socialism

Question 1

Where did the term socialism come from?

Answer 1

The term socialism was first used by Charles Fourier (1772-1837) and Robert Owen (1771-1858) in the early 19th century.

Socialism is traditionally defined as being opposed to capitalism. In a capitalist society, economic systems are owned privately for profit, but socialism in its original conceptualisation was based on ideas of collective ownership of economic and social systems.​

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However, it has been linked to contradictory outcomes. On one hand, it is tied to what many see as the finest aspects of the human condition: fraternity, comradeship, altruism, compassion and a dedication to the interests of the underdog. On the other, socialist reform has led to misery, oppression and tyranny.

Question 2

Explain the similarities / differences between liberalism and socialism

Answer 2

Like Liberalism, socialism is a set of political ideas that grew out of the rationalism of the Enlightenment. As ideologies they have much in common: ​

Both take an optimistic view of human nature and exalt reason over faith and superstition. They are both progressive – they believe in the possibility of reform and are always ready to challenge the status quo and share a desire to liberate humans from oppression.​

Both believe in foundational equality – men and women are born equal and deserve equal opportunities in life. They reject the traditional state (defined by monarchical absolutism and the divine right of rulers). Both reject anarchism.​

However, one of liberalism’s core features was support for private property, which liberals consider a natural right. Yet as early as the (17th, there were those who are unsure about whether the principles of the Enlightenment could be reconciled to private ownership.​

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During the English Civil War (1649-60), one radical group of anti-monarchists, the Levellers argued that God had given the land to all ‘mankind’, yet some had exercised greed so as to acquire that land for themselves.

Question 3

How was socialism’s ideas developed by radical theorists

Answer 3

theorists during the (18th but it was during the early (19th that the term ‘socialism’ was first applied.​

The so-called utopian socialists, such as Charles Fourier (1772-1837) and Robert Owen (1771-1858), offered a radical response to the emerging problems of capitalism and industry.​

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Fourier advocated communities based on communal ownership and production, involving the equal distribution of resources and a culture of tolerance and permissiveness. Owen set up cooperative communities in Scotland and America, designed to promote shared ownership, responsibility and altruism. ​

​It was only during the mid (19th when the pace of industrialisation began to quicken dramatically, that socialist ideas began to be taken seriously. ​

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Socialists believed that liberalism offered an inadequate response to the profound changes brought by the industrial revolution. It was felt that liberalism was in denial about the effects of urban life and its lack of scope for individual autonomy and individual freedom.​

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As a result, the early socialists argued for a new approach, one that would make Enlightenment principles more achievable in an industrialised society – where employment was much less individualistic and where individuals seemed to have much less autonomy in their everyday lives.​

Question 4

Explain the socialism principle of common humanity

Answer 4

COMMON HUMANITY:

Most socialists have an optimistic view of human nature, believing individuals share a common humanity, are rational and are predisposed to cooperate. They agree that human nature is not fixed but is easily shaped by an individual’s environment. Unlike liberals, who see society as a loose collection of individuals, or conservatives who see society as an organic hierarchy, socialists perceive society as a collection of broadly equal individuals who share a common identity and collective purpose. Socialists argue individuals find fulfilment in work that focuses on cooperation and collectivism rather than individualism and competition. Underpinning this common humanity is a belief in fraternity and community. Socialists are united about the effect that unchecked capitalism can have on the individual, as a result they argue for an interventionist state. Revolutionary and democratic socialism are the most hostile to capitalism, while social democracy and in particular the third way argue that capitalism can be harnessed for the greater good.

Question 5

state the different views of humanity within socialism

Answer 5

Branch of socialism - Revolutionary social (RS)

Democratic socialism (DS)

Social Democracy (SD)

The third way (TW)

Question 6

Explain the revolutionary socialism vision of common humanity

Answer 6

REVOLUTIONARY SOCIALISM - vision of common humanity

Marx and Engels argued that individuals were ‘deformed’ by capitalism, as the power of money corrupts those who possess it. Capitalism must be abolished by a revolution instigated by the exploited WC. After a transitional period, a classless communist society would emerge and economic activities would be done collectively – society could then enjoy a common humanity.

Question 7

Explain the Democratic socialism vision of common humanity

Answer 7

Democratic socialism - vision of common humanity

Webb argued for a socialist society via the ballot box. This would include common ownership of the means of production, achieved by extensive state nationalism run by a socialist bureaucratic elite.

Question 8

Explain the social democracy vision of common humanity

Answer 8

Social Democracy - vision of common humanity

SDs argued that capitalism should be reformed, not replaced, which was a significant break with DS, which envisaged a fully socialist state. Crosland had a vision of supporting a mixed economy of both nationalised state industry and privately-owned companies, economic state intervention based on Keynesian economics to ensure permanent full employment and economic growth and a welfare state to redistribute wealth and challenge poverty and social inequality.

