and running a specific enterprise, which is a form of collective control within a particular organization, not the whole economy.

So the description aligns best with socialism.