Socialism Flashcards
When did socialism become a popular phrase?
1840s
Example of early socialists
Charles Fourier and Robert Owen
Under which idea was the overthrowing of capitalism inevitable
Laws of history (Marx)
Example of anti-colonial socialist party
Indian Congress Party
First democratically elected Marxist
Salvador Allende of Chile
2 tenets of socialism as an economic model
Collectivisation and planned economy, for some using socialism as a means of harnessing capitalism for all
Ideas of socialism as a force on labour
Labourism as a policy is supported where desires of organized labour more important than actual ideology
John Donne (1571-1631) on human nature
‘No man is an Island entire of itself’ and idea of one of mankind dies, so does it pain him as we are all linked
Overall socialists on human nature
Affected by nurture not nature as society shapes individuals ie language, and that individuals and society are inseparable as individuals can be only understood through knowledge of society, and you can learn about society through the individual
Radical socialist view of human nature
Individuals should be seen in terms of what they can become, a fulfilled state akin to the utopian beliefs of such radicals
Example of socialism being part of human nature due to nurture
Julius Nyerere, President of Tanzania 1964-85 saying ‘We, in Africa, have no more real need to be ‘converted’ to socialism, than we have of being ‘taught’ democracy’ and ‘tribal socialism’
What is collectivism?
The idea that we benefit most from the collective work of many as this is most useful, practical and moral, so support for social groups such as class is seen
Divide over collectivism by some socialists
Anarchists like Bakunin see this as self-governing associations of free people, while others see it as placing the interest of the group above the individual
Victorian examples of collectivism
Fourier with phalansteries of 1800 people and Owen with communities like New Harmony in Indiana (1820s)
Modern example of collectivism
Kibbutz system in Israel, though practices of collective childrearing have been diluted since the 60s
Why is cooperation supported?
Humans are social beings so proffer more in a system where caring for others is placed above competition and selfishness
Peter Kropotkin (Russian anarchist) on cooperation
‘Mutual aid’ is the principal method through which humans have proffered
What do socialists see as important in the desire for rewards of humans?
They be not merely materialistic, but for a moral purpose as well, therefore one does not work hard just for themselves but for the welfare of all such as with the benefits of a strong economy going to the poor
Examples of cooperation
Rochdale Pioneers of 1840s which bought in bulk to spread cheaply among workers, similar to producer cooperatives where workers self-manage in northern Republican Spain
3 reasons to support egalitarianism
Upholder of justice, community and need satisfaction
Why is equality fair?
Unequal abilities are exacerbated in a capitalism model where the skills are differentiated more due to society rather than nature, and therefore all individuals are deserving of rewards
Why is equality good for community?
In such a society individuals identify with others more and therefore are sympathetic to their needs, inequality leads to conflict
RH Tawney on equality of opportunity
Tadpole philosophy
Marx on equality of needs
From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs
Divide over reaching equality
Marxists for collectivisation while others for progressive taxation
Divide over class politics
Marxists seeing bourgeoisie and proletariat while social democrats supporting narrowing white-collar and blue-collar divide
How has class politics changed in recent years?
De-industrialization has led to less class fraternity and so socialist appeal less to class and more to gender divides or peace
3 reasons to support common ownership
Unjust as wealth is made by all, morally corrupting as encourages materialism and divisive as fosters conflict between owners and workers
What did Stalin do with common ownership?
Second Revolution of 1930s where nationalism and state socialism came into being
What did Attlee do with common ownership?
Nationalisation of the ‘commanding heights’ such as major industries
Early socialist revolutionary
Auguste Blanqui (1805-81)
Why was revolution supported by Victorian Marxists?