Question 9

Explain the third way vision of common humanity

Answer 9

Third way - vision of common humanity

By the 1990s, Giddens argued that developed economics faced new challenges for the (21st economy. He argued that increased emphasis on equality of opportunity via public services with a specific emphasis on education and (21st skills, NL ideas such as the free market and self-reliance and moving away from universal welfare to more means-tested welfare (students paying HE fees).

Question 10

Explain collectivism as a key idea and principle of socialism

Answer 10

Socialism’s positive view of human nature perceives people as naturally social creatures. Generally speaking, collectivism prioritises the group over the individual.

Socialists believe individuals prefer to work together rather than independently and will work far more effectively within groups than they will by their individual actions. Collectivism has been used in a variety of different ways across socialist thinking and therefore means different things to different socialists. Utopian socialists Fourier and Owen argued for small-scale cooperative communities organised collectively as a way of promoting socialist values. Marx and Engels focused on a larger scale, arguing for workforces to collectively own all industry and that all agencies of society would be communal. The Soviet Union, which had been influenced by the ideas of Marx and Engels, nationalised its industry, embarked on centralised state planning and collectivised its agricultural land in the 1920s and 1930s.

DS Beatrice Webb and the Fabian Society informed many of the collectivist policies of Atlee’s Labour governments of 1945-51, in particular the use of nationalisation and top-down state management. However, Attlee’s government accepted the existence of free-market capitalism, in the form of private industry, so a fully collectivised society did not come to pass. SD Anthony Crosland was suspicious of the collectivism advocated by Marx, Engels and Webb, while Giddens’ third way view of collectivism showed the influence of NL ideas.

Question 11

state social democrat collectivist examples on industrial relations, healthcare, education, and key industries.

Answer 11

Collectivist example - social democrat

Industrial relations - workers belong to trade unions that have a strong bargaining rights to exploitation

Healthcare - A national health service provides universal care according to need. This service is ‘free’, paid for by general taxation

Education - Widespread comprehensive state education is available for all providing equality of opportunity

Key Industries - The key utilities (not private industry) are brought under governmental control and operate in collective interest

Question 12

state third way collectivist examples on industrial relations, healthcare, education, and key industries.

Answer 12

Third way collectivist examples

Industrial relations - unions should exist to preserve fair practice in the workplace. However, wages are market driven

Healthcare - Advocates healthcare reform as the cost of universal healthcare is unsustainable. It supports prescription charges and private healthcare for the rich to ‘jump the queue’ for non essential healthcare

Education - More equality for opportunity and spending in education. New labour introduced academies and life-long learning courses but expected university students to help fund the cost of tuition fees

Key industries - The free market is the most efficacious
way to run business. No support for re-nationalising state utilities.

Question 13

Explain the core idea and principle of equality in relation to socialism

Answer 13

EQUALITY:

For socialists, equality is a multifaceted concept that causes tension and disagreement. However, there are three aspects of equality that socialists can agree on:

(a) Foundational equality: Like liberals, socialists believe that all individuals are born with innate human rights that translate to political and legal equality.

(b) Rejection of natural hierarchies: Each individual has the potential to take up any position within society to which he/she may aspire.

(c) Equality of opportunity: All individuals should have access to the same life chances.

Question 14

state types of equality

Answer 14

equality of opportunity

equality of outcome

absolute equality

equality of welfare

Question 15

Explain equality of opportunity as a type of equality

Answer 15

Equality of opportunity

Individuals are entitled to equal chances to make the best of their abilities. Positive steps should be taken to make sure that there are no artificial barriers to the progress of individual groups.

Question 16

Explain differences among socialism in relation to equality of opportunity

Answer 16

views on equality of opportunity

Revolutionary socialism: Marx, Engels and Rosa Luxemburg argued that equality of opportunity can only be achieved after a revolution (capitalism is so corrupt and pervasive that it is beyond reform).

Democratic socialism: Webb argued that equality of opportunity could only be achieved by reforming capitalism to the point that it is a truly socialist (i.e. common ownership) society.

Social democracy: Crosland believed in a mixed economy with state management based on Keynesian ideas. Progressive taxation and an expansive welfare state would widen opportunities and break down class barriers.

The third way: Equality of opportunity needs to target the neediest in society: the underclass. Giddens advocated abandoning the universal welfare of Crosland’s social democracy for means tested benefits.

Question 17

Explain equality of outcome as a type of equality

Answer 17

Equality of outcome

Proposes that economic rewards should be distributed to the value of an individual’s contribution. In such a system the difference in rewards will be far less than it would be in a free-market economy.

Question 18

Explain differences among socialism in relation to equality of outcome

Answer 18

views on equality of outcome

Revolutionary socialism: Marx, Engels and Luxemburg dismissed equality of outcome as it presupposed that capitalism could be rid of exploitation, which they believed to be impossible.

Democratic socialism: Webb argued for a gradual incremental process so that income would eventually be far more evenly distributed.

Social democracy: Crosland was against pure equality of outcome as he felt it would weaken the economy by acting as a disincentive to wealth creators.

The third way: Like Crosland, Giddens argued that wage equality of outcome was impractical and a disincentive and would damage the economy.

