Chp 9 : The Rise of Socialist Thought
Types of Socialism
Utopian
They developed their ideas at time when industrial workers were still weak and unorganized
Apply concept of perfect social arrangement
Dates from 1880 with Henri Comte de Saint-Simon,Charles Fourier and Robert Owen
Preached universal togetherness rather than class struggle
State
Involve government ownership operation of all or spesific sectors of economy for purpose of achieving overall social objectives rather profit
The state socialist considered the state to be an impartial power that could be influenced to favor the working class if the vote were extended and workers educated and organized
Christian
After 1848 with Charles Kingsley being the leading advocate in England
Workers were offered the solace (comfort) of religion to provide hope
Bible was to form a manual of government leader, employer and workers
Anarchism
Society order arise out of self-governing groups though voluntary or associate effort
Private property should be replaced by collective ownership of capital by cooperating groups
All form of government are coercive and should be abolished
Marxian
Scientific socialism based on labor theory of value and theory of exploitation of wage earners by the capitalist
Communism
According to Marx, communism is stage of society that eventually supersedes socialism
This presupposes a superabundance of goods relative to wants, the elimination of money payment base on work performed and devotion to society as selfless as person loyalty to family
Revisionism
Germany was advocated by Eduard Bernstein and England the Febian socialist led by Sidney and Beatrice Webb
Government was to regulate monopolies, control working condition in factories, take over public utilities and gradually extend its ownership of capital
Syndicalism
Type of economic system proposed as a replacement for capitalism and state socialism which uses federation of collectivist trade unions
For adherent, labor union are the potential means of both overcoming capitalist exploitation of the worker and running society fairly in the interest of the majority
An emphasis on industrial organization was a distinguishing feature of syndicalism
Syndicalist were antiperliamentarian and antimilitarist
Guild
Is political movement advoacting workers control of indutry through the medium of trade-related guilds. Its priginated in the United Kingdom and was at its most influential in first quareter of 20th century
Partly inpired by the guilds of craftsmen and other skilled workers which had existed in Medieval England
G.DH Cole a professor of economics was major advocate of this type of socialism
Accepted as necessary institution for expression of general interest of citizen as consumer
Actual management of industries was to be entrusted to the employees, organized the industrial guild rather than government
Henri Comte De Saint-Simon
Introduction
French utopian socialist thinker
Born in french aristocracy family and began his career in military
The trauma of the revolution has launched Saint-Simon on search for alternative structures for society
He argued that to avoid the chaos of revolution and to encourage the fastest possibille improvement in everyone welfare society should be reformed by placing the most enlightened in charge
Chamber
First - artist and engineers would design public works
Second - Scientist would examine the project and control education
Third- leader of industry would carry out the project and control budget
He called, for replacing the rule of rich with the rule of most enlightened, an intellectual meritocracy
Saint-Simon explained that scientist, mathematician and artist should govern bcs they dould predict
He also proposed for new government, new kind of church that would replace all existing religion
To modern sensibilities the most offensive things abt Saint-Simon analysis was the extreme racism of its eurocentrism
Bcs of hiswork on development of science, his argument generalized science of human society should be developed, that Saint-Simon sometimes called the "father of social science"
His influence
His follower sought to institionalize his ideas in new church and elaborated an elaborate but short lived set of roles,garb and rituals.
The basic trust- that according recognition, respect and power to an intellectual and managerial elite has had much longer lived influence
Charles Fourier
French utopian socialist and philosopher
Fourier is credited by modern scholars with having originated word feminisme
Critic capitalism
Dislike large-scale production, mechanization and centralization
Cooperate living was central to his thinking as the way to change the environment in order to generate an entirely new and noble type of person
Simonde De Sismondi
He is best knows for his works on French and Italian history, and his economic ideas
Noveaux Principle d'economie politique, he insisted on fact that economic science studied the means of increasing wealth too much, and use of wealth for producing happiness, too litlle
For the science of economics, his most important contribution was probably his discovery of economic cycles. In refutation of other thinkers at the time, Simondi challenged the idea that economic equilibrium leading to full employment would be immediately and spontaneously achieved
Only state intervention would ensure the worker a living wage and minimum social security
Robert Owen
Owen saw both the advantages of industrialization in speeding up the growth in wealth and its negative effects on human beings
He was generally opposed to the way in which competition in capitalist system pitted everyone against everyone else, valuing an egotism and dishonesty that destroyed human relationship,but he was particularly outraged at how the pursuit of gain led business to mercilessly exploit workers
A welsh industrialist and social freformer
Charles Kingsley
Sought to "socialize the Christian and Christianize the socialist"
His doctrines includes love, religion, cooperative association and educations
english university professor, historian and novelist
Louis Blanc
Founder of state socialism
Opposed on capitalism and competition which he said would ruin both the laboring class.
Denied that state is necessarily an instrument of wealthy class, and pinned its hope on education, electioneering and gaining control of government