Socialists are constantly asked " What would socialism be like?" . Marx refused to follow the Utopians in providing a complete blueprint of a socialist society. However , he did provide general outlines to differentiate socialism from modified capitalism. He also distinguished between the transition period and the higher stage of communism. Though we cannot provide a blueprint, discussing this issue will help to clarify our goals and diffrerntiate Marx's communism from reformism and help win people to the struggle for a socialist society.. Good background readings include Marx's "Critique of the Gotha Programme", " State and Revolution" by Lenin and the ISO pamphlet " The Future Socialist Society"