Socialism and Communism Flashcards
‘Socialism has had a large impact on Welsh politics’. Discuss
YES:
✓ Policy
✓ Electoral success
✓ Governance
NO:
☓ Conservatism
☓ Liberalism
☓ Nationalism
Policy
– Attlee - nationalisation
- NHS Act (1946)
- Nationalisation under Attlee = Coal Industry Nationalisation Act (1946), Transport Act (1947), Electricity Act (1947) + Gas Act (1948), nationalised 1/5 of economy - unemployment reduced to 2.5%
– Under Carwyn Jones (2009) - drift to right - implemented Tory austerity policies - increased privatisation - Arriva trains
– Mark Drakeford = Transport for Wales Act (1921) (nationalised trains)
– Welsh Labour setting the maximum level of council tax premiums on second homes at 300% from April 2023
Electoral success
- Nationalisation of coal mining was supported
– Support reached peak - GE of 1966 = 61% vote
– Labour led Welsh Assembly for all 5 terms
– 2019 = 22/40 seats
– 2021 = 30/60 with 38% (up from 33.1% in 2016)
– Arguably success less so - forced into coalitions (less than 30)- Labour-Plaid ‘agreement’ despite majority in 2021
Governance
1922 = Labour - unbroken dominance in Welsh politics
– 2003 = Rhodri Morgan (First Minister) = government was creating “clear red water” between it and Blair’s New Labour
–> Proponents of Clear Red Water doctrine desired abandonment of privatisation
–> Welsh Labour should promote partnership between government, employers + unions
Conservatism
– Tory Welsh secretary - Nicholas Edwards - wanted to introduce Welsh language channel S4C. Division - pro-Welsh Conservatives & English-centric colleagues didn’t support
- Made Torys realise importance of supporting Welsh language - poured millions into supporting Welsh language
- 2000s = Cons policy differs from Welsh govt policy
– England - grammar school reintroduction
– Different tuition fees (£9,250 (w) v £9,000 (e))
– Prescription charges in England, Wales it’s free
=
- Devolution has seen Cons perform better
– 2011 = 14 seats
– 2016 = 11 seats
– 2021 = 16 seats
– 1918-2019 = 29 elections in UK –> 13 Cons, 11 Labour, 4 national/coalition
– 2019 = best result since 1983 = 14 seats (6 seats from Labour & only Lib Dem seat)
– 2021 = 25.6% vote
=
– Policies of Westminster in 1980s led to calls for devolution
– The powers of the Welsh Office (1964) = showed it just executed English law (Thatcher)
– May = Wales Act (2017) = reserved powers –> conferred powers (greater control = tourism, transport, culture)
Liberalism
– DLG = Liberal Reforms = National Insurance Act (1911), Pensions Act (1908)
– Education Secretary - Kirsty Williams - plan to raise standards + reduce attainment gap - 2022 curriculum. 200+ schools involved in developing 6 different curriculum areas
=
– 1945-1980
– 1945 - Clement Davies - party survived Tory-Labour post-WW2 dominance
– 1945 = Liberals 7 MPs
– 1966 = 1 MP
– Devolution in 1999 didn’t increase popularity of Liberals, but dominance of Labour
– 1999 = 6 Welsh Assembly seats
– 2000 = formed coalition govt with Labour
– 2017 = 1 seat in Senedd
– 2021 = 4.6% (2016 = 7.1% vote)
=
– Cons-Lib coalition 2010 –> Welsh Lib Dems influential in implementing Silk Commission (further devolution - e.g. tax varying powers, legislation for borrowing)
– Blair’s New Labour - deliver 1997 devolution referendum
– Reduction to 1 AM in 2016 reveals extent of control of governance
Nationalism
– Welsh Language Act (1993) = Welsh + English should be treated equally
– Calls to have this integrated in Equality Act (2010)
- Future policy:
– Full electrification of rail system by 2030
– Expand seats in Senedd to 96
– 1m Welsh speakers by 2050
=
– 1966 = Plaid Cymru - Gwynfor Evans (pres) won in Carmarthen by-election
– 1992 = 4/40 constituencies
– 1970s = Labour proposed devolution but was rejected (1979 = 79%)
– Thatcherism
– 1997 referendum = 50% in favour of devolution (success for Lab), won 34/40 seats of Wales
– Plaid Cymru = 4
– Conservatives = 0
– 1st Assembly election (1999):
–> Labour = 28 seats
