Socialism

Question 1

Social class

Answer 1

A group of people in society who have the same socio-economic status

Question 2

Collectivism

Answer 2

Prioritising a group over each individual in it

Of greater practical value to the economy and moral value to society

Question 3

Socialist view of human nature

Answer 3

Positive
Naturally cooperative, generous and unselfish, and thus seek solidarity and fraternity
Malleable, shaped by events and experiences

Question 4

Socialist view of the state

Answer 4

Want a strong state in the short term, which is needed to bring about a fairer and more equal society
Advocate a state where political and economic power has been redistributed, and where decision-making reflects the principle of equality

Question 5

Socialist view of society

Answer 5

Individuals are the product of the society into which they were born
Improvement in society = improvement in individuals
An individual’s future is shaped by the social class they are born into
Equality of opportunity results from equality of outcome
Seek a narrowing of the gap between social classes, not just an improvement of the condition of the poor
Equality of outcome needed to realise the objectives of liberalism / Enlightenment, such as self-determination and foundational equality
Social interaction is essential to the human condition, thus address the needs of the group before the individual

Question 6

Socialist view of the economy

Answer 6

Determines social class, underpinning inequality in society
An economy based on private property and capitalism, which encourage egotism and self-interest, threatens the cooperative nature of humans
Promote an economy that provides for greater workers’ control in employment and a redistribution of wealth and resources
Low taxation and and minimal state interference in the economy exacerbates unfairness and social injustice
Demand greater collectivism (focus on the needs of society as a whole)

Question 7

Forms of economic collectivism

Answer 7

Progressive taxation
Progressive public spending
Extensive public services
Extensive state regulation of capitalism
Common ownership
Expressions of a more fraternal and cooperative society with greater social justice
Make the economy more efficient - more stable and manageable

Question 8

Fundamentalist socialism

Answer 8

Holds that socialist values are fundamentally incompatible with capitalism

Question 9

Dialectic

Answer 9

The clash of ideas and perceptions that will inevitably take place within each stage of history, leading to the disappearance of existing society

Question 10

Historical materialism

Answer 10

The view that each stage of history was defined by a clash of economic ideas, relating to how society’s resources should be produced and distributed

Question 11

Class consciousness

Answer 11

Would eventually be the engine of revolution and capitalism’s destruction

Question 12

Democratic centralism

Answer 12

One party making decisions on behalf of the people

Question 13

Evolutionary socialism

Answer 13

A rejection of revolutionary politics, instead believing that socialism can be achieved gradually through the existing system

Question 14

Revisionist socialism

Answer 14

The belief that socialism can be achieved without the destruction of capitalism

Question 15

Keynesian economics

Answer 15

Involves the state managing market forces so as to ensure steady growth and full employment

Question 16

Types of socialism

Answer 16

Fundamentalist socialism (believe that capitalism must be abolished)
Revisionist socialism (socialism can be achieved without the abolishment of capitalism)

Question 17

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

Answer 17

Human nature - Has been contaminated by capitalism
The state - Existing liberal-bourgeois state is a tool of the dominant capitalist class, and it must be destroyed through revolution and replaced by a new socialist state - the dictatorship of the proletariat
Would always serve the interests of whichever class controlled the economy
Society - Class interests and conflict define capitalist society
The economy - Capitalism is corrupt, inefficient and self-destructive, and will be replaced by an economy based on collective ownership
‘The Communist Manifesto’ (1848) and ‘Das Kapital’ (1867)
Revolution not just inevitable, but essential

Question 18

Anthony Giddens

Answer 18

Human nature - Fairness instinct competes with sense of individual aspiration
The state - Can be improved by redistributing and decentralising political power, and encouraging greater political participation
Society - Has undergone embourgeoisement, which must be harnessed and not denied
The economy - A neo-liberal economy, propelled by privatisation and deregulation, will provide huge tax yields, increasing public spending, which will secure greater equality of opportunity
The Third Way

Question 19

Tensions within socialism over the state

Answer 19

Universal - Vital to the promotion of core socialist values
Fundamentalist - Existing capitalist state must be destroyed by revolution and replaced by a dictatorship of the proletariat, which in turn would wither away to produce stateless communism
Revisionist - The existing state can be used to steer society towards socialist values, requiring constitutional reform rather than abolition

Question 20

Tensions within socialism over the economy

Answer 20

Fundamentalist - Socialism is incompatible with a capitalist economy based on private property, with a new, non-capitalist economy needing to be created quickly via revolution
Revisionist - Socialism is possible with a capitalist economy (Social democrats want a mixed market economy, Third Way revisionists want a fully privatised economy)

Question 21

Tensions within socialism over human nature

Answer 21

Universal - Malleable
Fundamentalist - Susceptible to whichever economic system it lives under, creating a false consciousness that can only be cured by revolution and an authoritarian rule
Revisionist - Human nature able to prosper under capitalism, but still appreciate the importance of core socialist beliefs, such as collectivism and fraternity

Question 22

Tensions within socialism over society

Answer 22

Universal - See society as the crucial determinant of our personalities. Thus, any improvement in society will result in improvements in individuals
Fundamentalist - Socialism is incompatible with capitalism, thus all traces of capitalism must be removed from society
Revisionist - Society can be gradually improved alongside private property and capitalism

Question 23

Common features between socialism and liberalsim

Answer 23

Grew out of the Enlightenment
Take an optimistic view of human nature
Exalt reason and logic over faith and superstition
Progressive
Believe in 'foundational' equality

Question 24

Types of fundamentalist socialism

Answer 24

Classical Marxism
Orthodox communism 
Democratic socialism
Euro communism
Neo-Marxism

