SOCIALISM

Question 1

SOCIALISM STATE Agree

Answer 1

Agree - expansion of the state is needed.
Webb (SD) argued that an expanded state is critical for socialism and this should happen overtime.
Crosland (DS) has a similar idea in that a large state was needed to carry out state managed capitalism to get full employment and social benefits.
BOTH AGREE STATE SHOULD EXPAND IN SOME WAY TO MOVE TOWARD ACHIEVING THEIR GOALS.

Question 2

SOCIALISM STATE DISAGREE

Answer 2

Disagree - Giddens role of the state is to invest in infrastructure and education whereas Marx & Engels and Luxembourg would have the state abolished. M&E would create a new state. A dictatorship of the proletariat which is a giant socialist state. This massively differs to Giddens as he doesn’t strive for power over the state and society.
Disagree 2 - The key thinkers disagree in the way the state changes as Marx and Engels see the capitalist state as ‘withering away’ whilst modern thinkers use a capitalist state and constitutional reform to tailor it towards socialist issues

Question 3

SOCIALISM ECONOMY AGREE

Answer 3

Agree - Majority of socialists agree that capitalism is a bad economic system that leads to the exploitation of the proletariat. It also creates inequality between the bourgeoisie and proletariat. All argue that unrestricted capitalism is a flawed system that is inefficient.
M&E said flaws of capitalism would lead to its demise. Luxembourg agreed with the flaws but not the inevitable destruction and Webb agreed that it should be taken over by a socialist state based on common ownership. ALL WANT A CHANGE FROM CAPITALISM.

Question 4

SOCIALISM ECONOMY DISAGREE

Answer 4

Not ALL socialists believe that capitalism must be completely removed and replaced with public ownership as M&E and Luxemburg suggest.
Crosland argued that a mixed economy in which capitalism plays a role but is managed by Keynesian ideology. He believed this was the best way to finance public services such as education and achieve greater equality.
Giddens goes further than Crosland and embraces a fully individual capitalist economy and instead focuses on taxation to fund public services such as education and improve equality.

Question 5

SOCIALISM HUMAN NATURE AGREE

Answer 5

Human nature is ‘plastic’ and shaped by a person’s experience and the society they grew up in.
M&E talk about the positives of human nature (cooperation, altruism, fraternity) and that the oppressive nature of the bourgeoisie damages these positives of human nature.
Similarly, Giddens agrees and says human nature is shaped by socio-economic conditions and this alters their ability to cooperate and seek fairness.
THEREFORE SOCIALISTS AGREE THAT THE INHERENT POSITIVE IN HUMAN NATURE IS ALTERED BY SOCIETY. However, Marx and Giddens would disagree on what to do about this.

Question 6

SOCIALISM HUMAN NATURE DISAGREE

Answer 6

Socialists disagree on the extent of damage that capitalism has on human nature. Luxemburg did not believe that the damage was as bad as M&E had previously stated and that this was showcased by the fraternity and altruism that continued regardless of the capitalist society around them.
Webb also agrees that the capitalist society is not overly bad on the proletariat whilst they have the power to. Because of this, an attempt at revolution would end up having worse implications on human nature. Instead, gradual change is necessary.
Disagree 2- Marx belives that humans are susceptible to the economic system they are in and that capitalism gets the worst out of human nature and should be abolished due to this.
Modern thinkers such as Crosland and Giddens believe that humans can flourish under capitalism whilst still appreciating socialist values of cooperation and fraternity.