Socialism

What is socialism?

• Seeks varying degrees of equality, common ownership & collectivism
• Can be sub-divided by its end goals (fundamentalist / revisionist) or by its means (revolutionary / evolutionary)

Human nature: Rational & alturistic (having concern for the welfare of others)

Equality: Of outcome (egalitarianism), rights, opportunity, welfare

Collectivism: A belief that humans work best in cooperative social groups e.g. NHS, govt. housing, nationalisation & state education

Common Ownership: May mean no private enterprise or allowing some regulated private enterprise. Nationalisation of some industries and / or public ownership of welfare organisations

Social Justice: Fair distribution of wealth, income & social status

Social Harmony: Social cohesion & community

Democracy: A belief that rational / alturistic humans are deserving of "people power"

Class Conflict: "class consciousness" / "common class interest"

• Economic inequalities within capitalism are the result of systematic injustices
• Equality would enhance positive freedom by safeguarding people from poverty
• Without social equality, other forms of equality are unobtainable
• Social equality would enhance social harmony & community

Aims

• Achieve communism through the abolition of the capitalist economy & state. Seek society based on common ownership
• Disagreements between utopian (ethical) socialism & Marxism (scientific socialism)

Utopian socialism

• Utopia = an ideal society, system or way of life
• Implies a highly optimistic view of human nature
• Implies an over-optimistic view of human nature; idealistic; unattainable fantasy
• Focus on moral critique of capitalism
• Robert Owen & Charles Fourier

Marxism

• Focus on economic / materialist critique of capitalism
• The state is the political agent of the ruling class
• Human history is a series of economic stages, each containing two main classes (teleological history)
• Bourgeoisie & proletariat
• labour => value => profit => exploitation => class conflict => revolution => dictatorship of the proletariat => communism
• Collective ownership of industry

The Inevitability of socialism

• Emerged in the 20th century
• W/c suffrage, majority w/c population & emergence of socialist parties made parliamentary road to socialism both desirable & inevitable

Fundamentalist vs. revisionist socialism

• Fundamentalist: rejects capitalism entirely & seeks to abolish & replace it. Seeks to establish common ownership & equality of outcome. Eurocommunists & Fabians
• Revisionist: Seeks to reform capitalism rather than abolish it. Seeks social justice within capitalism through welfare & redistribution

Why do socialists promote collectivism?

• Belief in community, social group, collective body
• Belief in human nature as alturistic & able & willing to cooperate
• Promotes collective action

How do socialists promote collectivism?

• Experimental communes
• Mass w/c uprising, collective ownership & abolition of the state
• Nationalisation, redistribution of wealth, welfare, trade unionism, progressive taxation

Democratic socialism

• Fundamentalist - Clause 4 of the Labour Party constitution (common ownership)
• Nationalisation
• High taxation & welfare
• The state became a useful tool for progressive socialist advancement & reform

Reasons for post-war revisionism

• Nationalism & patriotism encouraged by two world wars
• Cold War generated hostility to socialism in the West
• Post-war economic boom
• Traditional w/c was in decline as blue-collar jobs were replaced by white-collar ones
• Parliamentary socialist policies viewed as inefficient, bureaucratic & expensive

Social democracy

• Advocated mixed economy, combining the benefits of market capitalism & state socialism
• Combined private & state ownership
• Moderate welfare
• Equality of opportunity

Reasons for 1990s' neo-revisionism

• Continuing shrinkage of the w/c
• Consistent election defeats of the Labour Party
• Impact of the New Right
• Collapse of communism
• Globalisation

The "Third Way"

• Blend of free-market capitalism & state socialism
• Originally devised by Benito Mussolini in the 1930s, but not explicitly adopted until the 1990s under Clinton and Blair
• Involved providing wider opportunities to disadvantaged social groups