Socialism Flashcards
How is socialism linked to contradictory outcomes?
On the one hand, it has been tied to what many consider to be the finest aspects of the human condition, such as fraternity, comradeship, altruism, compassion and a dedication to caring for society’s most vulnerable. On the other hand, in places like the eastern bloc, China and Cambodia socialist reform has led to oppression, genocide and some of the most brutal societies to ever exist
What movement did socialism and liberalism both grow out of?
The enlightenment
List some of the things socialism and liberalism have in common
Optimistic view of human nature
Exalt reason over faith and superstitution
Progressive in the sense that they believe in the possibility for reform and are ready to challenge the status quo
Share a desire to liberate humans from oppression
Foundational equality - we are all born equal and so deserve equal opportunities
Reject the traditional state of monarchical absolutism and divine rights
Reject anarchism in that they believe that a certain kind of state can secure significant progress in terms of freedom and foundational equality
Give an example of the liberal notion of the sanctity of private property being challenged as early as the 17th century
There were people unsure that the principles of the enlightenment could be reconciled to property ownership. During the English Civil War (1649-60) one group of radical anti-monarchists, the levellers, argued that God had given the land to all mankind, yet some had exercised greed so as to acquire land for themselves
How did ideas around rejecting private property develop in the 18th century
Jean Jacques Rousseau in his Discourse on the Origin of Inequality (1755) suggested that many crimes, wars and muders, many horrors and misfortunes arose from the concept of private ownership, while during the French Rev Francois-Noel Babeuf led a ‘conspiracy of the equals’ demanding the abolition of private property
When was the term socialism first used
The early 19th century
Describe the contributions of Robert Owen and Charles Fourier to the development of socialism
Both were so called utopian socialists, offering a radical response to the emerging problems of capitalism and industry. Fourier advocated independent communities based on communal ownership and production, involving equal distribution of resources and a culture marked by tolerance and permissiveness.
Owen set up model cooperative communities in Scotland and America, designed to promote shared ownership, shared responsibility and altruism
What is utopian socialism
Refers to the earliest form of socialism, based on a vision of the perfect human existence. For Marx, its utopian character stemmed from its lack of any clear vision for bring about such socialism
When did socialist ideas begin to be taken seriously
During the mid 19th century, when the pace of industrialisation increased dramatically
How had industrialisation weakened liberalism
Offered an inadequate response to the issues brought about by industrialisation. Liberalism seemed to be in denial about the impacts of urban life and blinkered to the fact that in the new industrial areas there was little scope for individual autonomy and freedom
What does Eric Hobsbawm say about conditions in mid 19th century Britain
For an individual living in a slum, paying rent to a rapacious landlord, while working in a factory for whatever wages his employer deigned to pay him, any notion of freedom or independence seemed utterly distant
Explain fraternity and cooperation
Fraternity denotes the socialist belief that the relationship between human beings should be marked by generosity, warmth and comradeship; that we should regard our fellow human beings as siblings rather than opponents and that cooperation and solidarity, rather than competition and division should be the norm in human affairs
How is liberal optimism about human nature different to socialist optimism
Liberals think individuals are naturally self reliant and self sufficient, whereas socialist believe that we are naturally generous, altruistic and compassionate. Instead of seeking independence, supremacy and autonomy as liberals claim, we seek solidarity, fraternity and comradeship
Socialism concedes that mankinds true nature has been diluted by time and circumstances. So whereas liberalism takes an optimistic view of human nature as it is, socialists are more optimistic about how it could be. This is because socialism sees human nature as malleable or plastic, rather than being permanently fixed at birth. They therefore feel that human nature can be adjusted, ensuring that we can fulfil our true fraternal while contributing to a more cooperative community
How do socialists differ from liberals in terms of how they see society
Liberals see society as being the sum of autonomous individuals, socialists see individuals as being the product of society
Socialists therefore see society as an independent construct formed by impersonal forces
What do socialist thinkers like Marx and Engels think are the impersonal forces that make up society
They thought these forces were primarily economic, with the means of production - that is, the way society’s resources are determined and distributed - having a crucial impact upon the nature of society, and by implication human nature
Why are socialists sceptical of the classical liberal claim that we are masters of our own destiny
Because they say this will depend on the nature of society. Society is often cited as the main reason for individuals not fulfilling their potential
How do socialist think we can improve the prospects of individuals who are not fulfilling their potential
By changing society, since we are products of our environment
Explain the idea of class
Social class is central to socialism - it defines an individuals circumstances, prospects and attitudes. Various terms have been used to describe class distinctions: middle class/working class, bourgeoisie/proletariat, white collar/blue collar. All denote a certain type of employment, while indicating status and wealth within society
What do socialists think was the main consequence of the industrial rev
The emergence of distinct social groupings - classes - based principally upon employment and an individual’s source of income. They say these classes are central to our fate. They reject that men and women are autonomous creatures, free to carve our our own identities and destinies - socialists argue that our status, priorities and prospects are shaped by the social class they are born into. And your position in the social class is in turn determined by the state of the economy
Explain the idea shared by Marx and Engels, as well as more moderate socialist thinkers like Anthony Crosland that social classes are profoundly unequal in terms of power and influence
Those in the working class earn less and therefore wield less influence in society. Individuals in some sections of society will have more opportunity to make the most of their potential than individuals in other sections of society. This feeds into socialism unique perspective on equality
Explain how the socialist idea of equality is different to liberalism
Because they think the formal equality liberals advocate for is meaningless without greater equality of outcome within society, by which socialists mean a greater equality between people’s material resources within society
Explain the socialist idea of social justice
Legal and formal equality is not enough to guarantee equality of opportunity. These things must be accompanied by social justice, which involves things like healthcare and education accessible to all and a minimum wage for employees. The case for social justice therefore usually leads to the case for collectivism
How do socialists justify the idea that greater material equality is needed between the classes in order to allow for equality of opportunity
They say that irrespective of character, ability and intelligence an individual born into a lower class background will have fewer opportunities than a similar individual born into a higher class background.
Say that a society that produces inequality of outcome in one generation will produce inequality of outcome in the next. Therefore argue that until we have a society that produces greater equality outcome, the objectives of liberalism and the enlightenment, such as self determination and foundational equality, cannot be realised. Unlike modern liberalism and paternalistic conservatism, socialist think it is insufficient to just improve the position of society’s poorest - saying that unless the gap between the social classes has narrowed, society will continue to lack fraternity, cooperation and solidarity, and will instead foster greed, envy, resentment and division
Why are private property and capitalism a threat to our fraternal, cooperative nature
Because they encourage competitiveness, ruthless egotims and the callous pursuit of self interest
What does capitalism generate that socialists have a problem with
Huge inequalities of outcome, which are incompatible with equality of opportunity, social justice and self determination
Define common ownership
Alternative to private property and a capitalist economy, a method of ownership seen as being conducive to equality and fraternity. Synonymous with state or public ownership
Define capitalism
Economic liberalism. Based on private property, private enterprise and competition between individuals and individual organisations
How do socialists look to rectify the issues caused by capitalism
By championing an economy that provides greater workers’ control in employment, significant wealth redistribution
How did Tony Benn describe the principles or redistribution championed by socialists
Described socialism as the politics or Robin Hood - taking from the rich and then giving the the poor.
What two principles does the redistributionist economy involve
Rejection of laissez faire capitalism. Socialists say that in an economy where there is low taxation and minimal state interference will be one where unfairness and social injustice are exascerbated
Second, arising from the rejection of laissez faire, socialists demand greater collectivism. This economic perspective claims to focus on the needs of society as a whole rather than on the abilities of a few enterprising individuals
For socialists, economic collectivism can take various forms…
Progressive taxation, whereby the state extracts its wealth from its citizens on a slidling scale so that the richer classes contribute more
Progressive public spending where the state uses its tax revenue in a way that enhances the position of the less fortunate through things like state benefits to the unemployed or elderly
Extensive public services, where the state uses its tax money to guarantee key public services like healthcare and education. