Socialism thinkers Flashcards
Human nature - Marx and Engels
Humans are naturally altruistic. However capitalism instills them with a false consciousness of bourgeourisie values
Human nature - Luxemburg
Damaged by capitalism. Humans are not perfect and parliamentary democracy is needed to prevent tyranny
Human nature - Webb
Capitalism damaged human psyche - but believed in intellectual and moral human imperfection, particularily in the working class
Human nature - Crosland
Innately unfair. Inequalities of outcome and opportunity hinder collective human progress.
Human nature - Giddens
Shaped by socio economic conditions. More focused on humans as both individual and collective creatures.
Society - Marx and Engels
Capitalism corrupts society and the elite oppress the working class - creating class conflict. A communist society will have absolute equality and societal harmony.
Society - Luxemburg
Same as Marx but a DEMOCRATIC communist society will provide absolute equality and social harmony
Society - Webb
Under societal state management will provide equality of outcome
Society - Crosland
State management will affect societal change and create social justice and equality of welfare
Society - Giddens
Will embrace equality of opportunity and communal responses instead of class conflict
State - Marx and Engels
Capitalism must be destroyed by rev. Will be temporarily replaced by dictatorship of the proleteriat and will wither away when communism is established
State - Luxemburg
Capitalism should be destroyed by revolution and replaced with geniune democracy
State - Webb
Should be used to create a socialist society - would be achieved in universal suffrage and would be a gradual process
State - Crosland
Should be managed by ‘meritocratic managers’ and ‘classless technocrats’
State - Giddens
Should invest in social investment and infrastructure and refrain from economic and social engineering
Economy - Marx and Engels
Capitalism is corrupt and ineffecient and should be replaced by an economy where resources are collectively owned and distributed according to need
Economy - Luxemburg
Marx’s historical marxism is flawed because capitalism does not need to reach a final stage before its abolished, Communist revolutions could happen in less economicaly developed areas
Economy - Webb
Free market economy would be gradually nationalised as workers would obtain common ownership of the means of production
Economy - Crosland
Rejected Webb’s gradualism and argued for a moxed economy with Keynesiasm capitalism. Believed capitalism had largely been reformed of its exploitative tendencies
Economy - Giddens
A neo-liberal economy with a free market is a more effecient than all socialist economic models and the tax revenues they are generate can finance greater equality of opportunity
