Socialism Flashcards
Key values and principles
Equality, welfare and common ownership
Maintains humans can achieve political, social and economic objectives more efficiently through collective action.
Built on an organic society, rejects atomism
Implicit rejection of capitalism, divides us, parts in competitions
Two fundamental reasons to endorse:
1) Moral interests of the group (society, community) should take priority over individual self-interest. Encourages social unity and responsibility
2) In practical economic terms, collectivism utilises the capabilities of a whole society efficiently, avoiding the wastefulness and limited impact of competitive individual effort
-Achieve more as a group than individually (collectivism)
Human nature
Humans are social animals (preferring groups to being alone)
Humans have capacity for collective action and can necessarily work together to achieve goals
Tied together by bonds of fraternity
—> Bonded by common humanity
Human nature is moulded by social conditions- experiences and circumstances
People can only be defined, understood in terms of social groups they belong to
Community and society offers humans the freedom and fulfilment
Fraternity
“Brotherhood”- humans are bound by comradeship and a common outlook, share the same basic nature and interests
Differences are far less significant
Most strongly supported by revolutionary socialists
Marx’s teaching on alienation and exploitation
Alienation occurs when humans are dehumanised and unable to have fulfilling lives
Exploitation occurs when humans are treated as objects and used a means to an end
Under capitalism, we are used as a way to achieve profit
Capitalism does this
Common humanity
Socialists see humans as social creatures with a tendency to co-operation, sociability and rationality
Humans prefer to co-operate with each other rather than compete against
Individual cannot be understood without reference to society because humans nature is socially determined
Argue that human are naturally inclined to work together for the common good and that co-operative effort produces the best results for society
Socialist view competition is wasteful promotes social division and generates conflict, hostility and resentment
Emphasis on a common humanity has led to socialists o conclude that human motivation can be driven by moral as well as material consideration
Marx and alienation
Disorientating sense of exclusion and separation
Alienated workers from the product of their labour
Social institutions often appear to develop naturally, but they are shaped by human action
Capitalism is not inevitable, or the last stage of human “development”
They are shaped by the appropriation of the means of production by the powerful
—> Current situation
Means of production
Producing life’s necessities
Labour
Raw materials
Producing time
Humans do not have a fixed nature, but they do have to work together survive and are conscious of their work and can develop new ways of thinking
Marx on social division
Social division is whereby the worker “is depressed”
Wage labour replaced other forms of labour; labour could be brought and sold for money
This resulted in social division, with the wealthy owning the means of production divided from the workers
Marx predicted a class struggle between different groups in society. In order to create a fairer society, the oppressed would begin to violently resist structures that alienated them
I guess this is the state
Most socialists call for some form of state intervention or state planning to promote collectivist goals and ensure distribution of goods/ services is not left to free-market forces
Pursuit of collectivism is seen as involving the growth of the state, expansion of state services, responsibilities and an increase in state spending eg building houses (labour gov)
Key features of the third way:
Primacy of the market over the state
-Rejects revolutionary completely
-Social democracy somewhat
-Rejects top down state intervention
Both social democrat and third way agree in a role of the state in the market economy but in different ways
-By endorsing the dynamic market economy and on enterprise culture to maximise wealth creation. There are ideological links between the third way and neoliberalism which it then taxes and invests in welfare
-Eg new labour the private sector become involved in the provision of public services through Private Finance Initiatives and Public Private Partnerships (PPP)
-Eg Thames crossing, NHS contracts
Third way on equality
Value of community and moral responsibility/Equality:
-New Labour attempted to resolve this tension in the late 1990s/early 2000s by linking communitarian and liberal ideas
-Communitarian liberalism emphasises personal autonomy operates within a communal context- based on mutual dependence, balancing rights with responsibilities
-TW sees no contradiction in endorsing what might be seen as opposing values or concepts such as self-reliance and mutual dependence because it reduces inequality, but doesn’t eradicate it.