Question 19

Explain absolute equality as a type of equality

Answer 19

Absolute equality

Suggests that all individuals should receive the same rewards as long as the contributions that are made to society are made to the best of their ability (it should be remembered that absolute equality is also understood in terms of equality of outcome, where ‘fairness’ is
distributed to all citizen

Question 20

Explain differences among socialism in relation to absolute equality

Answer 20

views on absolute equality

Revolutionary socialism: Marx, Engels and Luxemburg believed that in an economy based on common ownership and collectivism material rewards would be based on needs. Individuals would contribute to society and then take what they needed.

Democratic socialism: Although Webb believed in high taxation to flatten the differences between classes, she did not advocate absolute equality, envisaging some wage differences.

Social democracy: Crosland dismissed absolute equality as utopian (as it presupposed abundant wealth). He accepted that in a meritocratic mixed economy those who contributed more would be rewarded accordingly.

The third way: Giddens dismissed absolute equality as a flawed concept and, like Crosland, accepted that inequality was a natural consequence of society.

Question 21

Explain equality of welfare as a type of equality

Answer 21

Equality of equality

This aspect of equality perceives society as inevitably unequal but argues that everyone should be entitled to an equal minimum standard of living, enabled by the provision of state welfare

Question 22

Explain differences among socialism in relation to equality of welfare

Answer 22

different views on equality of equality

Revolutionary socialism: Marx, Engels and Luxemburg rejected equality of welfare for its failure to remove capitalism.

Democratic socialism: Webb argued that equality of welfare would be achieved by mass nationalisation of industry. Proper state management would ensure equality of welfare via an efficient redistribution of resources.

Social democracy: Crosland saw the state as a neutral force that could reduce class conflict by breaking down barriers and widening opportunities: universal public services would help achieve this. He married SD with ML and was enthusiastic for nationalized utilities and the free-market economy.

The third way: Giddens argued that high levels of social security and welfare were a disincentive to work and created a dependency culture. Benefits should be targeted at the most needy.

Question 23

Explain social class as a key idea and principle of socialism

Answer 23

Socialists believe that capitalism creates and reinforces harmful social class divisions that result in societal hierarchies. While they agree on a broad critique of social class, they disagree on how best to rectify the problem that they have diagnosed:

• The RS of Marx/Engels and Luxemburg argues that problems of social class can only be resolved by a revolution.
• The evolutionary socialism of Webb (DS), Crosland (SD) and Giddens (TW) all have different ideas for reconciling social class division.

Question 24

Explain social class as a key idea and principle in relation to the revolutionary socialism perspective

Answer 24

Marx and Engels’ ideas placed social class as a core idea of socialism, arguing as follows:

· Capitalists are parasites profiting from the work of an exploited workforce.

· Differences between social classes cannot be reconciled within a capitalist system and therefore revolution is inevitable.

· Capitalists take the surplus value (the difference between the wages paid to the worker and the profit taken by the capitalist), alienating the proletariat (worker) from ‘his’ labour.

· The state is not neutral but actively reinforces the oppressive relationship via laws, bureaucracy, polices forces and the army – an idea that heavily influences anarchism.

Question 25

Explain social class as a key idea and principle in relation to democratic socialism perspective

Answer 25

Webb shared Marx’s analysis of social class, however she argued that the nature of the state could be altered from serving capitalism to delivering a socialist state. The socialist state would introduce universal nationalisation: equality of outcome, progressive taxation and a welfare state which would significantly narrow class division.

Question 26

Explain social class as a key idea and principle in relation to social democracy perspective

Answer 26

SOCIAL DEMOCRACY:

However, SDs such as Crosland were critical of the collectively minded utilitarianism of Webb’s ideas and the uniformity of nationalisation, which Crosland felt compromised the freedom of the individual and would ‘make the socialist state’ a dull functional nightmare’. Crosland’s vision of socialism was less of a class war and more of a fairer distribution of wealth and equality of opportunity so that the individual could thrive in a society that would eventually become classless.

Crosland argued that education reinforced class division and his most famous attempt to ensure equality of opportunity was to create comprehensive schools that would cater for all abilities and break down the social segregation of grammar schools. Giddens’ position on education revises the aims of Crosland, arguing ‘investment in education is an imperative of government today, a key basis of the redistribution of possibilities.’

Question 27

Explain social class as a key idea and principle in relation to the third way perspective and other socialist perspectives

Answer 27

However, SD failed to eliminate class divisions. To further complicate the matter, today people do no see themselves in the traditional class roles that they did in the times of Marx, Engels, Luxemburg, Webb or even Crosland. Evans and Tilley argue that since the late 1970s traditional notions of class do not resonate as they once did. There is no consensus on why this is. Some like Giddens, argue it is a breaking down of traditional class-based occupations (factory worker, coal miner, ship builder), others argue that the working class mistakenly perceive themselves as middle class even though they are lowly paid.