–> Plaid = 17
–> Cons = 9
–> Lib Dems = 6
– 2019 = Plaid held on to all 4 seats it won in 2017
– 2021 = 20.5% (from 20.7% in 2016)
=
– Devolution - 1997 - creation of Welsh Boards of Education and Health
– Plaid Cymru
– Civic Welsh Nationalism movement today pushes for Welsh language
– Former Plaid Counsellor Simon Brook = “Nationalism was slain in Wales by Liberalism, rather than Conservatism… the Welsh nation was murdered by its own left wing”
– (socialism in nationalism) Welsh Nationalist Saunders Lewis = “Restoring the Welsh Language in Wales is nothing less than a revolution” (but socialists generally reject nationalism)
– From 1981 - Plaid’s constitution committed to “community socialism” - Welsh concept emphasising focus on local politics
– Plaid entered a formal coalition with Lab in 2021
Impact on Global Politics
‘Socialists are united in their view on human nature’. Discuss
YES:
✓ Positive view (cooperative)
✓ Malleable
✓ Social justice / equality
NO:
☓ Extent capitalism has damaged human nature
☓ Importance of class conflict
☓ Rev v gradualism
‘Socialists are united in their view on the economy’. Discuss
YES:
✓ Critical of unchecked free-market (private property)
✓ Cooperation (human nature - collectivism)
✓ Support proletariat
✓ Redistribution of wealth
NO:
☓ Capitalism (abolished v reformed)
☓ Role of the State
☓ Revolution v gradualism
Critical of unchecked free-market
- Inequality, class exploitation, hierarchy
– Marx = “The worker becomes poorer the more wealth he produces”
- Rousseau = “many crimes, wars and murders” grew out of the concept of private ownership
- Marx = “private property is thus the product… of alienated labour”
- Hobsbawm = “for an individual living in a slum…any notion of freedom or independence seemed utterly distant”
- Marx = “the ideas of the ruling class are in every epoch the ruling class”
- Communist Manifesto (1848) = “the proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. Working men of all countries, unite”
Cooperation
- John Donne = “no man is an island”
- Marx = “man is directly a natural being”
- Beatrice Webb = “matters may be resolved sensibly…by rational, educated and civic minded officials”
- Marx = “The human essence is the true collectivist essence”
Democratic socialism:
- “By the strength of our common endeavour we achieve more than we achieve alone” = labour clause IV
Support proletariat
- Health and Safety Act (1974) = regulated workplace health + safety
- Germany Minimum Wage Act (2014) = 1st min wage
- National Minimum Wage Act (1998)
- Employment Protection Act (1975) = right to maternity leave
TU = national minimum wage, 8 hour working days, 2 day weekends, equal pay
- Women’s Trade Union League (1880) pushed for equal pay –> Equal Pay Act (1970) = 1st UK legislation which banned unequal pay
- Sure Start Program (1998) = provide education to kids in deprived areas
- New Deal for Communities = improve infrastructure, create jobs & support community projects in deprived areas
- EMA
- Child Poverty Act = targets to reduce child poverty, eradicate by 2020
- Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit
Capitalism (abolished v reformed)
- Eduard Bernstein = “Evolutionary Socialism” - capitalism had evolved, workers’ conditions improved & classes could compromise
- Anthony Giddens = the left should “get comfortable with the markets” (accept capitalism)
- Anthony Crosland = “infinitely more complex than Marx could ever have imagined”
Democratic Socialism:
- Beatrice Webb = capitalism - “crippling poverty and demeaning inequality”
- Tony Benn = labour’s 1979 defeat inevitable - “compromise with capitalism’s contradictions”
- Marx = “but the working class cannot simply lay hold of the ready-made state machinery, and wield it for its own purposes”
Role of the state
- Marx = State is “but a committee” for the bourgeoisie
- Stalin - USSR - nationalised entire economy with 5 point plan
- Marx = “The state is based on this contradiction…the state must confine itself”
