Socialism - Divisions and tensions Flashcards
Means and ends in socialism
This is the main source of debate within this ideology - most socialists agree on the eventual ends but not necessarily the means to get there
The means -
- Means in socialism - revolution, enabling state, reform of law, redistribute wealth, progressive tax, welfare state, human rights, nationalisation, privatisation
The ends -
- Ends in socialism - class equality, equality of outcome / opportunity, redistribution of wealth, abolition of private property, communist /utopia
Strands in socialism - the background
- All socialists believe in collectivism / cooperation, egalitarianism and state ownership are all central and inter-related elements of socialism
- These values are shared by all the main strands of socialism
- The only debate to be had amongst socialists is the means towards achieving a better world
- Divide - revolutionary; older strand (change cannot be parliamentary because that is controlled by the capitalist class, and so change will not be allowed) and evolutionary/revisionist - newer strand (change has to be parliamentary so that there is a mandate for change)
3 main categories of division:
- Revolutionary socialism - socialism can be brought about only by the the overthrow of the existing political and societal structures
- Social democracy - aims to humanise capitalism in the interests of social justice - gradual approach to social change; do it through education and elections (Labour today)
- Third Way - a middle-ground alternative route to socialism and free market capitalism (Blair and Clinton)
Revolutionary socialism - Classical Marxism
Summary: Mid-Late 19thC
- Starting point for all socialism. The Writings of Marx/Engels believed that capitalism was the root of exploitation as money had been of all societies up to this point (historical materialism).
- Cap was doomed to fail as exploitation would drive the working class to class consciousness and thus revolution.
- Dictatorship of the proletariat (workers) would redistribute and reeducate all, leading to utopian society and no state
Classical Marxism - additional info, key thinkers etc
> Workforce is alienated and cannot create their own work and workers are exploited
Commodity fetishism - we think we want things that we do not actually need in order to use up the efficiency of capitalism
False class consciousness - ideology of consumption
Primitive accumulation - owners take the profits that the workers earned
Capitalism must disappear for socialism, and socialism creates communism
Capitalism is at odds with the fraternity, solidarity and equality of socialism
Inevitable and final destination - each historical stage or epoch of society there is an intellectual clash (Dialectic) when the official narrative of society’s aims and character no longer corresponds to the perceptions of the majority, leading to alienation
Marx and Engels - the prevailing mentality would always be defined by economics and the generation and dispersion of society’s resources (mode of production) - these stages are historical materialism
Dialectic is a clash of economic interests (dialectical Marxism) - one class is economically dominant, the other is exploited
It is necessary to smash capitalism through revolutionary violence and give an alternative, which cannot be completed peacefully in liberal politics, where the states are servants of capitalism
Rejected the contradiction of reformist socialism
The end of history is the dictatorship of the proletariat and the beginnings of common ownership
Key Thinkers:
- Marx and Engels
- Hegel - dialectic - clash of ideas or perceptions that will take place at the end of each stage of history and gives way to a new society; new orthodox exists until the next stage of society / wave of alienation - historicism
-> 10 stages of historical materialism and dialectical change - primitive societies, slaves, feudal system, emergence of capitalism, emergence of proletariat and class consciousness, revolution and destruction of capitalism, socialism, withering away of the socialist state, communism and the end of history
Revolutionary - Orthodox Communism / Leninism
Summary:
- Early 20thC
- Organic rev had not happened - Russia did not have the conditions (advanced capitalism) to facilitate an organic proletarian rev.
- Lenin/Bolsheviks forced the process via campaigns leading to the Storming of the Winter Palace and the overthrow of Tsar Nicholas II in October 1917.
- Influenced many other Revolutionary Marxists across Europe and the world including Mao Tse-tung (China)
- Vanguard Party (not Dictatorship of Proletariat but Democratic Centralism) morphed into Authoritarian rule and laid the groundwork for Stalin and the Soviet Socialist States which came after
Orthodox Communism - additional info, key thinkers and examples
- People will realise capitalism is good if it is allowed to develop; before capitalism is fully fledged, it should be stopped to allow socialism as the false consciousness is an obstacle to this. Lenin and Luxemburg sought to force revolutions in Russia before capitalism was able to develop a false class consciousness was able to set in.