Bottero has argued that there exists a ‘paradox of class’, whereby class identification is in decline and yet the continued role of class position is central to life chances. Sutton Trust research demonstrates that while only 7% of people attend independent schools, they dominate higher paid professions. Numerous studies have shown that while Crosland and Giddens were correct in arguing that education is the single most important factor in occupational attainment, the chances of obtaining a good education remain strongly influenced by class background. Evans and Tilley’s research demonstrates that private education continues to be a key predicator of occupational and educational success. In the UK, while 49% of young people attend university, poverty and inequality remain difficult to eradicate. Such figures would not have surprised Marx, Engels or Luxemburg, who argue that the inequalities of capitalism were beyond reform. Marxism believes that materialism dominates societal culture, ideology, politics and religion.

Moreover, it prevents the subjugated from perceiving their exploitation. Whenever socialist governments have been elected, they are frustrated by the capitalist-supporting interests of the political elites that dominate the judiciary, civil service and big business: the ability to radically change society is beyond their power. For revolutionary socialists, evolutionary socialism can only disappoint and nothing less than a socialist insurrection on an international scale can vanquish the injustice of social class.

Question 28

Explain workers control as a key idea and principle of socialism

Answer 28

WORKERS’ CONTROL:

All socialists agree that in an unchecked free market the capitalist will exploit the worker. However, the different branches of socialism have different views on the concept of workers’ control (where the average worker manages the workplace through workers’ councils or committees)

Question 29

Explain the revolutionary socialism perspective on workers control

Answer 29

(a) Revolutionary socialism: In the immediate aftermath of a revolution, Marx and Engels envisaged a transitional period where the formerly exploited workers were in control. This interim stage would see society and the economy re-embracing forgotten cooperative, collective and fraternal values while removing destructive capitalist ideals. Workers’ control would be a short period between the revolution and the stateless, classless, communist society and economy that would emerge from the ashes of capitalism. There would be no need for workers’ control, as communism would be free from the exploitation of capitalist competition.

Question 30

Explain the evolutionary socialism perspective on workers control

Answer 30

(b) Evolutionary socialism: As a DS, Webb did not believe in workers’ control, dismissing workers as incapable of such responsibility. She was openly critical of 1920s guild socialism, which advocated state nationalization under workers’ control, as she argued that workers lacked the intellectual capability to organize such an enterprise. So, although Sidney Webb, Beatrice’s husband, drafted Clause IV for the Labour Party with a specific aim of common ownership, the Webbs never intended that common ownership would entail workers controlling the means of production. Webb had the most negative view of human nature of all the socialist key thinkers, believing that the working class were innately intellectually inferior and so needing guidance from paternal superiors.

For Webb, the evils of capitalism would not be solved by the workers but by ‘the professional expert’;
the working class would vote for socialism and, gradually, elected socialist governments would refashion the state so that it could manage, not oppress the worker. The state would ‘silently change its character…from police power, to housekeeping on a national scale’ – this strategy for achieving socialism would involve a highly trained elite of administrators and specialists (rather than the workers themselves) to organise society.

Question 31

Explain the social democracy and third way perspective on workers control

Answer 31

(c) Social democracy and the third way: SDs viewed workers’ control and militant class struggle as outdated notions. Capitalism had largely been reformed of its most exploitative traits. Crosland was comfortable with a mixed economy, where entrepreneurs could thrive and pay taxation to fund a welfare state, but he was unwilling to sanction further nationalisation which would threaten individual liberty and be economically counterproductive. He supported the Labour leader of the late 1950s, Hugh Gaitskell, in his attempt to amend Clause IV. He was unsuccessful in this endeavor as, for the left wing of the party, it was a core value.

Gidden’s renewal of social democracy saw workers’ control as impractical for a similar reason to Webb and Crosland: the average worker lacked the skills or expertise to successfully lead or manage their workplace. Giddens also argued against the mixed economy, because nationalised companies could not compete with the amount of wealth the free market creates. He shared the NL belief that free-market economies are more efficient and prosperous than either state-controlled or mixed economies and that it would be better to focus on channeling the proceeds of the free market towards ‘the interests of social solidarity and social justice’. Labour leader Blair, who was heavily influenced by the ideas of Giddens, amended Clause IV in 1995 so that it dropped the commitment to common ownership for a vague commitment to social justice. More pertinently, Blair accepted the NL reforms of Thatcher, who had privatized in the 1980s, and did not seek to renationalize the state utilities, nationalised by Atlee’s postwar Labour government.

Question 32

Explain revolutionary socialism

Answer 32

REVOLUTIONARY SOCIALISM:

This is the earliest form of socialism. It sought to abolish the capitalist state, society and economy and to replace them with communism, a system where humans work together and share common ownership.

Question 33

state the two main school of thoughts within revolutionary socialism

Answer 33

The two main schools of revolutionary socialism, with the second being the most influential on socialist thought:

• utopian socialism
• Marxism

Question 34

Explain utopian socialism

Answer 34

(a) Utopian socialism: USs were a collection of thinkers who despised the exploitation, greed and selfish individualism of capitalism but had a different vision of a utopian society. The two main thinkers were Robert Owen (177-1858) and Charles Fourier (1772-1837). Both disliked free-market capitalism and proposed that small-scale cooperative communities should replace it. Marx ironically named this branch of socialism ‘utopian’ as he deemed the ideas to be too idealistic, simplistic fantasies with no depth of thought as to how their proposed societies would be created or maintained. All US societies of the (19th failed.