- Marx = “but the working class cannot simply lay hold of the ready-made state machinery, and wield it for its own purposes”
- Marx = “The oppressed are allowed once every few years to decide which particular representatives of the oppressing class are to represent and repress them”
- Engels = “The state is not abolished, it withers away”
- Marx = “All forms of the state have democracy for their truth”
- NHS Act (1946)
- Nationalisation under Attlee = Coal Industry Nationalisation Act (1946), Transport Act (1947), Electricity Act (1947) + Gas Act (1948), nationalised 1/5 of economy - unemployment reduced to 2.5%
Revolution v gradualism
Marx = “The working class is revolutionary or it is nothing at all”
Democratic socialism:
- Fabian society = “for the right moment you must wait”
- Beatrice Webb = “inevitability of gradualism”
- Beatrice Webb = (Revolution) “Chaotic, inefficient and counter-productive”, “guilty of the same problem besetting capitalism- unpredictability”
- Beatrice Webb = “matters may be resolved sensibly…by rational, educated and civic minded officials”
‘Socialists are united in their view on society’. Discuss.
YES:
✓ Protect proletariat / redistribute wealth
✓ Human nature - malleable to fit society
✓ Collectivism
✓ Greater equality / social justice
NO:
☓ Equality (equality of outcome v soc. dem. believing in capitalism so favour equality of opportunity over equality of outcome)
☓ Revolution v gradualism
☓ Importance of class + class struggle
☓ Role of the state
Protect proletariat
- Health and Safety Act (1974) = regulated workplace health + safety
- Germany Minimum Wage Act (2014) = 1st min wage
- National Minimum Wage Act (1998)
- Employment Protection Act (1975) = right to maternity leave
TU = national minimum wage, 8 hour working days, 2 day weekends, equal pay
- Women’s Trade Union League (1880) pushed for equal pay –> Equal Pay Act (1970) = 1st UK legislation which banned unequal pay
- Sure Start Program (1998) = provide education to kids in deprived areas
- New Deal for Communities = improve infrastructure, create jobs & support community projects in deprived areas
- EMA
- Child Poverty Act = targets to reduce child poverty, eradicate by 2020
- Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit
Human nature (malleable to fit society)
Collectivism
- John Donne = “no man is an island”
- Marx = “man is directly a natural being”
- Beatrice Webb = “matters may be resolved sensibly…by rational, educated and civic minded officials”
- Marx = “The human essence is the true collectivist essence”
Democratic socialism:
- “By the strength of our common endeavour we achieve more than we achieve alone” = labour clause IV
Equality
- Rousseau = “many crimes, wars and murders” grew out of the concept of private ownership
- Marx = “private property is thus the product… of alienated labour”
- Hobsbawm = “for an individual living in a slum…any notion of freedom or independence seemed utterly distant”
- Marx = “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs” (access to goods)
- Eduard Bernstein = “Evolutionary Socialism” - capitalism had evolved, workers’ conditions improved & classes could compromise
- Anthony Giddens = the left should “get comfortable with the markets” (accept capitalism)
- Anthony Crosland = “infinitely more complex than Marx could ever have imagined”
Revolution v gradualism
Marx = “The working class is revolutionary or it is nothing at all”
Democratic socialism:
- Fabian society = “for the right moment you must wait”
- Beatrice Webb = “inevitability of gradualism”
- Beatrice Webb = (Revolution) “Chaotic, inefficient and counter-productive”, “guilty of the same problem besetting capitalism- unpredictability”
- Beatrice Webb = “matters may be resolved sensibly…by rational, educated and civic minded officials”
Importance of class + class struggle
- Marx = “the history of society is the history of class struggles”
To what extent are socialists united in their view on the state?
