Key thinkers Flashcards
Who are the key thinkers ?
- Marx and Engels
- Luxemburg
- Webb
- Crosland
- Giddens
Who were the revolutionary socialists ?
(means of achieving)
- Marxists
- Neo-marxists
- Marxist leninists
KT = Marx and Engels and Luxemburg
Who were the evolutionary socialists ?
Gradualism (means of achieving)
- Democratic socialists, social democrats and the third way
- Webb, Crosland and Giddens
Who were the fundamentalists ?
(End result)
- Belief that capitalism needed to be removed
- Marxists, communists, neo-marxists and democratic socialists
- Marx and Engles, Luxemburg and Webb
Who were the revisionists ?
- Capitalism can be tames
- Social democrats and third way
- Crosland and Giddens
Marx and Engels’ strand ?
- Fundamentalist and revolutionary
- Marxists
Marx and Engels view on human nature ?
- Humans are naturally altruistic (selfless)
- However Capitalism instills them with a false consciousness of bourgeois values
- Human nature has therefore been distorted by capitalism
Marx and Engels’ view on the economy ?
- Capitalism is corrupt and inefficient
- It should be replaced by an economy where resources are collectively owned and distributed according to need
Marx and Engels’ view on the State ?
- Capitalism must be destroyed through revolution
- The state will temporarily be replaced with the dictatorship of the proletariat and will wither away when communism is established
- The state and society have used religion, patriotism, parliament and social reform to weaken class consciousness
Marx and Engels’ view on society
- Capitalism corrupts society
- The elite oppress the working class which then creates class conflict
- A communist society will have absolute equality and therefore societal harmony
- The problems of social class can only be resolved through revolution
Key quotes of Luxemburg ?
- “those who do not move do not notice their chains”
- “without general elections … life dies in every institution”
Luxemburg’s view on human nature
- Human nature has been damaged by capitalism
- However humans aren’t perfect and parliamentary democracy is needed to prevent tyranny
Luxemburg’ view on the economy ?
- Marx’s historical materialism idea is flawed as capitalism doesn’t need to reach the final stage before it can be abolished
- Communist revolutions could happen in less economically developed societies
Luxemburg’s view on the state ?
- Capitalism should be destroyed by revolution and then replaced with a genuine democracy
Luxemburg’s view on society ?
- Capitalism corrupts society
- The elite oppress the working class which then creates class conflict
- A democratic communist society will then provide absolute equality and social harmony