Capitalism of this time shows naked oppression with grinding poverty, as well as bourgeoisie state not offering other alternatives like voting apart from as an oppressor (unlike liberals who see neutral state)
3 examples of different revolutions in different places
1949 China with Mao Zedong, Che Guevara up to 1967 including 1959 in Cuba, and 1962 in Algeria
Example of fundamentalism of socialist revolutionaries
Pol Pot Year Zero
3 reasons why socialist states end up as dictatorships
Violence is normalized, parties have discipline and military structures, and all opposition is removed in revolution
Mao Zedong on revolution and dictatorships
Power resides in the barrel of a gun
History of Fabians
Beatrice and Sidney Webb create Fabians in 1884 to support natural revolution through liberal capitalism where elite classes begin to support socialism through education and permeate ideas as a result
What did the Fabians influence during it’s time?
Labour Party (1918 Constitution) with state less oppressive as under Marxism, as well as SDP
History of SDP
Created in 1975, majority in 1912, supportive of Marxism but also reformist Ferdinand Lassalle who supported extending the franchise to end with socialism
Eduard Bernstein book
Evolutionary Socialism (1898)
What was the new socialism of the 70s called?
Eurocommunism, mixing communism with liberal ideas within democracy
Fabian opinion on their overall stance
The inevitability of gradualism
Why has a democratic socialist revolution not occurred?
Power has never been guaranteed and often mandates not overwhelming as expected from working class (such as SDP 1972 46% of vote all time high) so reforming occurred more than revolution
JK Galbraith (1992) on classless society
The Culture of Contentment showed how ‘contented majority’ were of economic affluence and wanted security so socialists had to stand in coalition or reform to New Left to succeed
Division over why socialism does not win elections
Either acceptance of capitalist success of 50s and 80s or Lenin’s opinion that workers limited to ‘trade union consciousness’ not ‘class consciousness’ without revolution due to bourgeoisie ideology
Gramsci on failures of social democrats
Cannot break ‘ideological hegemony’
Why do socialist parties still fail when in power?
Entrenched interest groups such as wealth and civil service work against them
Who created dialectical materialism and what is it?
Plekhanov, version of determinist Marxism supported by Soviet communists in terms of economy
3 forms of Marxism
Classical, orthodox communism and neo-Marxism
Why did Marx disagree with early socialists?
Fourier and Owen only cared for a societal transformation, not one forced by class struggle
How does Marx work to find his historic materialism?
Empirical evidence of past history and current from which he created laws of history
What is, as Engels would say, the ‘materialist conception of history’?
Economic base (whatever system used such as feudalism or socialism) from which the Legal and Political superstructure grows (politics, culture and arts) so that from the primer the latter can be explained
What is dialecticism?
Idea of Hegel and Marx that two opposing forces drives history to a higher state
Why is Hegel and Marx a different breed of dialectical thought?
While Hegel says this drives people to a higher state through a synthesis of ideas, Marx takes this to ‘world spirit’ of class conflict where the higher state is communism, which is a result of the proletariat and bourgeoisie
Marx on proletariat
Grave digger of capitalism
How is Marxism teleological?
It gives history a purpose or meaning with that being the end of such antagonism of dialecticism and the creation of communism, the ‘pre-history of mankind’
Which book of Marx looks at history as the oppressor and the oppressed?
The German Ideology (1846)
How did Marx’s writings on the worker change through age?
Originally merely criticising the alienation of the worker under capitalism, his work became more about class conflict later
How do economic crises show the issues of capitalism?
Overproduction embodies the evils of surplus value where workers are paid less than what their labour generates, and through these increasingly bad crises revolution will occur
What is the role of the dictatorship of the proletariat?
Safeguard against counter-revolution and then wither away when antagonisms of system end leading to stateless and classless society
When was the Comintern created?
1919
Why did the location of revolutions change Marxism to orthodox communism?
Unlike the expected developed state to revolt, undeveloped ones with a small urban elite took power so a class revolution was not possible
What are the key tenets of Leninism?
‘Vanguard of the proletariat’ to work, and democratic centralism of freedom of discussion alongside strict unity of action
What are the key tenets of Stalinism?
‘Socialism in One Country’ with Five Year Plans of industrialisation and collectivisation, with State Planning Committee controlling production and NKVD police force taking dictatorial rule
How was the membership of the Communist Party changed in the 30s?
