Core Ideologies - Socialism Flashcards
What is the most distinctive feature of socialism
- opposition to capitalism, an economic system based on individualism, competition and inequality.
What is collectivism
- where humans can achieve their political, social and economic objectives. Ore effectively through collective action than through individual effort.
- implies society can be transformed by collective endeavor
What are the 2 fundamental reasons socialist endorse collectivism
- from a moral perspective, the interests of group, such as society or a community, should take priority over individual self-interest
- in economic terms, collectivism utilises the capabilities of the whole society efficiently, avoiding wastefulness and limited impact of competitive individual effort inherent in capitalism
What is the socialist view on human nature
- humans are social animals, prefer to live in social groups rather then alone, humans have capacity for collective action and can work together to achieve these goals, tied together by fraternity
What is fraternity
- a brotherhood, humans bound together by comersdeshio, sharing same basic nature and interests
How is humans nature moulded by social conditions
- the experiences and circumstances of a persons life, people can only be defined in terms of what social group they belong to
What are Marxists stance on collectivism
- advocate collective action through a centralised state that organises all production and distribution eg: USSR in 1929
What are moderate socialists stance on collectivism
- accept some degree of free-market capitalism, and pursue collectivism in a more limited way, eg labour gov 45-51 nationalising key industries
What are the most common forms of socialist collectivism
- housing: subsidised homes provided by local government
- industrial relations: workers organised in trade unions with bargaining rights over terms and conditions
- education: state runs on the school system which is free and available for everyone
- healthcare: NHS funded from taxes
Industry: key industries under state control to operate in the national interest
What are the 2 basic criticisms of collectivism
- because it emphasis group action and common interests, it suppressses human individuality and diversity
- collectivist objectives can only be advanced through the agency of the state, it leads to the growth of arbitrary state power and erosion of individual freedom
Why do socialists believe in the concept of common humanity
- socialists see humans as social creatures with a tendency towards co-operation, sociability and rationality
- have a positive view of human nature, that humans are naturally inclined to work together for the common good and that co-operative effort produces the best results for society
- has led socialists to believe an interventionist role for the state. Marxists and socialists argue that the agency of state can be used to control economic production and distribution for benefit of everyone
What is equality
Pursuit of social equality is fundamental value of socialism
How does social equality ensure fairness
Economic inequality to socialists is due to structure of the capitalist society, therefore socialists reject equality of opportunity as it justifies unequal treatment of people. This reflects their human nature view that people are born with potential to be equal
How does Social equality reinforces collectivism
- people more likely to do-exist harmoniously in society and work together for the common economic good if they share the same social and economic conditions
- could be argues that this encourages conflict and instability as they are divided into haves and have nots, and this can lead to revolt, eg Russia in 1917
How does social inequality act as a means of satisfying basic human needs
