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Socialism - Coggle Diagram
Socialism
Key thinkers
Core ideas and principles
Collectivism
Differing views:
Revolutionary socialists
, like Marx and Engles, argue that a communist society should be organised communally, and all goods and property should be owned in common.
Social democrats
, such as Crosland, argue that capitalism was no longer a system of class exploitation and that a collectivist society was no longer necessary to protect the interests of the working class.
The
Third way
recognise the importance of community and agree that humans are sociable, seeking out society.
Their definition of a community is that people are responsible for creating a fair and decent community.
Collectivism is the view that the group is more significant than the individual.
Power is in the hands of the people as a whole, not in the hands of a few influential individuals.
Collectivism is based on the belief that collective human endeavour is of more excellent practical and moral value than individual self-striving.
Socialism is a collectivist ideology and offers a unifying vision of human beings as social creatures, capable of overcoming social and economic problems by drawing on the power of community rather than individual effort.
It's also based on the idea that when working together, humans can achieve much more than alone.
Power should be shared collectively across the whole community to enable the aims and wishes of the community to be realised.
It's clear to socilaists that human nature is naturally sociable.
Workers' Control
Differing views:
Fundamentalist socialists (
RS
) such as
Marx and Engels
envisioned the abolition of private property, and hence the creation of a classless, communist society in place of capitalism.
Their clear preference was that property be owned collectively and used for the benefit of humanity.
SD
like
Crosland
have gradually distanced themselves from the ‘politics of ownership’, arguing that the ownership of wealth had become separated from its control, preferring instead to focus on the pursuit of a more equal society rather than the advance of public ownership.
The
Third Way
moved even further away from the socialist tradition of nationalisation.
Arguing instead that capitalism had many positive traits, and it was better to concentrate on supporting the most vulnerable in society from the wealth capitalism creates rather than stifling its ability to ensure economic growth.
Giddens
argued for a “new mixed economy” with an acceptance of the need for private partnerships with public services, and of consumer-friendly, efficient public services.
Worker’s control refers to the complete or partial ownership of an economic enterprise by those employed there.
Workers’ control is clearly based on socialist views about human nature, as it promotes collective effort and the pursuit of group interests.
Workers’ control has significant implications for the economy. Some socialists say as the workers are the key factor in the production process, they should have the right to control the means of production.
Those endorsing workers’ control hold contrasting views regarding the role played by the state in the socialist transformation. Syndicalists are hostile towards the state, regarding it as an instrument of capitalist oppression and an inefficient bureaucratic structure incapable of initiating meaningful form.
Consequently, they call for the state to be forcibly replaced with a form of workers’ control based on a federation of trade union bodies.
Workers’ control can be seen as an important step towards a socialist society. At one end of the spectrum, ‘moderate’ workers’ control in a capitalist society provides a method of introducing limited reforms to the social and economic structure.
On the other end, industrial self-management by workers living under state socialism reinforces the idea that a socialist society should raise the condition and status of the working class.
Equality
For most socialists, equality must be measured by the outcome that describes a situation in which people have similar wealth and income, or what the general economic conditions of everyone's lives are like.
Fundamentalist socialists would argue that genuine social equality is impossible in a capitalist society as capitalism is a fundamentally unequal system which seeks to allow some form of inequality.
Socialists aren't satisfied with simply allowing individuals an equal opportunity to develop their unequal skills but demand social equality.
They have advanced arguments in favour of this equality:
Equality upholds social justice.
Equality demands that people are treated equaly by society in terms of their rewards and economic circustances.
Equality underpins community and cooperation
Equality ensures that human needs are met
Differing views:
RS
, such as Marx and Engles believe in absolute equality, brought about by the abolition of private property and COoMOP which would result in the abolition of classes.
Marx and Engles
seek to create a new communist society from scratch, suggesting that every aspect of society is organised towards the creation of a fully equal society.
SD
, believe in relative social equality, which means reducing inequality rather than striving for an equal society.
Crosland
seeks to use the state to reduce inequality in society, usually achieved by the redistribution of wealth through the welfare state and a system of progressive taxation.
They aim to tame capitalism, reflecting an acceptance of a continuing role of economic incentives.
The
Third Way
has been more supportive of capitalism. They believe in equality of opportunity combined with an emphasis on personal responsibility.
Giddens
redefiened it as 'equality as inclusion' and with it a far greater emphasis on providing opportunities for citizens to imrpove themselves.
Social Class
They view social class as the deepest and most politically significant division in a capitalist society.
They argue in capitalism, humans have been divided into different social groups based on the way they work.
Socialist attitudes have been expressed in 2 ways:
Socialists use the class as a way of understanding and analysing society.
Social classes are the principal payers in history and therefore provide the key to understanding social and political change.
Socialism focuses on the working class.
Socialists don't accept social class as a permanent feature of society, they either want a classless society or one where class inequalities are substantially reduced.
Differing views:
For
RS
, like Marx and Engels, class is linked to economic power, as defined by the individual’s relationship to the means of production. From this perspective, class divisions are divisions between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat.
SD
defines social class in terms of income and status differences between the middle class and the working class.
Crossland suggested that the Marxist notion of classes defined by ownership was out of state as share ownership widened meaning that many had shares in companies.
The advance of socialism is associated with the narrowing of divisions between the middle class and the working class brought about through economic and social intervention.
SD believed in social improvement and class harmony rather than social polarisation and class war.
The
Third Way
appears to reject class-based analysis completely, preferring to focus on supporting the most vulnerable in society and refusing to recognise capitalism as a system of class exploitation.
Giddens
preferred a consensual, community model of society, working on the ties that bind people together rather than seeing it as consisting of two opposing classes in conflict.
Common Humanity
The socialist view of human nature is that it's malleable, shaped by the experiences and circumstances of social life.
All human skills and attributes are learned from society, from the fact we stand upright to the language we speak.
Socialists believe that the individual is inseparable from society.
Human behaviour tells us more about the society they live in and how they've been brought up, rather than human nature.
Socialists have an optimistic belief in human nature, interested in what they have the capacity to become, not just what they are.
Their understanding of human nature is of a people bound together with common humanity.
Marx
argued that humans were socialised from birth via the capitalist system into a set of ideas that benefit the capitalist elite, the working class. 'false consciousness'.
Human nature can be improved towards more socialist goals which encourage cooperation.
Individuals who work together rather than against each other develop bonds of sympathy, caring and affection - a common humanity.
Socialists also believe that human beings can be motivated by moral incentives, not merely by material incentives.
Most ES would argue that an important incentive for economic growth is that it helps to finance the provision of welfare support for the poorest and most vulnerable elements of society.
The socialist belief in a common humanity has stimulates the growth of cooperative enterprises, designed to replace the competitive and hierarchic business that have proliferated under capitalism
Differing views and tensions
Hisorical overview