Utopian Socialism

Question 1

At what is Utopian socialism a response to?

Answer 1

Classical Liberalism and the Industrial Revolution

Question 2

What are the effects of the Industrial Revolution ? (4 points)

Answer 2

• Growth of cities and urban living, population movement, housing conditions and lack of services
• Change in work practices, longer days and weeks, children and women working
• Decline in standard of living, hunger and malnutrition, disease and poverty
• Social and political discord, USA, French Revolution, Ireland

Question 3

What are the origins of Utopian Socialism? (3)

Answer 3

• Idea of Labour and Capital
• Price setting in the market
• Profit and value of work

Question 4

What Classical Liberalism’s ideas are rejected in the Utopian Socialism? (4)

Answer 4

• Role of the market
• Property rights
• Too much competition
• Inequality and «social evils resulting from capitalism»

Question 5

Give 3 examples of Utopian Socialism Acts?

Answer 5

• The 1819 Factory Act : no work under 9 years old, a maximum of 72h/week with 1,5h/day for meals from 9 to 16 years old
• 1833 Althorp’s Factory Act : a maximum of 42h/week from 9 to 13 years old, a maximum of 69h/week from 13 to 16 years old, no night work under 18 years old
• 1842 Mines ans Colleries Act : no work underground for women and children under 10 years old, no winding gear in mines under 15 years old

Question 6

What are the 5 core themes of Early Socialism?

Answer 6

Community, Cooperation, Equality, Social Class, Common Ownership

Question 7

What are the 6 Utopian ideas in society nowadays?

Answer 7

• Short working week / day, better working conditions
• Scale of public services in health, education, social welfare, housing (Idea of a Safety Net)
• Scale of government intervention in the economy
• Government ownership of economic resources
• Government planning policies
• Co-ops

Question 8

Who are the main Utopian Socialists? (8)

Answer 8

• Thomas Hodgskins (1787-1869)
• William Thompson (1775-1833)
• Robert Owen (1771-1858)
• William Godwin (1756-1836)
• Claude Henri de Rouvroy Saint-Simon (1760-1825)
• Pierre Joseph Proudhon (1809-1865)
• Charles Fourier (1772-1837)
• Gracchus Babeuf (1760-1797)

Question 9

What are the 4 points of Thomas Hodgskin?

Answer 9

• Favoured abolition of private property
• Supported markets
• The Fisherman and the Net example
• 1825 book, Labour Defended Against the Claims of Capital

Question 10

What are the «5 evils of a competitive society» of William Thompson?

Answer 10

• Everyone is a rival / competitor
• Oppression of women
• Anarchy of the Market (instability, ups and downs)
• Insecurities of capitalism, no one to look after the sick and the old
• Advancement of knowledge retarded

Question 11

Robert Owen was a Christian Paternalist. What have he done? (2)

Answer 11

• Proposed a co-operative approach
• Ran his own factory with unique methods

Question 12

What are the views of Robert Owen? (5)

Answer 12

• Harsh treatment of workers is stupid and short-sighted
• Private ownership of the means of production is allowing one small class to exploit another
• Ideal society is a co-operative one
• Proposed self governing industrial and agricultural communities
• Selfish quest for profits would be eliminated

Question 13

What are William Godwin’s views? (6)

Answer 13

• Capitalism made fraud and robbery inevitable
• «Defects of poor» are because of «corrupt and unjust social institutions» (Poor are not lazy, institution of state and corrupt and unjust)
• «If everyone could obtain the necessities of life, temptation would lose its power»
• «Legislation is in every country grossly the favourer of the rich against the poor»
• Abolish government, abolish the laws
• Human reason will save society. Education is the key, mind over matter

Question 14

What are Claude Henri de Rouvroy Saint-Simon’s views? (5)

Answer 14

• State should intervene in the economy
• Disdained the egoism of rich capitalists
• Condemned the idle rich who live off the poor
• Government should intervene in production, distribution and commerce in interests of promoting common welfare
• Predicts emergence of business oligopolies

Question 15

What are Pierre Joseph Proudhon’s views? (4)

Answer 15

• Property is theft
• Government is tyranny
• Core job of government was protection of property rights
• Property rights are special priviledge for the few, and general restrictions and prohibitions for the masses

Question 16

What are Charles Fourier’s views? (3)

Answer 16

• Capitalism leads to waste and monopolies
• It would lead to “a formation of privileged corporations” that make the working class “commercial vassals”
• He supported idea od co-operatives (=”phalanxes”)

Question 17

What is Charles Fourier’s Theory of the Four Movements?

Answer 17

Only 1/3 of people did useful work, there are 4 areas of waste:
- Those who did useless or destructive work
- Misdirected work
- Wasteful work (ex:middlmen)
- Purposefully low wages to antagonise classes

Question 18

What are Gracchus Babeuf’s views with the Conspiracy of Equals Theory?

Answer 18

• Inequalities of wealth and power should be redressed by society (instead, most of them protect the interests of rich property owners and wealthy)
• Inequality leads to injustice
• He was the first to advance the idea that government must be topped by force (idea of “violence for equality”)
• “in a real society there should be neither rich nor poor”

Question 19

What is an Oligopoly?

Answer 19

Oligopoly: A market structure in which a few firms dominate. When a market is shared between a few firms, it is said to be highly concentrated

Question 20

What are the new forms of industrial giant in Utopian Socialism?

Answer 20

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