It has almost halved by the Stalinist purges
What are the key tenets of neo-Marxism?
Rejection of determinism in economics and privileged status of proletariat
Why were neo-Marxists separate from others?
No revolution so base/superstructure idea changed to ‘Man the creator’ with less importance on class struggle, alongside hatred of orthodox communism
Georg Lukács on Marx
More emphasis on ‘reification’ where dehumanising aspect of capitalism is focussed upon, key new aspect of neo-Marxism
What was the Frankfurt School of neo-Marxism?
Creator of critical theory, ideas of Hegel, Marx and Freud to support need for decentralisation, participation and personal liberation
Laclau and Mouffe on post-Marxism
Idea that ‘moments’ of Marx-like struggle will occur, such as women’s movement and gay rights movement, in a postmodern world without class politics
Robert Owen on overall critical replacement of capitalism
Rational system of society
Bernstein on class politics
Steady advance of the working class
What is Trotskyism?
Opposition to Stalinism, international revolution skipping the bourgeois stage of history and avoiding bureaucratization
What did Tawney support?
A ‘moral ideal’ with humanist and ethical socialism more important than Marx class struggle, desire for equality under Christian values
What were the ideas of Gramsci?
Proletariat hegemony must challenge a capitalist one instead of any scientific determinism
What were the ideas of Marcuse?
Idea of society as absorber of debate leading to repression, therefore repressed like females and gays must force a more developed world under Marxist revolution idea, Eros and Civilisation (1958)
What are the supporting ideas of ethical socialism?
Humans are more ethical and caring for one another than the materialistic and class hatred nature of Marx, based on Christianity
Tawney in The Acquisitive Society (1921) on ethics
‘Sin of avarice’ to be replaced with ‘common humanity’
Example of religious ethical socialism
Roman Catholic bishops meeting in Colombia in 1968 to call for a ‘preferential option for the poor’
2 sides of social justice
Equality and collective ownership of wealth against the rights support of market efficiency and self-reliance
How did Bernstein come to reject Marx?
Historical materialism had proved to be wrong as society had become more complex with middle class between the ‘two great classes’, joint stock companies sharing means of production around and democracy leading to some worker protections
Key wording of Clause IV
The common ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange
Examples of failures of planning
Swedish Social Democratic Labour Party formally abandoning planning in 30s, as did SDP in West Germany in 1959 with ‘competition when possibly; planning when necessary’
3 tenets of social democracy
Mixed economy, economic management of Keynes and welfare state (humanist)
Ideas of Crosland in The Future of Socialism (1956)
Managerialism with divide between worker and owner in terms of a manager who seeks to mediate tensions and advertise the company as peaceful, leading to need for more emphasis on social justice than conflict
Why did social democracy fail in the 70s and 80s?
Mix of higher want for welfare and less tax revenues, both due to unemployment and weak economies
Anthony Giddens on the state
Cybernetic model where the state is the brain and principal agent of change, decreased with New Left in potency
Terms for Third Way
Radical center, active center and Neue Mitte
What is the top-down approach of old socialism replaced with in the Third Way?
Belief in ‘a dynamic market economy’ (Clause IV) and support of knowledge economy where knowledge is the source of productivity
How does the Third Way tackle fraternity?
Support of communitarian liberalism such as Blair Project, similar to modern liberals with balance of rights and responsibilities, where inter-dependence is supported alongside individualism to avoid immorality of free market
How does the Third Way tackle class conflict?
It sees the system as more one of harmony, more non-dualistic where both sides of the coin are supported, such as enterprise and fairness, often seen as one class system than two
How does the Third Way tackle welfare?
Support for social inclusion, where aid is given most to those at the bottom who need it as well as those who are willing to work (workfare) with importance of self-reliance
How does the Third Way tackle the role overall of the state?
Competition state, where state attempts to aid society through making it more productivity and better within markets, based on ideas of knowledge economy, so education is placed above welfare
Why are international companies worrying and not so for socialists?
