Socialism

Question 1

What is collectivism?

Answer 1

Collectivism maintains that humans can achieve their political, social and economic objectives more effectively through collective action. It also suggests that society can only be transformed by collective endeavour.

Question 2

Arguments for collectivism

Answer 2

Human nature:
humans are social creatures with a natural tendency to work together to achieve their goals, tied together by the bonds of fraternity.
Society:
• The interests of the group (for example, society or community) should take priority over individual self-interest.
• People are defined by the social groups they belong to, so membership of a community/society offers fulfilment.
The economy:
Collective endeavour utilises the economic potential of society more efficiently than wasteful competitive individual effort.
The state:
Collective action via the state ensures a fairer distribution of goods and services (via state intervention and state planning) than free-market forces.

Question 3

Collectivism in practice

Answer 3

Different strands of socialism vary in their commitment to collectivism.
Marxists:
Marxists advocated collective action based on the principle of ‘from each according to ability, to each according to need’ (for example, the communist regimes of the USSR and North Korea).
Revisionist socialists:
Revisionist socialists accept some degree of free-market capitalism and pursue collectivism in a more limited way (for example, the 1945-1951 UK Labour government nationalised key industries but left much of the economy in private hands),

Question 4

What is common humanity

Answer 4

Socialists see humans as social creatures with a tendency for cooperation, sociability and rationality. The individual cannot be understood without also by reference to society, because human behaviour is determined by people’s place in society.

Question 5

Arguments for common humanity

Answer 5

Cooperative effort
Humans are naturally inclined to work together for the common good because cooperative effort:
• produces the best results for society
• enables people to form connections based on respect, understanding and mutual support
• is superior to capitalist competition which sets
One person against another and undermines our common humaniby.
Moral motivation
Humans can be driven by a desire to contribute to the betterment of society
For example, cooperative effort to boost economic growth increases living standards for the working population and provides the funds (through taxation) to finance welfare
measures

Question 6

Example of collectivism

Answer 6

Example of collectivism
The cooperative movement began in Britain with the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers (1844).
Cooperatives are voluntary associations designed to provide economic assistance for their members They are owned and run by workers or consumers (rather than investors), who benefit in the form of shared earnings or cheap goods secured through the cooperative.

Question 7

Sig of equality within socialism

Answer 7

The pursuit of social equality or equality of outcome is, arguably, the fundamental value of socialism.
Equality underpins most areas of socialist thought.

Question 8

Two key principles on which equality is based

Answer 8

1. Social equality/equality of outcome: the equal distribution of economic rewards such as income and wealth.
2. Egalitarianism: a theory or practice (best viewed in a relative sense) designed to remove or reduce inequalities and ensure everyone has a fair chance in life.

Question 9

Revolutionary socialist position on equality

Answer 9

The state: revolutionary socialists demand absolute equality (in terms of material rewards and life opportunities), the abolition of private property and replacement with common ownership of all means of production.

Question 10

Social democrat position on equality

Answer 10

Economy: social democrats call for the relative equalising of society within a reformed capitalist economy via welfare measures, government spending and progressive taxation to remove absolute poverty.
Human nature: material incentives continue to play an important role in human motivation, and greater emphasis is placed on equality of opportunity.

Question 11

Arguments in favour of equality

Answer 11

• Ensures fairness: economic inequality is due to the structural inequalities in capitalist society, rather than innate differences of ability among people.
• Reinforces collectivism, cooperation and solidarity: human beings are more likely to co-exist harmoniously and work together for the common economic good if they share the same social and economic conditions.
• Satisfies basic human needs: the more equal distribution of wealth and resources, via the redistributive state, will promote human fulfilment and realise human potential.

Question 12

What is common ownership?

Answer 12

Socialists argue that common ownership of the means of production ensures that all can participate and benefit. They argue that wealth is created by communal effort so it should be owned collectively.
Conversely, private property encourages materialism and the false belief that personal wealth will bring fulfilment. It also generates social conflict between ‘have’ and ‘have not’ groups.

