YR 2 - core ideology: SOCIALISM Flashcards
what is another phrase for Marxism?
revolutionary socialism
what key thinkers can be used for Marxism / revolutionary socialism ?
KARL MARX & ENGELS
ROSA LUXEMBURG
what is historical materialism?
everything is rooted in the material conditions of life. economic factors are the driving force behind human history. human societies are the outgrowth of their collective economic activity. economic conditions determine ideas
what is historical determinism?
the engine of history rests in the internal contradictions in the system of material production each economic system in human history contained within in a contradiction that eventually led to its collapse and replacement by another
what is dialectic materialism?
CONTRADICTIONS DRIVE CHANGE.
summarise capitalism (Marxist view)
driven by competition and the thirst for profit
wealth concentrates in fewer and fewer hands, whilst the proletariat gets bigger and bigger and poorer and poorer
work to live
what is class consciousness to Marx?
Workers first become conscious of sharing common complaints (exploitation) against capitalism and then develop awareness of themselves as forming a social class, the proletariat opposed to the bourgeoisie
according to marxism what are the functions of the dictatorship of the proletariat?
-to preserve and extend the revolution
-to take control of the means of production and put them into common ownership
-to prepare the way for the communist society
How do Marx & Engels explain the dictatorship of the proletariat?
It is a transition stage to the abolition of all classes, and to a classless society
What do Marxists / revolutionary socialists think about human nature?
-malleable: not fixed
-we are what we live in. human nature cannot be understood independently of society.
-alienated by capitalism
-change the system, change the human nature
what do revolutionary socialists/ Marxists think of society?
-it reflects + reinforces the interests of the bourgeoisie
- capitalist-taught ideas must be removed for revolution
- create a classless society
What do revolutionary socialists think about the economy?
-capitalism and private property = ‘naked, shameless, direct, brutal exploitation’
-forms the working class who become the ‘gravediggers of capitalism’
-must replace private ownership with common ownership
-desire universal emancipation
What do revolutionary socialists think about the state?
-the state cannot be captured + reformed, it must be overthrown and replaced by a dictatorship of proletariat.
-state will wither away once revolution is successful. No need for it
What is another phrase useful to help you remember the reform or revolution debate?
bullets & barricades vs ballot box
Give a key thinker for evolutionary socialism
BEATRICE WEBB
What was Beatrice Webb’s principle ?
The Inevitability of Gradualness.
What did Rosa Luxemburg say the Mass Strike will do?
- bring the proletariat together as a mass letting them overcome the atomisation.
-educate the workers in organisation, so that they can develop that ability to organise society themselves in the interests of the many
-unite the proletariat so that they can undermine + overthrow the state
outline the key difference between revolutionary and evolutionary socialism
-rev believes that communism can only be achieved through workers revolution, where they take the means of production into common ownership
-ev believes that communism can be achieved through gradual + legal social reform + elections. REVOLUTION VS REFORM.
outline the difference between common ownership and public ownership.
common - owned by workers (everyone). workers run their own work. no bosses
public - central / local government owns industries rather than private companies
what strand of socialism came after revolutionary (Marxism) and evolutionary?
SOCIAL DEMOCRACY
What government / time period created social democracy?
the ( Clement ) Atlee Government. 1945 - 1951.
name 2 policies that Atlee carried out
- nationalisation
- used Keynesian economics
- created welfare state including NHS
- progressive taxation
What type of social classes did social democracy identify?
proletariat, MANAGERIAL CLASS, bourgeoisie
How long did social democracy last? dates.
1951 (end of Atlee government) - 1995 (start of Blair government)
who were the managerial class
the real runners of capitalism. ran the workers but had different motives than bourgeoisie
what did social democratics think of ownership. What was their economy called?
ownership isn’t the issue. would rather focus on controlling capitalism than changing ownership completely
so, MIXED ECONOMY - public ownership of KEY industries/services + private ownership for most other industries
what was the new focus of social democracy?
- MINIMISE / WEAKEN class divisions by focusing on :
- SOCIAL JUSTICE
- SOCIAL EQUALITY
what is meant by focusing on social justice and social equality for social democracy?
social justice - improving welfare + social equality through progressive taxation and the redistribution of wealth
social equality - tackling poverty and reducing the inequality between classes, like the income gap.
Who is the key thinker of social democracy?
TONY CROSLAND - labour MP + theorist
List at least 5 key terms associated with social democracy
-managerial class
-social justice
-social inequality
-mixed economy
-Keynesian economics
-progressive tax
-welfare state
-redistribution of wealth
-Tony Crosland
name the 3 similarities between revolutionary socialism and social democracy
1) both use class based analysis
2) both believe capitalism is problematic
3) both believe that human nature is malleable
name 4 differences of belief between revolutionary socialism and social democracy
1) eradicate class stratification vs weaken it
2) no need for state vs more power to state
3) socialist reforms vs revolution
4) 2 classes vs 3 (managerial)
5) common ownership vs state + private ownership
6) no tax vs progressive tax
7) ownership is the issue vs it isn’t the issue
what strand of socialism came after social democracy?
the THIRD WAY
Who is the key thinker for the Third Way?
ANTHONY GIDDENS
+ Tony Blair (not key)
what does the Third Way embrace instead of class?
community. communitarianism
what does the Third Way focus on instead of universal welfare?
targeted welfare. the worst off. child + pensioner poverty
What was Anthony Gidden’s Third Way book titled?
Beyond Left and Right (1994)
why did Blair want to invest in education + infrastructure?
-to make the UK competitive globally.
-better education + infrastructure causes healthy & skilled workforce with great access. brings foreign investment to the UK.
what was the Third Way’s stance on the economy?
neoliberalism. Thatcher’s free market. empowers individual economically
what type of equality did the Third Way believe in?
equality of opportunity, not outcome
what word did Blair famously repeat 3 times
EDUCATION, EDUCATION, EDUCATION!
give 1 similarity between the Third Way and revolutionary socialism
equality / social justice
give 3 differences between the Third Way and revolutionary socialism
community vs class based analysis
free market vs eradicate capitalism
competitive state vs no state
love vs hate private property
reform vs revolution
different meanings of equality
give 3 similarities between the Third Way and social democracy
- state = a force for good
reform not revolution - capitalism + socialism = compatible
- equality + social justice
- tackle poverty
- positive view of human nature
give 3 differences between the Third Way and social democracy
-competitive state vs redistribution state
-free market vs interventionist, Keynesian state
-targeted welfare vs universal welfare
-community vs class
-equal opportunity vs social equality
name all key thinkers for socialism and attach them to a strand.
Marxism : Marx & Engels, Rosa Luxemburg
Evolutionary socialism : Beatrice Webb
Social Democracy : Anthony Crosland
Third Way : Anthony Giddens