YES:
✓ Strong + extensive
✓ Redistribute wealth
✓ Promote collectivism (human nature)
NO:
☓ Need of state (some overthrow, Marx, others..)
☓ ‘Instrument of bourgeoisie’
☓ Revolution v gradualism
Strong + extensive
- Wheatley Housing Act (1924) = subsidised rent for poorest members of society
- Coal Mines Act (1930) = reduced working day 1/2 hour
- Housing Act (1930) = forced councils to clear out slums + build new houses
- NHS Act (1946)
- Nationalisation under Attlee = Coal Industry Nationalisation Act (1946), Transport Act (1947), Electricity Act (1947) + Gas Act (1948), nationalised 1/5 of economy - unemployment reduced to 2.5%
- Butler Act (1944) = secondary education free
- National Insurance Act (1946) = extended to all adults
Redistribute wealth / support proletariat
- Health and Safety Act (1974) = regulated workplace health + safety
- Germany Minimum Wage Act (2014) = 1st min wage
- National Minimum Wage Act (1998)
- Employment Protection Act (1975) = right to maternity leave
TU = national minimum wage, 8 hour working days, 2 day weekends, equal pay
- Women’s Trade Union League (1880) pushed for equal pay –> Equal Pay Act (1970) = 1st UK legislation which banned unequal pay
- Sure Start Program (1998) = provide education to kids in deprived areas
- New Deal for Communities = improve infrastructure, create jobs & support community projects in deprived areas
- EMA
- Child Poverty Act = targets to reduce child poverty, eradicate by 2020
- Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit
Representative
- Marx = “The oppressed are allowed once every few years to decide which particular representatives of the oppressing class are to represent and repress them”
- Representation of the People Act (1918)
- Equal Franchise Act (1928)
Need of state
- Revolutionary socialists = overthrow through revolution - working class would control means of production - believe state promotes interests of select few
- Democratic socialists = Webb agrees with Luxemburg - state necessary to ensure freedom of speech + press
Instrument of bourgeoise
- Marx = State is “but a committee” for the bourgeoisie
- Stalin - USSR - nationalised entire economy with 5 point plan
- Marx = “The state is based on this contradiction…the state must confine itself”
- Marx = “but the working class cannot simply lay hold of the ready-made state machinery, and wield it for its own purposes”
- Marx = “The oppressed are allowed once every few years to decide which particular representatives of the oppressing class are to represent and repress them”
- Engels = “The state is not abolished, it withers away”
- Marx = “All forms of the state have democracy for their truth”
– Beatrice Webb (nationalism) = “hollow, petty-bourgeois phraseology
Revolution v gradualism
Marx = “The working class is revolutionary or it is nothing at all”
Democratic socialism:
- Fabian society = “for the right moment you must wait”
- Beatrice Webb = “inevitability of gradualism”
- Beatrice Webb = (Revolution) “Chaotic, inefficient and counter-productive”, “guilty of the same problem besetting capitalism- unpredictability”
- Beatrice Webb = “matters may be resolved sensibly…by rational, educated and civic minded officials”
‘Socialists are united in their view on equality’. Discuss.