Question 13

Equality of outcome and who supports

Answer 13

People’s experiences of society should be more or less the same.
Associated with social equality and economic equality.
Do: fundamentalist
socialists, who reject capitalism.
Don’t: social democrats and the Third Way as artificial social and economic levelling.

Question 14

Absolute equality and who supports

Answer 14

Everyone who contributes to society will receive the same rewards.
Over time, each person’s contribution will be roughly equal.
Do: Marxists, who support communism.
Don’t: social democrats and the Third Way as impractical and
potentially destabilising.

Question 15

Equality of opportunity and who supports

Answer 15

Everyone has an equal chance to make the best of their abilities, with no artificial barriers to progress for those who work hard and have ability and talent.
Do: The Third Way (see page
62) on meritocratic grounds.
Don’t: Marxists because it does not remove capitalism.
Social democrats who support greater social equality/justice.

Question 16

Universal welfare and who supports

Answer 16

Inevitably, human society is unequal.
However, all individuals have an equal minimum standard of living guaranteed by state welfare provision.
Do: social democrats as it protects the most vulnerable.
Don’t: Marxists because it does not remove capitalism. The Third Way as they support targeted welfare.

Question 17

Social Class

Answer 17

Socialists believe that members of a social class share similar outlooks and aims. Social classes are therefore the principal agents of change.
Socialism is ideologically committed to represent the interests of, and improve conditions for, the working class.

Question 18

Workers’ control

Answer 18

Socialists use the term ‘workers’ control’ in two ways:
• The complete or partial ownership of an enterprise (such as a factory, company or workshop) by employees, including real decision-making powers.
• Control of the state by the workers - a wider and more political concept.

Question 19

Marxist view on class

Answer 19

A person’s class position is economically determined by their relationship to the means of production. Conflict is inevitable between the owners of productive wealth (the capitalists/bourgeoisie) and those who sell their labour to survive (the working class/proletariat). The ruling bourgeoisie use the state apparatus (the political and legal system) to maintain their dominance. Eventually, class conflict leads to a proletarian revolution, which overthrows capitalism, resulting in a classless, equal society and the state withers away.

Question 20

Social democrat view on class

Answer 20

They define social class more flexibly, emphasising income and status differences between non-manual and manual occupational groups. Socialist objectives can be achieved through targeted government intervention to narrow (but not remove) class distinctions. The state provides welfare and redistribution schemes to reduce class inequalities.
Untike Marxists, social democrats advocate class consensus in society and peaceful social improvement

Question 21

Reasons for decline of socialism-working-class link

Answer 21

In recent decades, the connection between socialist ideology and working-class politics has weakened considerably because of;
• deindustrialisation, which has reduced the size of the working class and weakened the trade-union movement
• the rise of the post-industrial service and information economy, together with an expanding middle class.
Consequently, moderate socialist political parties have adapted their programmes to appeal to non-manual workers.

Question 22

3 justifications for workers’ control

Answer 22

Human nature
Economic
Society

Question 23

Human nature justification for workers’ control

Answer 23

Human nature: workers’ control is based on socialist views about human nature as it promotes collective effort and the pursuit of group interests. It also tackles workplace alienation (for more on working-class struggles, go to page 63) and challenges the capitalist view that the workforce is simply a commodity in the production process.

Question 24

Economic justification for workers’ control

Answer 24

workers are the most important element in economic production, so they should have the right to control the means of production and thus either dilute or replace capitalist control of the economy. By the early 1900s, for example, French syndicalists were calling for full workers’ control over the economy based on the trade unions and proletarian political institutions.

Question 25

Societal justification for workers’ control

Answer 25

it is an important step towards a socialist society. ‘Moderate’ workers’ control (such as increased trade-union influence over managers’ decisions) enables the introduction of limited social and economic reforms. 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.

