11.4 Differing views within socialism - Revolutionary socialism Flashcards
What does revolutionary socialism want to replace the capitalist state, society and economy with?
Communism
What is the two main schools of revolutionary socialism?
- Utopian socialism
- Marxism
UTOPIAN SOCIALISM
UTOPIAN SOCIALISM
What are utopian socialists a collection of?
A collection of thinkers who despised the exploitation, greed and selfish individualism of capitalism but had a different vision of a utopian society
Who are the 2 main thinkers in utopian socialism?
- Robert Owen (1771-1858)
- Charles Fourier (1772-1837)
What did Robert Owen and Charles Fourier want to replace free-market capitalism with?
Small-scale cooperative communities
MARXISM
MARXISM
What were 3 things that Marx and Engels were the ‘first’ to do?
- First to argue that human nature had been distorted by capitalism
- First to critique capitalist economics
- First to articulate the need for and the inevitability of revolution
What did Marx and Engels argue their political theories were based on?
‘Scientific’ explanations of history and society
What is historic materialism?
A theory that argues that economic factors are the driving force for changing events. This economic base forms and shapes the superstructure, which is made up of culture, politics, law, religion etc.
What does Marx argue historical development is driven by? *not revolutions
A dialectic - a continuing chain of contradictions between two opposing forces, the exploited and the exploiters
What did Marx argue the catalyst for the revolution is?
The emergence of class consciousness
Who was heavily influenced by the ideas of Marx and Engels?
Rosa Luxemburg
What does Rosa Luxemburg being a determinist mean?
She believed that individuals are slaves to the forces of history outside our control
What belief of Lenin did Luxemburg disagree with?
She disagreed with Lenin’s voluntarism - that people make history and that historical change is not inevitable