YES:
✓ Social equality (redistribution of wealth, protect proletariat)
✓ Collectivism
✓ Provides basis for common humanity / community
or critical of unchecked free market? - property (comm + DS)
NO:
☓ Capitalism
☓ Role of state (promoting v hindering equality)
☓ Method of achieving equality - revolution v gradualism
Social equality (redistribution of wealth)
- Health and Safety Act (1974) = regulated workplace health + safety
- Germany Minimum Wage Act (2014) = 1st min wage
- National Minimum Wage Act (1998)
- Employment Protection Act (1975) = right to maternity leave
TU = national minimum wage, 8 hour working days, 2 day weekends, equal pay
- Women’s Trade Union League (1880) pushed for equal pay –> Equal Pay Act (1970) = 1st UK legislation which banned unequal pay
- Sure Start Program (1998) = provide education to kids in deprived areas
- New Deal for Communities = improve infrastructure, create jobs & support community projects in deprived areas
- EMA
- Child Poverty Act = targets to reduce child poverty, eradicate by 2020
- Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit
Reinforces collectivism
- John Donne = “no man is an island”
- Marx = “man is directly a natural being”
- Beatrice Webb = “matters may be resolved sensibly…by rational, educated and civic minded officials”
- Marx = “The human essence is the true collectivist essence”
Democratic socialism:
- “By the strength of our common endeavour we achieve more than we achieve alone” = labour clause IV
Critical of unchecked free market
- Inequality, class exploitation, hierarchy
– Marx = “The worker becomes poorer the more wealth he produces”
- Rousseau = “many crimes, wars and murders” grew out of the concept of private ownership
- Marx = “private property is thus the product… of alienated labour”
- Hobsbawm = “for an individual living in a slum…any notion of freedom or independence seemed utterly distant”
- Marx = “the ideas of the ruling class are in every epoch the ruling class”
- Communist Manifesto (1848) = “the proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. Working men of all countries, unite”
Capitalism
Political equality(democratic socialism-extending suffrage, communists don’t favour pol equality cause they want to abandon state- focus on equality in society)
- Representation of the People Act (1918)
- Equal Franchise Act (1928)
- Marx = State is “but a committee” for the bourgeoisie
- Stalin - USSR - nationalised entire economy with 5 point plan
- Marx = “The state is based on this contradiction…the state must confine itself”
- Marx = “but the working class cannot simply lay hold of the ready-made state machinery, and wield it for its own purposes”
- Marx = “The oppressed are allowed once every few years to decide which particular representatives of the oppressing class are to represent and repress them”
- Engels = “The state is not abolished, it withers away”
- Marx = “All forms of the state have democracy for their truth”
Socialism has had a large impact on Welsh politics. Discuss.
YES:
✓ Political
✓ Economic
✓ Social
NO:
☓ Liberalism
☓ Nationalism
☓ Conservatism
To what extent do Socialists agree on the concept of Common Humanity?
YES:
✓ Cooperative
✓ Protect proletariat + strong state (nationalisation- common ownership)
✓ Critical of unchecked free market (hierarchy, inequality, competition - pits people against each other)
NO:
☓ Rev v gradualism
☓ Capitalism (creating competition and waste v being a necessary incentive for people to work hard)
☓ Role of state
‘Collectivism is the most important concept of Socialism’. Discuss
YES
✓ Human nature
✓ Protect proletariat
✓ Strong state
NO
☓ Equality
☓ Class conflict
☓ Role of state / revolution v gradualism
To what extent do Socialists favour public over private ownership?
YES
✓ Strong state + protect proletariat
✓ Human nature - collectivism
✓ Equality + social justice
NO
☓ Capitalism
☓ Private property (SD)
☓ ?
Section A’s
Explain the importance of community in socialism
Human nature + collectivism
Protect proletariat
Equality
Explain the importance of gradualism in socialism
Human nature + collectivism
Revolution
Gradualism
Explain the importance of equality in socialism
Human nature + collectivism
Reject capitalism
Role of state
Explain the importance of class conflict in socialism
Role of state
Revolution v gradualism
Human nature + collectivism?
Explain the importance of social justice in socialism
Equality
Human nature
Role of state
Explain concepts of Political Socialism
Rev v gradualism
Role of state
Class, society, equality
Explain concepts of Economic Socialism
Capitalism
Private property
Protect proletariat (+ownership of means of production)
Collectivism