Question 35

Explain Marxism

Answer 35

b) Marxism: Named after the most important thinker within socialism, Karl Marx - however, many of his key ideas were developed with his great collaborator Friedrich Engels. They are responsible for several ‘firsts’ within socialist thinking:

· First to argue that human nature had been distorted by capitalism

· First to critique capitalist economics

· First to place social class at the heart of socialist ideas

· First to argue that the state was not neutral but a puppet of the ruling class

· First to articulate the need for and the inevitability of revolution

They argued that their political theories were based on scientific explanations of history and society and that they were inevitable: that the world would overthrow capitalism and a communist society would emerge.

Question 36

Explain Marxist theory ideas of historical materialism

Answer 36

Their theory of revolution was based on the ideas of historical materialism, dialectic, social class and class consciousness:

· In historical materialism, economic conflict is the catalyst for historical and social development within society. It has been the dynamic that has driven history and the economic struggle between contending groups within society, such as slave society (slave v master), feudal society (peasant v landowner), and capitalist society (worker v capitalist). The economic base (underpinned by ideas such as private property, money, supply and

demand) forms the superstructure (culture, politics, law, ideology, religion, art and social consciousness) which is the foundation of the entire society and is reinforced by the state.

· Historical development is driven by a dialectic – a continuing chain of contradictions between two opposing forces, the exploited and the exploiters. History had already passed through the first four stages of dialectical change when Marx was writing and he predicted that it was inevitable that the capitalist stage would lead to revolution – the destruction of capitalism and the emergence of a socialist society.

· Social class is central to the perception of human history, which is described as a series of economic phases and consists of two main classes. The capitalist stage sees the ruling class take surplus value of the workers, thereby exploiting them.

· The emergence of class consciousness among the proletariat is the catalyst for revolution. History will then pass through a series of stages, ending only with the withering away of the state and a perfect communist society, which marks the end of history.

Question 37

How did Luxemburg expanded on Marx’s and Engels ideas on revolution

Answer 37

Numerous social thinkers adapted Marx and Engels’ ideas during the (20th. Luxemburg was heavily influenced by their ideas. Like Marx, she was a determinist (believing that individuals are slaves to the forces of history outside of their control) and disagreed with Lenin’s voluntarism (that people make history and that historical change is not inevitable). During the Russian Revolution, Lenin argued that there needed to be a ‘vanguard elite’ to guide the population. Luxemburg argued that the proletariat’s struggle for reform and democracy would create the class consciousness necessary for the overthrow of the capitalist society and state. However, she also offered important variations on the conclusions of Marx and Engels:

· Luxemburg disagreed with Marxist historical materialism as she argued that less economically developed societies could have communist revolutions and did not need to wait until capitalism has reached a final stage. These ideas would be especially influential within socialist internationalism.

· She disagreed with the Marxist view that there would be no need for democracy after the revolution arguing ‘Without general elections, without unrestricted freedom of the press and assembly, without a free struggle of opinion, life dies in every institution.’

· Luxemburg is often praised for anticipating the dictatorship of the party that occurred in countries that had Marxist-inspired revolutions, such as Russia and China.

· Her ideas concerning freedom are comparable to libertarianism as she was adamant that ‘freedom is how free your opponent is’. She has also been claimed as a proto-feminist for observations such as ‘all war is male’.

Question 38

Explain how Marxism was adapted by Leninism

Answer 38

Marxism was adapted by Lenin and later by Stalin in the USSR, by Chairman Mao in China and by Castro in Cuba. None of these countries ever attained the communism that Marx and Engels envisaged, as in each case the state grew rather than withered and, in the case of Communist Russia and China, extreme violence was used by the state to enforce socialist ideas. Finally, in all of these cases, the communism was nationalist in nature, rather than internationalist as Marx and Engels had proposed and Luxemburg advocated.

Question 39

Explain the social democracy perspective

Answer 39

SOCIAL DEMOCRACY:

SD was the revisionism of Webb’s democratic socialism and had its origins in Germany and the UK after WW2. Socialism faced hostility in the West as the Cold War unfolded and revisionist socialists had to deal with the reality that the postwar economic boom was increasing prosperity and living standards. Rather than alienating the working class, capitalism was delivering tangible benefits

Question 40

Explain the social democrat perspective as a form of revisionism

Answer 40

a) Social Democracy: a form of revisionism:

SDs such as Crosland argued that capitalism should be reformed and not replaced, which a significant break with the ideas of Webb who had envisaged a fully socialist state. Crosland argued that SD represented a socialism that recognised the world as it was and not what more traditional socialists might wish it to be. He argued that ‘Marx had little or nothing to offer the contemporary socialist’ and disagreed with Marx, Engels, Luxemburg and Webb when he stated that the inherent contradictions within capitalism (between the exploiter and exploited) did not drive social change.