-TW supporters shifted away from socialist commitment to equality to endorse social inclusion- individuals can only participate fully in society by acquiring the appropriate skills, rights and opportunities
-Believe in equality of opportunity, similar to social democrat
Third way on welfare
-TW does not opposed great individual wealth providing it helps to improve the overall prosperity of society —> taxes, job creation, motivator
- “Intensely relaxed about people getting filthy rich”
-Welfare should target socially marginalised with assistance to enable them to improve their situation
-Tony Blair “hand up, not a handout” Welfare support should target those seeking employment and want to be self-sufficient
Third way- Competition (or market) state!
-It focuses on social investment, emphasising the importance of education for improving job prospects and boosting economic growth
- “Education, education, education”
TW Legacy-
-Despite NL electoral success (1997, 2001, 2005) many socialists criticise TW for lack of real socialist content for example, watered down commitments to equality and redistribution of wealth
-Growing disillusion helps explain the success of left-wing Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn
-However, Corbyn was unsuccessful in general elections
Differing views and tensions within Socialism- Social Democracy
Beatrice Webb + Anthony Crossland
Freedom- State doesn’t intervene arbitrarily but has responsibility to support citizens —> Key difference to revolutionary
Human nature, accepting balance of individual and collective
Justice- Equality in the eyes of the law.
Solidarity- recognises organic society and duty to help one another
Edward Bernstein- Evolutionary socialism, arguing capitalism wasn’t developing as Marx predicted —> resilient and adaptable
He advocated state ownership of key industries and legal safeguards and welfare measures to protect workers eg. Unions and no child labour
20th century western socialist parties recognised the dynamism and productivity of the market economy, abandoning commitment to economic planning eg Swedish Social Democratic party
SDs supported a more limited programme compared to revolutionary
1) Support for a mixed economy- with only key strategic industries nationalised under Attlee Labour government of 1945-51(electricity, railways)
2) Keynesianism- regulating the capitalist economy, maintaining full employment
3) Reform through the welfare state and redistribution of wealth to tackle social equality
Anthony Crossland- the future of socialism
Argued a new skilled governing class of salaried managers, technocrats and officials, had taken control of industry from old capitalist class
Wider concerns such as maintenance of good employer- worker relations and protection of business reputation
Crossland emphasised need for social justice over common ownership
Economic growth would sustain social democracy
Continued to be model of Scandinavian countries
Anthony Giddens- English sociologist and Third Way thinker
-Idealogical thinker for New labour in Britain
-Third Way thought to reconcile right-wing economic policies with right wing social policies. Emerged as a response to perceived failures of traditional socialism and neo-liberalism
-Capitalism + Socialism= Third Way
Giddens believed that the survival of social democracy depended upon socialists understanding the ability of free-market capitalism to ascend individuals economically
Accept capitalist strength of freedom and individual liberty
Economic efficiency and social justice: driven economy and the need for social justice. Supports policies that promote economic growth, ensuring benefits are widely shared.
Anthony Giddens
Modernised welfare state: third way emphasises “workforce”. Includes: job training and education to help individuals become self-sufficient —> combining with liberalism
Anthony Giddens
Public private partnerships: Encourages collaboration between public and private sectors
Globalisation: acknowledges the realities of globalisation and seeks the to harness its benefits while mitigating positive profits
Anthony Gidden’s influence on New Labour’s Policies:
Economic policy: market- friendly policies, such as deregulation and privatisation while also investing in public services like health and education
Welfare reform: encourage employment such as ‘New Deal program’ which provided job training and support for the unemployed
Social inclusion: focused on reducing social exclusion through policies aimed at improving education, healthcare and housing
Public sector reform: promoted efficiency and accountability in the public sector, through initiatives like performance targets and public-private partnerships
Worker’s control
Refers to the complete or partial ownership of an enterprise
Influential in Marxism or syndicalism
Places of employment seek to establish real decision making powers for workers
Moral justification- workers are key factors in production so should have right to control the means of production
Utility justification- encourages employees to be more engaged with work
Philosophically- it combats alienation and the capitalist view of labour as commodity. Workers are on end, not a means to an end