- Lenin wants an elite in a party to create the conditions for the revolution, whereas Luxemburg wants the revolution to come from the workers
- Luxemburg viewed Lenin’s ideas irrelevant to already industrialised masses
- Democratic centralism - overthrow existing regime, incite revolution, educate on socialism vanguard forms a new party which has the dictatorship of the proletariat
Key thinkers -
1) Rosa Luxemburg - attempts to do the same thing as Lenin but is killed; unacceptable implication that less developed societies would have to endure the horrors of capitalism for decades until the salvation of socialism, rather than just saving them now
2) Stalin - brutal and totalitarian regime with collectivist agriculture (collectivism - working for each other) and relocating / murdering an entire working class
- Stalin rejected the permanent revolution theory of Trotsky (one revolution starts another) and wanted socialism in one country where it isolates itself from the outside world and promote socialist nationalism
3) Mao Tse-Tung - China’s socialist state; cultural revolution in which the old way of thinking is destroyed the same way modes of production (Capitalism) is removed - campaign of persecution against traditional Chinese culture which was seen as anti-socialist and legitimising inequality, by calling religion, deference of the elderly and subordination of women is discouraging
Key examples -
- Revolutionary societies of Cuba (1950s, Fidel Castro), North Korea and Vietnam all invoked the idea of vanguard communist parties governing on democratic centralism - orthodox communism as there was little evidence of Marx’s goal of communism being attained, and the regimes became more pervasive instead of withering
Revolutionary - Neo-Marxism
Summary: Early 20thC
- Equal recognition that Marx’s writings hadn’t come to pass. Gramsci (Italian Anarchist/Communist) maintained this was due to Hegemony (dominant set of ideas/values) which was holding back the Revolution.
- Education would unlock class consciousness and lead to overthrow, challenging the Hegemony.
- Conditions for this were occurring with spread of access to education for all.
Revolutionary - Neo-marxism - additional info, key thinkers and examples
- Cultural hegemony (Marcuse and Horkheimer) - capitalist values do not just infect the economy, but also the arts, media and education
Gramsci felt that this could be corrected by a socialist vanguard in parts of society, the Frankfurt School felt a revolution was needed, arguing a violent revolution of capitalism was needed to smash the false consciousness (were not optimistic for a revolution however as capitalism has proven more adaptable than Marx suspected) - In the next economic slump, revolution not long term cultural change should be the aim, with Marcuse suggesting that the economic system shapes the culture
- Miliband - demolish the idea that socialism can be achieved via gradual parliamentary reform, arguing that whenever democratic socialist governments had come to power in the UK, they have been blown off course and forced to dilute agendas
- Miliband - existing state would always protect the existing, dominant economics - confronted and frustrated by state-sponsored, anti-socialist forces such as the civil service, security services, military and the judiciary - pro capitalist forces aim to divert socialist governments especially in crises - parliamentary road to socialism on its own is impossible, and so needs to be accompanied with a revolutionary overthrow of the economic status quo, such as unanimous trade union action
- Marcuse, Horkheimer and Gramsci
Revolutionary - Euro-communism
Summary: Mid-Late 20thC
- Following the creation of the USSR which spread to many countries in the eastern block (Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania etc), this form of Communism looked to reject the failed approach of the USSR and grasp key tenets of Marxist thought (equality) to galvanise key groups who would help force social change.
- Feminism, LGBTQ+ groups, public sector middle class workers and more.
