Key Thinkers Flashcards
(36 cards)
socialist key thinkers
Karl Marx (1818 to 83)
Friedrich Engels (1820 to 95)
Beatrice Webb (1858 to 1943)
Rosa Luxembourg (1871 to 1919)
Anthony Crosland (1918 to 77)
Anthony Giddens (1938 to present)
what is Marxism?
Marxism is an ideological system within socialism that drew on the writings of Marx and Engels
At its core it explains why it is inevitable that capitalism will be replaced by communism
what is communism?
Communism is an economic and political system advocated by Karl Marx in which private ownership of the means of production is abolished in favour of common ownership
A classless society is established, production is based on human need and the state withers away
Marx argued that only under such a system can humans realise their full potential
KARL MARX (1818 – 83) & FRIEDRICH ENGELS (1820 – 95): who were Marx and Engels? what were their most famous works?
Marx and Engels were the most famous revolutionary socialists
their most well-known works include The Communist Manifesto (1848) and Capital (1867, 85, 94)
many of their ideas contrast sharply to the brutal and oppressive communist regimes established in the name of Marxism during the 20th and 21st centuries
KARL MARX (1818 – 83) & FRIEDRICH ENGELS (1820 – 95): views on social class
social class is central to socialism
vital in understanding society
it underpins the three elements of Marxism; historical materialism, dialectical change and class consciousness
KARL MARX (1818 – 83) & FRIEDRICH ENGELS (1820 – 95): views on human nature
human nature is socially determined and can only be expressed under communism
any selfishness, greed and corruption seen in humanity is due to the capitalist system rather than true human nature – our behaviour and potential is influenced more by nurture than by nature
humans are essentially social beings – we are sociable, rational and cooperative
people are capable of leading satisfying lives based on fulfilling work, as long as the conditions for free creative production exist – these conditions do not exist under capitalism so the individual cannot realise his or her true human potential
only under a communist system (in which private property is abolished, class differences, state apparatus and divisions between mental and physical labour) will human nature truly flourish, we are deeply constrained by capitalism so will not be free until it is removed
when it is removed we will be free to become fully developed people, engaging in many activities and achieving our potential through creative work in cooperation with others
KARL MARX (1818 – 83) & FRIEDRICH ENGELS (1820 – 95): historical materalism
historical and social development can be explained in terms of economic and class factors
the economic system powerfully influences and conditions all other aspects of society
it forms the superstructure which impacts culture, politics, law, ideology, religion, art and social consciousness
KARL MARX (1818 – 83) & FRIEDRICH ENGELS (1820 – 95): dialectical change
a process of development that occurs through the conflict or struggle between two opposing forces
at each stage of human history, dialectical change is propelled by the struggle between exploiters and the exploited (capitalists and workers)
class conflict creates internal contradictions within society, which drives historical change
this process only ends with the establishment of a communist society
KARL MARX (1818 – 83) & FRIEDRICH ENGELS (1820 – 95): class consciousness
class consciousness is needed in order for the oppressed to overthrow their oppressors
under capitalism, before a socialist revolution can take place, the proletariat must become a “class for itself” which involves becoming aware of its own interests and being determined to pursue them
it also essentially involves the realisation and self-understanding that they are oppressed
a historical phenomenon, created out of collective struggle
revolution – “the proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. Working Men of All Countries, Unite!”
BEATRICE WEBB (1858 – 1943): who was she? what were her most famous works?
an early member of the Fabian Society
alongside her husband, she wrote numerous pro-socialist works including A Constitution for the Socialist Commonwealth of Great Britain (1920), The Decay of Capitalist Civilisation (1923) and Soviet Communism: A New Civilisation? (1935)
BEATRICE WEBB (1858 – 1943): route to socialism
endorsed the inevitability of gradualness – socialism must be established peacefully by passing democratic reforms through existing parliamentary institutions
the new mass age of democratic politics would inevitably lead to policies to secure the interests of the working class
the move towards socialism could be achieved more rapidly by presenting reasoned arguments and valid research to show the efficiency of socialism compared to capitalism
rejected the Marxist theory of class struggle and revolution
BEATRICE WEBB (1858 – 1943): the state
expansion of the state will deliver socialism, it is critical in achieving socialist values
in particular, centralised state action will further the development of socialism
this belief was shaped by her participation in the Royal Commission on the Poor Laws, which made her aware that problems such as unemployment had national rather than local characteristics, so state action should be central and act on a national level
saw the gradual growth of state power as evidence that collectivism would bring a new socialist age
for example, local authorities were increasingly providing utilities and amenities such as gas, public transport and parks
the expanding state had “silently changed its character… from police power to housekeeping on a national scale” which would ensure the peaceful emergence of socialism
BEATRICE WEBB (1858 – 1943): what does the state’s ability to achieve socialism depend upon?