Question 26

Criticism of workers’ control

Answer 26

-Businesses don’t just rely on workers; they also depend on people who are prepared to take commercial risks and invest money.
-Workers may not have the entrepreneurial qualities required to make their workplace a thriving concern.
-By assuming responsibility for functions, such as appointments, promotions and dismissals, manual employees may lack the appropriate managerial expertise, thereby undermining the economic prospects of their workplace.

Question 27

Why was rev road to socialism popular in the 18th century (2 reasons)

Answer 27

Early industrialisation and capitalism brought poverty, exploitation and unemployment. This was expected to radicalise the working classes.
Workers were largely excluded from political participation and so had little ability to influence policies is governments that were usually dominated by the aristocracy or bourgeoisie

Question 28

Example of rev socialists

Answer 28

Mao’s Chinese communist the Viet Cong and Castro’s Cuban insurgents (pictured).

Question 29

After 1945, national liberation movements in Africa, Asia and South America tried to adopt revolutionary socialism to: (2)

Answer 29

• remove colonial powers and dismantle outdated social and economic systems
• bring about rapid modernisation to enable these societies to catch up with more prosperous and technologically advanced industrial countries.

Question 30

Justifications for revolution

Answer 30

1. The bourgeois state is an instrument of class oppression, which upholds capitalist interests and is reinforced by the state apparatus (see page 59 for more on how the state exploits workers).
2. Gradual change will not lead to a socialist society because the ruling class and bourgeois values are too entrenched in the capitalist state and society.
3. A total transformation of society is required as the ruling class won’t give up its power without a fight.
   Revolutionary socialists often resort to violence to establish their regimes.
   For example, the civil wars in Russia (1918-1921), China
   (1946-1949) and Mexico (1910-1920).
4. Attempts to reform a capitalist society would undermine the principles and objectives of socialism, since capitalism is based on inequality and exploitation.

Question 31

Results of rev socialism

Answer 31

Revolutionary socialism has usually resulted in fundamentalist regimes that have claimed to be based on socialist principles. However, the key issue is that these states replaced private property with state ownership not common ownership. Without genuine common ownership, no further stages of Marxism were able to occur and these regimes used the term communist to justity brutal suppression of opposition in their country.

Question 32

The end (?) for rev socialism

Answer 32

Marxist theory has undergone a rebirth since the economic crash of 2007-2008, with a huge increase in sales of their books. The collapse of the USSR in the late 1980s allowed Marxist theory to be severed from the totalitarian Soviet Union once and for all.

Question 33

Blanquism info

Answer 33

Inspired by Louis-Auguste Blanqui (1805-1881), a French radical socialist, Blanquism called for:
• a rapid seizure of power by a small, secret, elite group of armed socialist conspirators rather than a mass organisation
• a temporary dictatorship, formed by this group, to dispossess the bourgeoisie and place industry and business under state control
• a socialist programme imposed on the population, by force if necessary
• state-assured equal conditions for workers who would be organised in industrial and agricultural producer associations.

Lenin’s revolutionary socialism was influenced by Blanquism.

Question 34

What is social democracy?

Answer 34

Social democracy is a revisionist form of democracy and attempts to reconcile free-market capitalism with state intervention,

Question 35

Social democracy attempts to reconcile free-market capitalism with state intervention, based on four assumptions:

Answer 35

1. Capitalism is a dependable creator of wealth, but distributes that wealth unfairly.
2. State intervention in economic and social affairs protects the public and remedies capitalism’s weaknesses.
   3.Peaceful constitutional methods should be used to bring about social change.
3. Socialism is morally superior to capitalism and should focus on social justice.

Question 36

History of socialism1, 2, 3

Answer 36

1. In the late 19th century, some socialists concluded that Marxism was flawed. Eduard Bernstein’s revisionist study, Evolutionary Socialism (1899), argued that capitalism was not developing along Marxist lines.
   The capitalist system was resilient and not succumbing to economic crises or promoting ever-deepening class conflict.
2. Bernstein concluded that capitalism was not brutally exploitative. It could be reformed peacefully through electoral politics. He called for state ownership of key industries, legal safeguards and welfare measures to protect workers.
3. In the 20th century,
   Western socialist parties recognised the dynamism and productivity of the market economy and pursued a revisionist policy of reforming capitalism.
   For example, the West German Social Democratic Party (1950s).

