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Socialism - Core Ideas and Principles, Socialist thinkers and their ideas,…
Socialism - Core Ideas and Principles
Key terminology
Fraternity
- The sharing of common interests and beliefs; it implies that a group with similar interests and beliefs are as close as 'if they were brothers'.
Co-operation
- Socialism is based on the fundamental premise that human nature is a work-in-progress and that our behaviour is determined by the economic system.
Common ownership
- AKA public ownership; this occurs when an organisation is run by the government for the benefit of all members of society.
Clause 4
- The original Clause 4 of the Labour Party's constitution made a firm commitment to common ownership.
Capitalism
- An economic and political system in which property and resources are owned privately, rather than by the state, with the intention of generating profit.
Bourgeoisie
- The social class that owns the capitalist means of production and society's wealth. This class is assumed to be most interested in the preservation of their private property and their wealth.
Proletariat
- The working-class; the wage-earners. This social group does not own the means of production in a capitalist society.
Communism
- An economic system based upon public ownership and a planned economy.
Socialists argue that our behaviour is determined by economic forces. Socialism therefore adopts a stance of economic determinism.
Collectivism
We can achieve valuable goals on a shared rather than individual basis.
Joining trade union can help workers to strengthen their position when bargaining with management.
Action taken by organised groups is more effective than the sum of individual actions.
Society is greater than the sum of its parts.
There is an inherent problem with individualism in that it serves
When individuals consider themselves to be the centre of their own moral universe they fail to develop any meaningful connection to others.
Collectivism is built on the assumption that the number of those disadvantaged by the unfettered marketplace is far greater than those who benefit.
The socialist view of democracy differs to that of a liberal.
Liberals claim that collectivist action will inevitably lead to the tyranny of the majority.
Socialist argue that democracy represents people working together to achieve a better society.
The socialist view of democracy is therefore built around a collectivist conception rather than atomised individualism.
Common Humanity
Human nature can be improved by the overhaul or reform of capitalism.
Socialism rejects the conservative argument that human nature cannot be altered.
Socialism is built around the assumption that man is a social animal.
Our behaviour is shaped by society and capitalism cannot bring out the best of human nature.
We seek to realise our goals on a collective basis and thereby co-operate with others to serve the common good.
All socialists agree that industries should be owned or regulated by the state in order to serve the broader public interest.
Each of us is of equal worth and opportunities should be spread as widely as possible.
There is also no natural order or hierarchy.
Inequality within a capitalist society is used to justify the way things are, but this is just a social construct.
Socialists dream of a better world based upon egalitarianism, fraternity and equality.
Equality
Equality is the defining goal of socialism.
Socialists favour a more equal distribution of wealth and income within society.
This is in sharp contrast to liberals and to some extent conservatives who favour equality of opportunity.
There are distinctions between the various strands of socialism regarding equality.
Social democrats such as Anthony Crosland assert that all of us have an equal worth regardless of social background.
A more even distribution of wealth via progressive taxation, a welfare state based upon universal benefits and a system of comprehensive education all help to achieve a more equal society.
Democratic socialists believe that the state should play a more prominent role within the management of the economy.
Only by a significant level of state involvement can we truly achieve an egalitarian society.
Democratic socialists reject the social democratic argument that the forces of capitalism can be tamed and therefore humanised.
The only shared ground between social democrats and democratic socialists concerns their support for the parliamentary path.
This contrasts with the fundamental Marxist perspective.
Each stage of history has been characterised by class conflict.
It is only via the creation of a communist society that this conflict can end.
We must take a great leap forward to create a classless society based upon communism.
This path towards socialism is unavailable under a parliamentary system dominated by the vested interests of the ruling class.
Social Class
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels proclaimed that "the history of all hitherto societies is the history of class conflict."
The social classes can be distinguished between those who own the means of production and those who work the means of production.
The means of production is a Marxist term which refers to those elements of the production process that can be legally owned such as land and machinery.
The bourgeoisie have every incentive to pay workers the lowest wage possible in order to maximise profit. If an employee refuses to accept this arrangement, they can be threatened with the sack and be replaced by members of the reserve army of labour.