After WW2, the Attlee Labour government nationalised the major utilities: coal, steel, the railways, electricity and gas. Webb’s ideas proposed continual nationalisation of UK industry in order to achieve common ownership with a society and economy coordinated by technocrats of a socialist state. Such collectivism was necessary because it was believed that those in Whitehall know what is better for people than people know themselves. For Crosland, these high levels of collectivism threatened individual freedom and initiative, and his version of socialism abandoned trying to replace capitalism, as Webb prescribed, in favour of reforming it.

Question 41

Social democracy key ideas

Answer 41

SDs key ideas were as follows:

· The mixed economy: A blend of free-market capitalism (in the form of privately-owned industry) and state collectivism (nationalized companies).

· State management: Facilitating the mixed economy via state management of the economy to deliver continual growth and full employment that would incorporate the ideas of Keynes.

· The welfare state: When capitalism has been suitably reformed, the state funds a welfare state that promotes social justice and equality of opportunity.

Question 42

Explain social justice as an idea of social democracy in relation to crosslands ideas

Answer 42

Crosland believed that managed capitalism, rather than the laissez-faire economics of post-war governments, could deliver social justice, a core value of social democracy. ‘I came to hate and loathe social injustice because I disliked the class structure of our society, because I could not tolerate the indefensible differences of status and income that disfigure our society.’ SD proposed using the wealth created by the free market to ensure that the proceeds were more fairly distributed across society. Crosland argued: ‘The socialist seeks a distribution of rewards, status and privileges egalitarian enough to minimize social resentment, to secure justice between individuals and to equalize opportunities.’ Social justice would be promoted through progressive taxation and by ensuring that the proceeds were fairly distributed across the welfare state. For Crosland, social justice meant tackling the inequality of opportunity within education in particular.

Crosland broadly succeeded in creating comprehensive education (which merged grammar and secondary modern schools) which, he argued, would decrease class division and provide greater equality of opportunity.

Question 43

How did social democracy abandon webbs ideas of a socialist state?

Answer 43

By embracing a mixed economy, SD abandoned Webb’s fully socialist state, which would have eradicated free-market capitalism and settled instead for reforming it.
• SD became the first branch of socialism to recognise a role for the free market and privately-owned companies, a philosophy that Marx, Engels, Luxemburg and Webb would all have opposed.
• Economic state intervention, via Keynesian regulation of the economy, would ensure continual full employment and economic growth.
• Crosland argued that Keynesian ‘legitimised the doctrine of equality’ and was a powerful attack ‘on the free market of the day’.
• Influenced by the liberal ideas of Rawls, Crosland argued that he would not accept obscene levels of inequality and advocated progressive taxation.

However, it is a mistake to argue that Keynesian equates to socialism. SD favoured collective state intervention and management of the economy, as Keynes (a liberal) wished to preserve capitalism rather than radically alter it.

Question 44

Explain the social democracy debate about social justice vs economic management

Answer 44

Social justice v economic management:
SD was always a marriage between economic efficiency and egalitarian social justice. From 1945 to the early 1970s there was a long period of sustained growth, full employment and low inflation. Historian Edmund Dell was critical of Crosland for assuming economic growth was permanent - it was not. Keynes’ demand management ideas were no longer effective when the 1973 oil crisis led to a full-blown global recession and Western governments could not afford to spend their way out of an economic downturn. Callaghan’s Labour government, embarrassingly, had to ask for an emergency loan from the International Monetary Fund in 1976.

For NLs this demonstrated the arrogance of SD in believing that the state could control and manage the economy. As Callaghan told the Labour Party conference in the same year: ‘The cosy world we were told would go on forever, where full employment would be guaranteed by a stroke of the Chancellor’s pen…is gone.’ Generous pay rises to workers of nationalized state utilities were impossible. The welfare state faced a crisis, tax revenues decreased as businesses struggled, while mass unemployment re-emerged (and with it a sharp increase in demand for welfare benefit) for the first time in a generation. As Crosland wearily realised, rising public expenditure to facilitate social justice could not be maintained with s struggling economy, and he concluded that for state spending ‘the party was over’. Labour’s perceived economic ineptitude helped usher in Thatcher’s NR inspired Conservatives in the 1979 general election. By the mid-1990s, after four successive election defeats, it appeared that socialism in both its evolutionary and its revolutionary incarnations may have become a political irrelevance.