Question 25

Types of revisionist socialism

Answer 25

Classical revisionism
Social democracy
The Third Way

Question 26

Classical Marxism

Answer 26

Marx and Engels
First form of socialism to set out its analysis in detail
Historical materialism - history was a series of economic stages, moving towards and inevitable final stage
Within each stage was clash of economic interests (dialectic), which occurred when the narrative about a society’s aims and character no longer corresponded to the perceptions of the majority (class consciousness)
Shaped by a belief in revolution, which would be necessary following the final dialectic
Dictatorship of the proletariat - New state would obliterate all traces of liberal-capitalism values and pave the way for a stateless communist society based on common ownership

Question 27

Orthodox communism

Answer 27

Lenin
Disagreed with Classical Marxism’s belief that revolution could only occur in societies where capitalism was well developed - wanted socialism to pre-empt the full development of capitalism
Revolution would be organised by a revolutionary vanguard

Question 28

Democratic socialism / Euro communism

Answer 28

Old Labour
Most influential form of fundamentalist socialism in western societies
Rejected the need for a revolution, believing it to be volatile and uncertain, features associated with capitalism
Advocated the extension of the franchise, which would facilitate democratically elected socialist governments to gradually transform society into a socialist one

Question 29

Neo-Marxism

Answer 29

Frankfurt School
Advocated for a revolution, but not optimistic one would occur
Rejected belief that capitalism could be gradually reformed out of society, with socialist governments being forced to dilute their socialist agendas
Ralph Miliband

Question 30

Classical revisionism

Answer 30

Eduard Bernstein
Capitalist economies could provide even greater improvement to workers’ conditions if overseen by socialist governments, which would contain capitalism’s worst features
Widening of the franchise would create a working-class majority among voters, increasing likelihood of socialist governments
Socialist governments could implement socialist policies, such as improving working conditions, curbing the inequalities of a capitalist society and eliminating the need for revolution

Question 31

Social democracy

Answer 31

SPD (West Germany)
Anthony Crosland
Reformed capitalism, where the state actively sought to manage market forces, had guaranteed full employment and steady economic growth, thanks to Keynesian economics, and was no longer vulnerable to heightening inequality

Question 32

The Third Way

Answer 32

New Labour
Anthony Giddens
Encouraged further privatisation and deregulation, in oder to boost economic growth and tax revenues, in turn increasing government spending in the name of greater equality
Greater equality of opportunity required less equality of outcome - unequal outcomes meant increasing economic growth, meaning more money to help society’s poorest
Emphasised cultural and political equality, reflecting increased diversity, and decreasing government influence in the economic sphere due to globalisation

Question 33

Pro Marxism redundant

Answer 33

Collapse of USSR signalled the failure of an attempt to bring Marxist principles to effective fruition
Attempts at implementing Marxist principles were catastrophic - genocide / repression / torture
Capitalism has not imploded, as Marx forecast, with its reach becoming even wider (eg. penetrating former socialist states)
In advanced capitalist states, the working class have not risen to revolution, but have taken on the characteristics of the bourgeoise, such as acquiring private property

Question 34

Anti Marxism redundant

Answer 34

Capitalism remains unstable and volatile
Capitalism continues to leave a legacy of poverty an inequality
Disappointing record of socialist governments in capitalist states vindicate Marx’s argument that radical change is impossible without revolution
Regimes such as the USSR and China distorted Marx’s principles - misapplication of principles not not make his theories invalid

Question 35

Pro socialism must involve the abolition of capitalism

Answer 35

Capitalism creates inequality, exploiting and oppressing the working class (vs equality)
Private property promotes individualism and competition (vs fraternity and cooperation)

Question 36

Anti socialism must involve the abolition of capitalism

Answer 36

Democratically elected socialist governments could improve working class conditions through capitalist      economies (Bernstein)
Increased public spending, leading to more socialism, could result from growth in capitalist economies, which would occur if Keynesian economic policies were properly applied (Crosland)
Capitalist economy could make everyone in society wealthier, providing the state with a growing tax yield to finance the extra public spending that socialism required (Giddens)

Question 37

Pro socialism can be reconciled with liberalism

Answer 37

Both products of the Enlightenment
Both have a positive view of human nature, believing in the possibility of progress
Both stress liberty and equality
Both reject hereditary political power and paternalism
Socialism and modern liberalism endorse positive liberty and further state intervention

Question 38

Anti socialism can be reconciled with liberalism

Answer 38

Liberals prioritise individual liberty, whereas socialists prioritise a fairer society
Liberals think individuals shape society, whereas socialists think society shapes individuals
Liberals see inequality of outcome as a sign of freedom, whereas socialists think it prevents equality of opportunity
Liberals see capitalism as a condition of freedom, whereas fundamentalist socialists see it as a threat to freedom
Classical and neo-liberals wish to reduce the role of the state, whereas socialists wish to extend state intervention

Question 39

Pro socialism can be reconciled with conservatism

Answer 39

Traditional conservatives and socialists play down the importance of individualism
Traditional conservatives and socialists stress the importance of communities and the importance of unity within them
Traditional conservatives and socialists see capitalism as potentially problematic

Question 40

Anti socialism can be reconciled with conservatism

Answer 40

Conservatives see inequality as natural, whereas socialists see it as unacceptable
Conservatives are sceptical of progress, whereas socialists see it as essential
Conservatives defend private property, whereas fundamentalist socialists favour common ownership
Conservatives reject revolution, whereas some fundamentalist socialists see it as desirable and inevitable
Traditional conservatives advocate noblesse oblige / paternalism, whereas socialists think paternalism is patronising