Socialism Flashcards
What are the core ideas of socialism?
They believe that humans are naturally cooperative, generous and altruistic, therefore they naturally seek solidarity, companionship and Fraternity.
Socialists argue that the primary consequence of the industrial revolution is the creation of a class system which decides upon the fate of individuals within society.
Individuals are the product of the class that they are born into.
They believe that the narrowing of the gaps is needed otherwise society will continue to lack co-operation and camaraderie and instead foster greed, envy resentment and division.
Socialists seek social justice and equality of opportunity to eliminate class division.
Socialists also express the desire for wealth distribution.
Socialists provide for a strong powerful state that can provide for everyone within society.
What are the two variations of Socialism?
Fundamental Socialists: Those who view socialism as fundamentally opposed to private ownership and capitalism.
Revisionist Socialists: Argue that socialism and capitalism can co-exist and perhaps even be compatible.
Classical Marxism?
Have influenced revolutions across many nations across the world, the aim was not to create a bipolar world but instead make people realize the major economic inequalities and the suffering this causes which is in turn caused by capitalist imperialists.
For Marx capitalism had to be overthrown by revolution in order to enable a communist state.
They argued that capitalism promoted exploitation, alienation and oppression of one class over another and therefore, undermined fraternity, equality and solidarity.
Karl Marx
Marx and Engles produced three works together during their time in England these being, The Working Class 1845, Communist Manifesto 1848, Das Kapital 1867.
They were the first people to theorise that human beings were essentially social and economic creatures.
They were also the first to theorise on the centrality of social class in human existence.
They argued that society could only develop through class struggle and revolution.
Explain Historical Materialism?
Marx and Engels devised a concept in which each stage of history was defined by a clash of economic ideals. There are 10 stages to this.
1) Primitive societies with no economic organisation.
2) Slave based societies in which slaves are the main producers.
3) Feudalism.
4) Emergence of Capitalism.
5) Emergence of the proletariat and class consciousness.
6) Revolution and the destruction of capitalism.
7) Socialism (dictatorship of the proletariat).
8) Withering away of the socialist state.
9) Communism.
10) End of History.
Explain class conflict?
Marx argued that capitalism created two conflicting economic classes these being the bourgeoise who managed and controlled the economy and the proletariat that sold its labour.
They argued that this created extreme inequalities in wealth and persecution of one class over another. They also argued that the state would serve the interests of the class that controlled the economy.
Explain Marxist Leninism
The Utopian ideal of Marxism was to destroy liberal capitalist values through revolution to establish a stateless communist society based on common ownership.
Lenin established the first ever dictatorship of the proletariat in October 1917 after the October Revolution.
Lenin provided that revolution could occur in a pre industrial society which contrasted with Marx’s beliefs.
Rosa Luxemburg
She was a Polish Marxist and became a German citizen at the age of 28.
She was initially a member of the German Social Democrat Party and made a number of key contributions to Socialist theory.
Her book Reform or Revolution fundamentally different from the Marxist and Leninist version of Socialism.
Luxemburg admired Lenin’s impatience for socialism but worried that it would not work in an already industrialised Germany.
She also heavily opposed the dictatorship of the elite and Lenin’s implementation of one party rule which he called democratic centralism, instead argued for post revolutionary democracy underpinned by common ownership (Euro Communism).
Explain Democratic Socialism?
The Labour Party Clause IV inspired by the Fabian Society was the mechanism to put in place common ownership of the means of production.
However, instead of calling for revolution Webb’s argued in favour of the inevitability of gradualness.
Beatrice Webb?
She believed heavily in the idea of the inevitability of gradualness.
Her 1891 book Cooperative movement in Great Britain argued for Cooperative Federalism to assist poor consumers.
The 4 Key principles of Webb’s Socialism were,
1) Capitalism was the principle cause for crippling poverty.
2) Neither Paternalism or Philanthropy was a sustainable solution to poverty and inequality.
3) These 2 societal evils would be eradicated through state intervention and trade unionism.
4) Effective reform tends to be gradual rather than revolutionary.
Explain Later Democratic Socialism?
The Attlee government was the most socialist Government the UK has ever had, there were some minor successes in regards to wealth redistribution with the creation of the NHS and the Nationalisation of 20% of the economy.
However, there was little investment in such industries and very little was done to hand over power to trade unions.
Tony Benn was highly critical arguing that Labour lay the wedding of Socialism to Capitalism and compromised with capitalism’s contradictions.
Explain Euro-Communism and Neo-Marxism?
Euro Communists sought to distance themselves away from the Soviet brand of communism and instead implement socialism through democracy.
However, Neo-Marxists began to once again echo Marx’s call for revolution, Ralph Miliband argued that Social Democratic Government were often blown off course by capitalist influences.
Explain Revisionist Socialism?
The 2 underlying principles of revisionist Socialism are,
1) It revises Marx’s view that Socialism is incompatible with Capitalism.
2) It revises Marx’s view that Socialism can only be achieved through Revolution.
Bernstein argued that workers lives had improved under capitalism and that through enlargement of the voter franchise socialist governments would be more likely.
Socialism could co-exist with an economy based on private property.
Anthony Crossland
He wrote the book The Future of Socialism in 1956 which set out the template for the moderate left in Britain.
He was MP for Great Grimsby and served in the cabinet of the Wilson Governments.
He argued that Keynsian Capitalism had in fact guaranteed full employment and steady economic growth and therefore, capitalism could be relied upon to finance a richer, fairer and classless society.
He argued that European wide integration would only lead to austerity not full employment.
Explain the Third Way?
This emerged at the time when fundamental socialism was seen as defunct as the Soviet Union Collapsed.
People began to argue that Equality of opportunity could not be achieved through less wealth inequality but in fact more.
Peter Mandelson the Architect of New Labour stated that ‘we are intensely relaxed about people getting filthy stinking rich just as long as they pay their taxes.’
Critics argue that it represents little more paternalistic conservatism.