Question 45

Explain what is meant by the third way

Answer 45

THE THIRD WAY:

Giddens argued that SD needed to be renewed if it were to remain relevant. This revisionism (sometimes referred to as neo-revisionism) was a ‘third-way’ between the SD of Crosland and the NL of Nozick. It proposed:
• Recognition of the free market over state planning
• Embracing the competitive state
• Embracing community, moral responsibility and social inclusion
• The importance of equality of opportunity over other forms of equality

Question 46

Explain Giddens recognition of the free market over state planning

Answer 46

Recognition of the free market over state planning:
Giddens rejected the ‘cybernetic model’ of socialism, whereby the state acts as the artificial brain that manipulates organic society and the economy. He also dismissed Webb’s common ownership and Crosland’s Keynesian state management for a dynamic free market that maximised wealth creation. Giddens believed that market capitalism enriched and empowered society. Blair put these ideas into practice, rebranding his party as ‘New’ Labour, and he finally broke with Webb’s public ownership commitment by amending Clause IV of the Labour Party constitution. For Giddens, the emergence of globalisation significantly weakened the effectiveness of the Keynesian-inspired economic solutions favoured by Crosland, and reinforced the importance of the free-market.

The TW retreated from the high levels of taxation favoured by SD (which reached 83% for high earners in 1974 under the Labour Party), recognizing that such taxation inhibited wealth creation and economic growth. New Labour governments reduced businesses taxes and kept higher rate income taxation to 40% (until 2010 when the latter rose to 50% in response to the exceptional consequences of the financial crisis). Giddens argued that NL economics generated greater revenues than state-managed ones, which could fund public spending to target society’s poorest. New Labour followed Giddens ideas and the economy grew by 2.4% per year in the years Blair was in power, which constituted a period of higher consecutive economic growth than had been achieved in the previous 50 years. This economic growth allowed public spending to grow from 39% of GDP in 1997 to 47% by 2010. Accepting the virtues of the free market meant that, for many, the ideas of the third way were not socialist at all. For, Giddens it was clear that the Crosland argument of economic state-management and Webb’s socialist state were both redundant and discredited. If SD was to renew itself it had to embrace the global free market.

Question 47

Explain how the third way embrace the competitive state

Answer 47

Embracing the competitive state:
Giddens argued that the state needed to promote investment in education and infrastructure to facilitate the competition state. New Labour’s commitment to infrastructure further demonstrated the marriage of NL and SD ideas. From 1997 to 2010 New Labour increased public spending to build what Giddens called ‘social capital: schools, hospitals and public buildings, as well as Crossrail (a new railway service for London) and the bid for the 2012 Olympic Games. However, rather than being state managed, as would have been the case under SD, New Labour commissioned the building work using the free market – via private finance initiative (PFI) and public-private partnerships (PPPs).

Question 48

Explain the third ways perspective on embracing community, moral responsibility and social inclusion

Answer 48

) Embracing community, moral responsibility and social inclusion:
Giddens was critical of an atomistic society that the like of Nozick and Rand would wish for and advocated ‘communitarianism’, which coupled individualism with social responsibility. Unlike the top-down style of SD, Giddens believed government should help foster civic society (representing the needs of the local community). However, unlike SDs, who argued for automatic welfare, Giddens argued ‘no rights without responsibilities’, meaning that unemployment benefits should carry the obligation to actively look for work, and it is up to governments to ensure that the welfare system does not discourage an active search.

If SD offered a ‘cradle to grave’ welfare state, the TW offered to quote Blair, ‘a hand-up not a hand-out’ and a very different vision of equality of welfare. Giddens saw no contradiction between self-reliance (a NL concept) and mutual dependence (a socialist one) and argued that they could co-exist. Rather than a welfare state, Giddens envisaged a ‘welfare society’ and ‘positive welfare where the state targeted the socially marginalised ‘underclass’ (sometimes described as the ‘passive poor’), who are usually long-term recipients of welfare benefits.’

Question 49

Explain how third way ideas influenced new labour

Answer 49

Giddens’ Idea: New Labour policy
Positive welfare . A national minimal wage
. Tax credits for workers
. 10% tax band for those on low incomes
. Educational maintenance grants for poorer students
. A ‘New Deal’ to help the unemployed find work

Welfare society . Commitment to social justice in New Labour Party constitution
. Targeting areas that specifically affected the underclass, such as poverty, low educational attainment, poor housing, poor parenting, drug addiction, via the welfare-to-work programme

Education (redistribution for all) . Introduction of academy schools in 2000
. Blair argued they would improve pupil performance and break the cycle of low expectations
. Schools were encouraged to compete with each other in league tables (a NL idea) to improve standards and parents were free to choose which school their child attended (a NL Idea), encouraging civic engagement
. Blair’s pro-education policies increased university participation. In 1950 just 3.4% of the population attended university, in 1970 it was 19.3% and by 2017 it had reached 49%
. New Labour championed the Giddens belief of life-long learning so individuals can adapt to the ever-changing workplace of the (21st: ‘education needs to be redefined to focus on capabilities that individuals will be able to develop through life’

Self-reliance (remodeling the welfare state) . Introduction of university tuition fees
. Welfare assistance conditional on seeking work

Attitudes to crime . Justice system that was both authoritarian and reformist by being ‘tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime’

Rejection of state management . Clause IV of the Labour Party constitution was amended, ending Labour’s commitment to public ownership

Benefits of the free market . Accepting the privatisation of national utilities by the Conservative governments of 1979-97 by not returning to a mixed economy

Principle of community . Devolution of Scotland and Wales and directly elected mayors

