What was the distinctiveness of socialism compared with non-socialist currents?

Correct answer: It placed economic ownership and worker exploitation at the centre

The governing concept is socialism’s focus on economic relations and class exploitation. Liberal and other reform currents could emphasise civil liberties, constitutional government, or the gradual extension of political rights. Socialists went further by asking who owned the means of production and how the organisation of property shaped the lives of workers. They argued that political equality would remain incomplete if economic power and productive resources stayed concentrated in the hands of a few. Option A is correct because it identifies ownership and exploitation as socialism’s distinctive centre. Options B, C, and D describe limited aspects of other debates and are too narrow to define socialism.