Question 37

Three key elements of social democracy:

Answer 37

1. A mixed economy, with only key strategic industries nationalised.
   For example, as under the Attlee Labour government of 1945-1951.
2. Keynesian economics (more on liberal economic theory can be found on page 51) as a means of regulating the capitalist economy and maintaining full employment.
3. Reform (not removal) of capitalism, using the welfare state, to redistribute wealth and tackle social inequality and poverty.

Question 38

Decline of social democracy 3 stages

Answer 38

1. After 1945, social democracy was a balancing act, trying to deliver both economic efficiency and egalitarianism.
   This tension was concealed during the early post-war boom-decades when economic growth, high employment and low inflation delivered both rising living standards and the tax revenues to expand welfare programmes.
2. Economic downturn in the 1970s-1980s exposed this central tension. Unemployment rose and demand for welfare increased as tax-based funding for social support declined (due to fewer people in work and falling company profits).
   Social democrats faced a critical dilemma: reduce inflation and taxes to stimulate the economy or prioritise the funding of welfare.
3. The shift to a service-based economy in the 1980s-1990s, and the contraction of the working class due to deindustrialisation, reduced social democracy’s electoral base. The collapse of the Soviet communist bloc
   (1989-1991) and rejection of its system discredited forms of socialism that looked to the state to deliver economic and social reform.

Question 39

Origin of Third Way

Answer 39

Following the crisis of social democracy, from the 1930s reformist socialist parties in Europe and elsewhere moved away from traditional social democratic principles and policies to embrace the Third Way.

Question 40

What is the Third Way?

Answer 40

• represents an ideological ‘middle ground’ alternative to traditional social democracy and free-market neo-liberalism in the context of a modern globalised economy
* advocates the primacy of the market, community, consensus and the competition state
• was first introduced in the UK by the Labour Party or ‘New Labour’ under Tony Blair in the 1990s. Peter Mandelson (New Labour politician) said: ‘We are intensely relaxed about people getting filthy rich. as long as they pay their taxes.’

Question 41

Five key features of third way

Answer 41

-Stresses the primacy of the market over the state and rejects ‘top down’ state intervention
-Values community and moral responsibility
-Supports a social model based on consensus and harmony
-Promotes social inclusion rather than the socialist commitment to equality
-Advocates a competition (or market) state

Question 42

Stresses the primacy of the market over the state and rejects ‘top down’ state intervention meaning

Answer 42

• Endorses a dynamic market economy and an enterprise culture to maximise
  wealth creation, thus showing some ideological overlap with neo-liberalism.
• Downplays the socialist policy of redistributing wealth through progressive taxation

Question 43

Values community and moral responsibility meaning

Answer 43

-Distances itself from the moral and social ‘downside of neo-liberal economics - a market-driven free-for-all.
-Emphasises communitarian liberalism whereby personal autonomy operates within a communal context based on mutual dependence and benefit so that rights have to be balanced by responsibilities.

Question 44

Supports a social model based on consensus and harmony meaning

Answer 44

-This clearly differs from the traditional socialist focus on class differences and inequality.
-Endorses what might otherwise be seen as opposed values or concepts.
For example, champions self-reliance and mutual dependence, and the market economy and fairness.

Question 45

Promotes social inclusion
rather than the socialist meaning

Answer 45

-Emphasises equality of opportunity and a meritocratic social system.
-Does not oppose great individual wealth if it helps to improve society’s overall prosperity.
-Welfare should target socially marginalised groups and provide the assistance people need to enable them to improve their own situation.

Question 46

Advocates a competition (or market) state meaning

Answer 46

-Aims to develop the national workforce’s skills and knowledge base.
-Focusing on social investment, the competition state emphasises the importance of education because it improves a person’s job prospects and boosts economic growth.