They lead to inability of national Keynesianism (with pressures put on governments to drop taxes) but Marx pointed capitalism out as an international evil which would lead it to ‘conquer the whole Earth for its market’
Immanuel Wallerstein (70s) on capitalism
Core nations of developed North exploit those in periphery South with them having same issues as proletariat, so anti-capitalism may be new-born socialism
Rousseau on human nature
‘Nobility’ idea is based upon the previous nature of man hundreds of years ago, a brand of utopian socialism
Proudhon on common ownership
As an early utopian he saw ‘all property is theft’ and that property is no natural right as it is a ‘creation of something out of nothing’ - human industry is more important
Rousseau on mankind and equality
‘Man is born free and everywhere is in chains’ taken as man has great potential but the vices of inequality and background hold them back
3 tenets of Marx
German idealism (derived Hegel), French socialism (utopian Rousseau ideals on property but scientific methods taken instead of altruism of humankind) and English political economy (Smith’s competitive exchange to labour value)
What did Marx say the proletariat would be able to overcome?
False consciousness, or the idea of supporting capitalism
Nicolas Poulantaz (1936-79) on state
State takes semi-autonomous role where it attempts to reproduce capitalist system, similar to late Marx works
Lenin on capitalism in communism
Best parts shall be taken so that structure of revolutionary order can be stable, rejected harshly by anarchists
Stalin on bureaucratic methods
‘Administrators of historical necessity’ to take control with ‘production for the sake of the plan’
2 wings of Labour postwar
Bevanites and Gaiskellite
Sympathetic critics of Third Way
Seen as more ethical socialism of past or perhaps managerial consensus style politics
Philosophers of Third Way communitarianism
Etzioni and Selznick and Hutton (stakeholder society with mutuality of rights)
Example of New Labour redistribution and social justice
Means-testing of welfare in order to give to the poorest and minimum wage in 1998
Marx on history overall
The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggle
Example of unorthodox socialists and their views
Daniel Ricardo - idea of class struggle as a fight over limited resources such as land (pre-industrial)
Term for collectivism with government rule
Bureaucratic socialism
Ethical socialists on social justice
Seen immoral to not offer services just due to poverty ie healthcare
Conservative criticism of social justice
Seen as a metaphysical or abstract concept that cannot be reached
How did Bernstein see democratic socialism as working in practice?
Socialists winning on the coat-tails of liberals before taking over
How is the state seen in social democracy?
A powerful tool for good, regulator of economic and social matters inside of borders
What is the Third Way overall?
A plan for more popular policies in order for electability
Welfare criticism of Third Way
Responsibility deficit
Example of community UK
4,000 homes for rough sleepers put forward in 2017 Labour Manifesto - for all
Example of cooperation UK
2017 Labour Manifesto ‘double co-operative sector’ and new National Investment Bank to facilitate such enterprises
Example of political equality UK
2017 Labour Manifesto plan to further 2010 Equality Act for those with disabilities
Example of class politics UK
2017 Labour Manifesto pledge to repeal Trade Union Act and begin sectorial collective bargaining
Example of equality of opportunity UK
2017 Labour Manifesto plan to introduce new school funding formula to redress issue of underfunding in certain areas
Example of common ownership UK
Labour 2017 Manifesto nationalization of rail services and water companies
Example of ethical socialism UK
Importance of social justice in ethical socialism paralleled by calls in Manifesto 2017 of Labour for building ‘human rights and social justice into trade policy’ with Brexit
Example of mixed economy UK (SD)
2017 Labour Manifesto continuation of £200bn spending on private sector procurement
Example of economic management UK (SD)
2017 Labour Manifesto £250bn invested by new National Transformation Fund
Example of welfare state UK (SD)
2017 Labour Manifesto call for ‘dignity for those who cannot work’ with Housing Benefit brought back for under-21s
Example of knowledge economy UK
Blair March 2000 speech about knowledge economy with announcement of 1000 IT learning centres opening in 2001 - preparing country for future tech
Example of competition state UK
Labour 1997 Manifesto ‘education will be our number one priority’
