Socialism - Revisionist socialism - final Flashcards
What does revisionist socialism seek to do?
Reconcile socialism with capitalism.
What is revisionist socialism?
The belief that socialism can be achieved without the destruction of capitalism and private property, and without revolutionary upheaval.
Who was the earliest classical revisionist?
Eduard Bernstein
What is Eduard Bernstein’s seminal work?
Evolutionary Socialism
When was Eduard Bernstein’s seminal work published?
1898
What did Bernstein observe in his seminal work?
The conditions of the working class was steadily improving under capitalism; there was little evidence that history was unfolding in the way Marx had prescribed.
What did Bernstein conclude in his seminal work?
Capitalist economies, overseen by socialist governments, could contain capitalism’s worst features whilst improving the lives of the proletariat.
Why did Bernstein believe socialist governments were increasingly likely?
The widening of the franchise to the working-class majority would elect them.
What would Bernstein’s version of socialism eliminate?
The need for revolution.
Whose views was Eduard Bernstein sympathetic with?
Those of democratic socialists, agreeing with them about the gradual, parliamentary road to socialism.
What made Bernstein different to democratic socialists?
He did not share their contempt for capitalism - he believed socialism and capitalism could co-exist with an economy based on private property.
Why do fundamentalist socialists believe private property must be abolished for socialism to come about?
Because private property generates inequality, promotes individualism, and leads to oppression and exploitation.
Why do fundamentalist socialists believe capitalism must be abolished for socialism to come about?
Because capitalism’s cultural hegemony promoted a false consciousness and that the collapse of capitalism was historically inevitable.
What book is considered the key work of post-war social democracy?
Anthony Crosland’s ‘The Future of Socialism’
What is Anthony Crosland’s seminal work?
The Future of Socialism
When was Anthony Crosland’s seminal work published?
1956
What did Anthony Crosland argue for in his seminal work?
He argued that Keynesian economics had created full-employment and steady economic growth, meaning it could be relied upon to create a richer, fairer society.
What is Keynesian economics?
The state managing market forces to ensure steady growth and full employment.
What did social democrats believe about Keynesian economics?
It would finance steady rises in public spending and thus create greater equality in society.
Where did British social democrats like Crosland and European social democrats differ?
On their views on European integration. Crosland and other Labour MPs warned that Keynesian economics required national governments to retain autonomy whereas others like the German SPD favoured European economic union.
What is the most recent form of revisionist socialism?
Third Way
Who is Third Way socialism associated with?
The governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.
Who is considered the main author of Third Way socialism?
Anthony Giddens
What did Giddens seek to do?
Reconcile social democracy with capitalism and reconcile the task of Labour gaining power with an electorate that was increasingly propertied and individualistic.
What did Giddens urge the Left to do?
‘Go with the flow’ of privatisation and market deregulation as this would boost economic growth and therefore boost government tax revenues which could be spent on promoting equality.
What was Giddens in favour of that other socialists have not been?
Inequality of outcome.
Why was Giddens in favour of inequality of outcome?
He claimed it would promote further economic growth and therefore yield greater tax revenues for the government who could then spend it on promoting equality of opportunity.
What would greater inequality of outcome lead to according to Giddens?
Greater equality of opportunity.
What did Peter Mandelson say about Third Way socialism?
‘filthy stinking rich…just as long as they pay their taxes.’
What did Tony Benn call Third Way socialism?
Paternal conservatism - an effort to make inequality of outcome palatable.
What is it about human nature that causes the false consciousness?
The plastic and malleable nature of humanity, meaning only revolution and the destruction of capitalism can remove it.
What are the tensions about society within the different strands of socialism?
- Revolutionary socialists - revolution to remove capitalist society.
- Democratic socialists - gradualism leading to no capitalism.
- Revisionists - Society can reformed alongside capitalism.
What are the tensions surrounding the state among socialists?
- Marx and orthodox - capitalist state destroyed.
- Democratic and revisionist socialists - state can be reformed rather than abolished.
What are the tensions about the economy among different strands of socialism?
- Marxists and orthodox - capitalism and socialism are incompatible.
- Democratic socialists - capitalism is incompatible but can be removed gradually rather than via revolution.
- Revisionist - socialism and capitalism can co-exist.
What does revisionism seek to achieve?
Socialism within a capitalist economy - public spending rather than public ownership.
Is the abolition of capitalism a means or an end of socialism?
It is the means to an end, not the end itself. The end of socialism and the core of the ideology is a society based on fraternity, cooperation, and equality.