Question 47

Successes of the Third Way

Answer 47

-Third Way ideas have influenced various left of centre parties, including the German SDP and the South African ANC
ED
-under New Labour, neo-revisionism introduced important measures that promoted social justice and improved the position of the most disadvantaged in society (for
example, the minimum wage and family tax credits).

Question 48

Although New Labour was electorally successful in 1997, 2001 and 2005, many socialists criticise Third Way thinking because, in their view:

Answer 48

-it lacks real socialist content (for example, its watered-down commitments to equality and redistribution of wealth)
- neo-revisionism was essentially a Labour rebranding exercise to attract middle-class voters and business interests following four consecutive UK general election defeats

Question 49

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels beliefs

Answer 49

• Social class is central to socialism.
• Only under communism can the best of human nature
be expressed.
• The Communist Manifesto (1848) and Capital (Das
Kapital) (1867).
• 3 key elements of Marxism:
- Historical materialism. The economic system has always influenced every other aspect of society.
- Dialectical change – there has always been a struggle between the ‘haves and have nots’. This will only end with the establishment of a communist society.
- Class consciousness. Before the revolution can take place, the proletariat must firstly be aware of their own identity and establish how their goals are to be pursued.
• In a materialistic society, the individual cannot realise his or her full potential, whereas if private property and class differences are eliminated, he/she can become a fully rounded individual

Question 50

Beatrice Webb beliefs

Answer 50

Rejected Marxist theory of class struggle, preferring instead to pursue socialist goals through democratic means – evolutionary socialism.
• Husband Sidney was a key supporter.
• A Constitution for the Socialist Commonwealth of Great
Britain (1920).
• Rejected direct democracy as she felt the average voter was not well enough informed, preferring instead representative democracy where a skilled governing class could be relied upon to pursue socialist ideals.
• A vastly expanded state that could deliver socialism to the masses was preferable.
• Central planning of the economy was key.
• Naively endorsed Stalinist Russia because she felt at the time that its level of planning was in the public interest and rather than being motivated by profit, it would benefit the whole of society instead.

Question 51

Rosa Luxemburg beliefs

Answer 51

Rejected the idea of evolutionary socialism because it left capitalism intact.
• Need for workers control and a complete overthrow of the capitalist system.
• Social Reform or Revolution (1899).
• Capitalism is in the end, doomed. It will run out of markets and territories to exploit, so any attempts to work around it or compromise with it will simply prolong its life.
• Class consciousness and struggle by the proletariat is essential.
• Disagreed with Lenin’s belief that a small, rigidly centralised group was needed to overthrow capitalism.

Question 52

Anthony Crosland beliefs

Answer 52

• The Future of Socialism (1956).
• Capitalism had changed since the days of Marx.
• In terms of Britain, there now existed a welfare state, nationalised industries and bargaining power for trade unions. The appetite for revolution simply did not exist.
• Capitalism had actually led to an improvement in living standards.
• Socialism should now concentrate on managing capitalism to pursue the following goals:
1. Economic efficiency
2. A more community based society
3. Individual responsibility should be rewarded, rather than just talents and abilities
4. Social justice
• Supported redistribution and Keynesian economics.
• Wanted to expand the comprehensive school system, destroy grammar schools and increase access to high education.

Question 53

Anthony Giddens beliefs

Answer 53

• Social democrats need to adapt to and embrace the free market, understanding that entrepreneurship and capitalism can be harnessed to create wealth for all.
• The Third Way: The Renewal of Social Democracy (1998). The book draws on the strengths of social democracy but also on the neo-liberal free market.
• Past experience had shown that top-down state intervention was both inefficient and ineffective.
• The state should focus on investing more in the infrastructure of society – training, education, expert advice and so on).
• Community is vital.
• ‘Third Way’ politics dominated social democratic parties
in the West throughout the 1990’s and 2000’s.
• Critics on the Left argue that it departs so far from socialism in its embrace of the free market that it can hardly be regarded as socialism at all.
• Tony Blair and Bill Clinton both used his ideas.