- It’s aim, large scale social reforms rather than revolution. Influenced by Neo Marxism; The Battle for Ideas
Revolutionary - Euro-communism - additional info, key thinkers etc
- Capitalism can be decommissioned gradually with evolutionary socialism and parliamentary methods, and this was adopted by the East of Europe
- Much of Western Europe separated themselves from this and wished to be radical but respectable forces in mainstream politics (French Communist Party and the Italian Communist Party) who rejected Marxist-Leninist cases for revolution - contested seats, occupied executive power and used the existing - the PCF had Marchais serving in the Socialist-Communist government of the 1980s, and Napolitano of the PCI served as Italian president between 2006 and 2015
- Gramsci - capitalism cannot be overthrown without mass public support, but the hegemony of the ruling class over culture makes this hard to achieve; a counter culture therefore needs to exist in the workplace and in artistics / literary life also - need a cultural vanguard
- Euro-communists endorsed Gramsci, stating a legitimate counter culture of socialism would be more persuasive if parties took part in elections and had government responsibility - significantly different to Orthodox communism
- Argued existing liberal-bourgois state could have socialist change including going from a private to a public economy
- Euro-communists rejected the inevitability and desirability of revolution, often calling the 1917 Russian revolution and Chinese revolution disasters
- Reject dictatorship of the proletariat and reworked Marx’s historical materialism, claiming the liberal-capitalist state evolved and withered away, with communism still being the end of history but without a revolution or dictatorship
Evolutionary strand 1 - Classical revisionism / democratic socialism
State controlled capitalism:
- form of Evolutionary Socialism that looks to use the democratic process to change capitalism into socialism, and move away from the exploitative and competitive economy through peaceful means.
- Classical revisionism - Summary: Early 20thC Early Soc movement to reject revolution and the complete overthrow of Capitalism. Believed that Socialist Governments could use capitalism to create good conditions for workers. Led to the creation of the Fabian Society, hugely influential on modern day Labour Party and was headed by Eduard Bernstein (Evolutionary Socialism, 1898)
- Democratic socialism - Mid 20thC - Present; The most left leaning form of modern day socialism which believes in democracy. It wants capitalism to be reformed greatly and for widespread nationalisation of key industries to eradicate the market mechanism which underpins exploitation within the system. Key supporters are people like Bernie Sanders in the US
- Sceptical of capitalism, pro democracy - democracy leads to socialist approaches, and enfranchisement helps to expand the voter base and encourage voting / democracy - nationalise industries to ensure more jobs, less instability, stable prices(if you can get the lower class to vote, you will have a more socialist government) - WEBB
Evolutionary strand 2 - Social Democracy
- Mid 20th C - Present; Agrees with some nationalisation but believes instead that progressive taxation will lead to a redistribution of wealth. Spearheaded by Anthony Crossland in the UK in the Post-War movement which embraced Keynesian Economics (gov intervention) to ensure fairness leading to full employment. In the UK it was typified by the introduction of Comprehensive Education, looking to eradicate the unfairness of the 11+. This movement is also credited with the introduction of the NHS under Clement Atlee’s Labour Gov.
- They prefer a MIXED ECONOMY (main difference to strand 1, want nationalisation for what doesn’t work, and privatisation for those that do), want to revise capitalism, pro democracy, use taxation to redistribute wealth, government intervention = jobs - CROSLAND (capitalism works if done well, comprehensive education)
Evolutionary Strand 3 - Third Way
- Adam Smith - invisible hand economics
- Mainstream liberalism essentially; in 1997, Giddens took the view that every society is intertwined due to globalisation and can create cheap communication for individuals and societies (phones in politics) - pro capitalism, pro democracy, global economy, global politics, end of history, top down economy, socially progressive, economically liberal (how can we be in the EU if we do not all think the same - everyone has become centreground politics) - GIDDENS
- Late 1980s to present; With Globalisation meaning that isolationist politics were not suitable if a country wanted to partake on a global stage, this approach by Anthony Giddens and supported by Blair and Clinton looked to embrace capitalism, free markets and economic growth, whilst not losing sight of key socialist ideas of social justice and equality (more of opportunity though than outcome). Political and Cultural equality would unlock futures. It reconciled the Left v Right debate which dominated politics in the 1980s.