the state’s ability to achieve socialism depends heavily on highly trained specialists and administrators to organise society and the economy
over time, municipal and state intervention would increase as more areas of life would need to be regulated and planned
a disciplined elite would have the role of running the state “to guide the mass of citizens to a Socialist State”
BEATRICE WEBB (1858 – 1943): what did her believes in the state lead her to endorse?
her beliefs in centralised state action, rational planning and bureaucratic direction led her to endorse Stalinist Russia in the 1930s
she and her husband claimed that the “deliberate planning of all the nation’s production, distribution and exchange, not for swelling the profit of the few but for increasing the consumption of the whole community” had developed their interest in Communist Russia under Stalin
BEATRICE WEBB (1858 – 1943): human nature
believed that the average voter was limited, selfish and uninformed – this led her to reject direct democracy and the self-interested nature of workers’ control
her belief in human nature was also why she opposed the idea of a working class party, focusing instead on spreading evolutionary socialist ideas among leading liberals and conservatives AND shaped her views on suffrage
favoured representative democracy as it would lead to a skilled governing class subject to democratic constraints
“Nature still obstinately refuses to co-operate by making the rich people innately superior to the poor people”
ROSA LUXEMBURG (1871 – 1919): who was she? what did she develop?
Luxemburg was a Marxist and revolutionary socialist
she was regarded as the most prominent left-wing member of the German Social Democratic Party
she developed important critiques of evolutionary socialism and revisionism and disagreed with Lenin over key features of Marxism
ROSA LUXEMBURG (1871 – 1919): route to socialism
in Social Reform or Revolution (1899) she argued that socialism cannot be achieved or created gradually from within capitalism through a series of reforms
essentially, evolutionary socialism is not possible as capitalism is based on economic exploitation
instead, socialism should be achieved via revolution
ROSA LUXEMBURG (1871 – 1919): class consciousness
struggle by the proletariat creates the class consciousness needed to overthrow the capitalist state and society
in The Mass Strike, the Political Party and the Trade Unions (1906) she argued that this consciousness would develop naturally from within the workers themselves
proletarian discontent against state control would erupt in numerous unsuccessful and successful strikes, culminating in a spontaneous mass strike which would radicalise the workers and bring about a socialist revolution
it’s vital for the proletariat to achieve a revolutionary conquest of political power
ROSA LUXEMBURG (1871 – 1919): mass strike
“the mass strike is the first natural, impulsive form of every great revolutionary struggle of the proletariat and the more highly developed the antagonism is between capital and labour, the more effective and decisive must mass strikes become”
ROSA LUXEMBURG (1871 – 1919): the problem with evolutionary and reformist approaches to socialism
evolutionary/reformist approaches to socialism would leave the capitalist system of economic exploitation still intact
worker organisations would never be able to determine their wages or resolve the contradiction between social production and the private appropriation of wealth
socialist parties would lose their sense of political purpose and the revolutionary instincts of the working class would be dampened
evolutionary socialism is not viable because it would never get rid of the exploitation inherent in the capitalist economy
ROSA LUXEMBURG (1871 – 1919): capitalism
capitalism is economically exploitative
in The Accumulation of Capital (1913), she argued that the capitalist market could not absorb all the surplus value generated
by accessing less economically developed territories and markets, capitalist states effectively exported the capitalist system
but eventually, capitalism would run out of new territories and markets to exploit and the system would collapse
ROSA LUXEMBURG (1871 – 1919): revolution
her views on revolution brought her into direct conflict with the Bolshevik Leader, Lenin
in Organisational Questions of Social Democracy (1904), she rejected Lenin’s argument that the workers had to be led by a small, rigidly centralised vanguard party in order to overthrow capitalism
she believed that such a revolutionary party that demanded blind obedience from the people would create an “absolute dividing wall” between the leaders and the mass membership, this would prevent workers from becoming “free and independent directors” of society under socialism
instead, revolution must be carried out by the people themselves
ANTHONY CROSLAND (1918 – 77): who was he?
a leading post-war revisionist theorist in British socialism who had major influence on the Labour Party
ANTHONY CROSLAND (1918 – 77): capitalism and the economy
in The Future of Socialism (1956) he claimed that capitalism had radically changed and no longer resembled the economic system based on inherent contradictions that Marx described
due to the extension of democracy, the growth of industrial bargaining and the dispersal of business ownership, capitalism was no longer extremely exploitative or only beneficial to the elite
decision making in business was now in the hands of managers, key industries were nationalised and a comprehensive welfare state had been established
governments pursuing Keynesian economics could maintain high employment, ensure low inflation and promote continuous growth – so rather than collapsing, as Marx predicted, capitalism had produced rising living standards for all
“Marx had little or nothing to offer the contemporary socialist”