Question 50

Explain how third way thinkers have different views on the state

Answer 50

Webb, Crosland and Giddens had differing views on how large the state should be. Crosland preferred a mixed economy to Webb’s fully nationalised one. This meant a smaller state, although it still practiced economic state management and ran an extensive welfare state. The TW accepted a free-market economy and preferred a less extensive welfare state than SD. For some old-style SDs such as Roy Hattersley, who had been deputy leader of the Labour Party during the 1980s, TW ideas were a betrayal of Crosland’s vision, which Hattersley argued had always had absolutes that distinguished it as SD: ‘that public expenditure had virtue in its own right, that equality was what socialism was about, that redistribution of wealth mattered…’. Giddens viewed his TW ideas as a renewal of SD. However, Hattersley, writing in 2001, argued that Giddens-inspired New Labour ‘had very little that could be identified with SD’.

Giddens offered opportunities for education and training so that people might escaped dependency and poverty. Webb’s position was more similar to Giddens than Crosland, as she had been critical of over-generous welfare provision. Giddens was influenced by the idea of ML in his version of equality of opportunity which encouraged citizens to secure their own improved conditions, rather than be reliant on the state.

Question 51

To what extent do socialists agree on the economy?

Answer 51

AGREE:

. All forms of socialism are critical of the negative effects of capitalism
. All forms are, to differing degrees, critical of the wasteful competition inherent within capitalism and emphasise the need for cooperation
. All forms are committed to an economy that creates a fairer society
. All forms envisage equality of opportunity within society
. Evolutionary socialists all agree that capitalism can be reformed of its most exploitative tendencies

DISAGREE:
Revolutionary socialists think capitalism is beyond reform. Evolutionary socialists think capitalism can be reformed
. Revolutionary socialists such as Marx and Engels think only mature economies can experience revolution, while Luxemburg argues that less mature economies are also capable
. Socialists disagree on the role of the state in organising the economy. Revolutionary socialists think that the state will wither away, while evolutionary socialists disagree on how active the state must be in managing the economy.
. Evolutionary socialists disagree on how to manage the economy. Webb favours nationalism; Crosland, a mixed economy; and Giddens prefers a NL free market
. The TW argues for less equality of outcome than either SD or DS.

Question 52

Explain Karl Marx and Fredrich Engels ideas on the key themes of socialism

Answer 52

Karl Marx and Fredrich Engels

Human nature:
Humans are naturally altruistic. However, capitalism instils them with a false consciousness of ‘bourgeois values’

State:
Capitalism must be destroyed by revolution. The state will be temporarily replaced by the dictatorship of the proletariat and will wither away when communism is established

Society:
Capitalism corrupts society and the elite oppress the WC, creating class conflict. A communist society will have absolute equality and societal harmony

Economy:
Capitalism is corrupt and inefficient and should be replaced by an economy where resources are collectively owned and distributed according to need

Question 53

Explain Rosa Luxembergs ideas of the themes of socialism

Answer 53

Rosa Luxemburg
Human nature:
Human nature had been damaged by capitalism. However, humans are not perfect and parliamentary democracy is needed to prevent tyranny

State:
Capitalism should be destroyed by revolution and replaced by a genuine democracy

Society:
Capitalism corrupts society and the elite oppress the WC, creating class conflict. A democratic communist society will provide absolute equality and social harmony

Economy:
Marx’s historical materialism idea is flawed as capitalism does not need to reach ‘final stage’ before it can be abolished. Communist revolutions could happen in less economically developed societies

Question 54

Beatrice Webb’s ideas on the key themes of socialism

Answer 54

Beatrice Webb

Human nature:
Capitalism had damaged the human psyche. However, she believed in intellectual and moral human imperfection, particularly of the WC

State:
The state should be used to create a socialist society. This would be achieved via universal suffrage and would be a gradual process

Society:
Society under socialist state management will produce equality of outcome The free-market economy would be gradually nationalised as the workers obtain common ownership of the means of production

Economy:
The free-market economy would be gradually nationalised as the workers obtain common ownership of the means of production

Question 55

Anthony Crosland’s key ideas on the themes of socialism

Answer 55

Anthony Crosland

Human nature:
Human nature is innately fair. Inequalities of outcome and opportunity hinder collective human progress

State:
The state should be managed by ‘meritocratic managers’ and ‘classless technocrats’

Society:
State management will affect societal change and create social justice and equality of welfare

Economy:
Rejected Webb’s gradualism and argued for a mixed economy and Keynesian capitalism. Believed capitalism had largely been reformed of its exploitative tendencies

Question 56

Explain Anthony Giddens key ideas on the themes of socialism

Answer 56

Anthony Giddens

Human nature:
Human nature is shaped by socio-economic conditions. More focus on humans as both individual and collective creatures

State:
The state should invest in social investment and infrastructure and refrain from economic and social engineering

Society:
Society will embrace equality of opportunity and communal responsibility instead of class conflict

Economy:
A NL economy with a free market is more efficient than all socialist economic models and the tax revenues they generate can finance greater equality of opportunity