Work undertaken by the reserve army of labour is characterised by low-wages, low-status, little or no job security, zero-hours contracts and poor working conditions
Under the exploitative conditions of the capitalist economic system, the surplus value of the proletariat is appropriated by the bourgeoisie.
Marxists claim that this leads to an acute sense of alienation because workers do not benefit from the products being made.
The worker is little more than a cog in a heartless and brutal capitalist machine. He/She is reduced to the status of a wage slave in which their labour is exploited by the owners of capital driven solely by the profit motive.
They become de-personalised from their own work and the fruits of their labour are stolen by the bourgeoisie.
Workers' control
This is concerned with the importance and the extent of control oer the economy and/or state and how it is to be achieved.
Democratic socialists advocate workers control on two grounds.
Firstly, it will ensure a more equitable distribution of economic resources.
The parliamentary route is the more effective towards socialism: those who lack the means of production and property outnumber members of the bourgeoisie.
Secondly, workers' control will abolish class distinctions
Workers' control is also promoted by those on the far-left of the political spectrum and embedded within an understanding of social class.
Class consciousness describes the stage under capitalism at which the proletariat becomes aware of their exploitation at the hands of the bourgeoisie.
A potentially revolutionary class of people emerges.
Class consciousness eventually results in the replacement of capitalism with a system run for the benefit of the workers.
Socialist thinkers and their ideas
Key terminoloy
Class consciousness
- A stage along the course of human development at which the proletariat becomes fully aware of the exploitation.
False consciousness
- A state of affairs in which the proletariat fail to gasp the truly exploitative nature of capitalism.
Dual consciousness
- A situation in which an individual is said to hold two contradictory sets of beliefs at the same time.
Historical materialism
- In order for human beings to continue to survive it is essential that they can produce (and reproduce) the 'material possessions/requirements' of life; how those material goods are produced is the key to understanding society.
Dialect
- A process that drives social change. Hegelian philosophy stipulates that social change occurs via an internal conflict upon which all ideas and states of affairs rest.
Keynesianism
- Based upon the assumption that the government should intervene within the economy to mitigate the problems of market failure.
Karl Marx 1818-1883
The centrality of social class
- the ideas of historical materialism, dialect change and revolutionary class consciousness.
Humans as social beings
- How nature is socially determined and how true common humanity can be expressed only under communism.
Marx's contribution can essentially be divided into two parts: a critique of capitalism and a prescription for a better society built around common ownership of the means of production.
Critique of Capitalism
Capitalists are parasites on the toll of others.
The bourgeoisie have every possible incentive to extract the maximum level of surplus value from their workers.
Exploitation of the proletariat is an inevitable consequence of capitalism.
Social democrats are flawed in their assumption that capitalism can be tamed by state intervention.
Only a revolution will lead to a better economic system and a better world.
A better society
Replacing an economic system based upon private ownership enables the creation of a fairer system.
An equitable distribution of wealth would free us from the environmental destructiveness and rampant consumerism of the capitalist economic system.
Social class can be distinguished via the means of production.
Marx also believed that the impact of capitalism was destructive in that it dissolved those meaningful relationships and sentiments that held society together.
Marx states that the biggest obstacle towards social progress is religion.
Critique of Marxism
Marx was from a bourgeois family and there were times when Marx tried to offer the same bourgeois comfort to his own family that he himself experienced.
Marx predicted a global revolution led by the proletariat but this has not occurred despite capitalism facing repeated crisis.
The Marxist response that the working-classes are suffering from false consciousness seems a self-serving one, and indeed, according to Raymond Aron, Marxism itself is the 'opium of the intellectuals'.
Friedrich Engels (1820-95)
Often overshadowed by Marx, with whom he wrote The Communist Manifesto; without the financial assistance of Engels it's highly doubtful that Marx could have led a viable existence.
He agrees with Marx that the means to establish a classless society was a via a bloody revolution.
As with Marx, his entire outlook was shaped by the Hegelian concept of historical materialism.
Engels also proclaimed that to get the very most out of life one must be active. It was a mindset that was surely encapsulated in his most-famous and widely-cited quote that '
an ounce of action is worth a ton of theory.
'
Beatrice Webb (1858-1943)
The inevitability of gradualness
- the gradualist parliamentary strategy for achieving evolutionary socialism.
The expansion of the state
- That this, and not the overthrow of the state is critical in delivering socialism.
Beatrice and Sidney Webb wrote the original Clause 4 of the Labour Party's constitution.
This pledged that Labour would '
secure for the workers by hands or by brains the full fruits of their industry.
'
Webb founded the Fabian Society
This society has been pivotal in influencing the modern labour party.
They believe in evolutionary socialism not revolutionary socialism.
Rosa Luxemburg (1871-1919)
Evolutionary socialism and revisionism
- This is not possible as capitalism is based on an economic relationship of exploitation.
Struggle by the proletariat for reform and democracy
- This creates the class consciousness necessary for the overthrow of the capitalist society and state.
Co-founded the anti-war Spartacus League and the newspaper 'The Red Flag' to raise awareness of exploitation under capitalism.
The evolutionary path towards
Differing views and tensions within socialism
Key Terminology
Revolutionary socialism
- According to revolutionary socialists, the transformation of society lies in the hands of the proletariat. As a result of class consciousness, the proletariat will finally realise their shared common interest in the overhaul of an economic system built upon exploitation.
Evolutionary socialism
- Democratic socialists support a parliamentary route towards a socialist system. By gaining an electoral mandate from the people, a socialist government could use a system based upon parliamentary sovereignty to implement a programme of nationalisation, centralisation, protectionism and co-operatives run by the workers.
Marxism
- Marz outlined a utopian society centred upon common ownership, in which communism represents the final stage of human history and with it the end of class conflict.
Revisionism
- Usually applied to those on the far-left of the political spectrum who seek to adapt Marxist theory in some manner without rejecting its core argument.
Social justice
- Along with equality, social justice is one of the fundamental principles of socialism. Social justice seeks to ensure the best possible allocation of resources based upon a subjective judgement as to what is considered fair.
Revolutionary socialism
The transformation of society lies in the hands of the proletariat.
Revolutionary socialists believe that capitalists will resist the rise of a socialist movement because they have a vested interest in the status quo.
The brave comrades who stand for whole-scale change will inevitably meet the full force of the repressive state apparatus.
An evolutionary, reformist approach is not possible because, according to figures on the far-left, even political parties themselves are agents of theruling class.
This means that liberal democracy is just an illusion, and capitalists will never accept socialist measures from a democratically-elected left-wing government.
Marxist thereby conclude that a reformist approach within a capitalist society is entirely counterproductive as it thwarts the revolutionary potential of the proletariat.
The provision of a welfare state and a limited degree of wealth redistribution serves to strengthen the discredited status quo.
Social democracy
The strand of socialism closest to the centre of the political spectrum.
Social democrats believe strongly in the virtues of co-operation between the government, the unions and management.
Wealth created within society should be reallocated via a combination of progressive taxation, an extensive welfare state programme and a significant role for both the public and private sector.
Social democrats favour a gradual approach to social change.
They firmly reject the view of revolutionary socialists that the means towards a better society is one that necessitates political violence.
Those further to the left of the political spectrum have claimed repeatedly that social democrats have sold-out the core values of socialism to placate powerful capitalist interests.
Social democrats believe that capitalism can and should be humanised.
The creation of a society built around social justice and equality does not therefore require a mass programme of nationalisation and state control as advocated by democratic socialists.
An economic system based primarily upon private ownership can be civilized via an extensive set of left-wing policies.
Third Way
A political and theoretical perspective that seeks to modify left-wing ideas towards the economic and political realities of globalisation.
This centre-left way of thinking advocates a balance between rights and responsibilities and a combination of social justice alongside market-orientated economics.
The welfare state should provide a 'hand up not a hand out.'
There is also a strong emphasis upon stakeholding.
Closely related to the concept of communitarianism which emphasises the interest of communities and societies over those of the individual and seeks to reinvigorate social democracy.
Linked with Tony Blair's New Labour introduced a whole raft of policies and measures consistent with the promotion of left-wing ideology.
The rate of income tax on high earners was raised in order to fund policies such as the minimum wage and the Educational Maintenance Allowance.
Blair was fully committed to privatisation, deregulation and the marketisation of the welfare state.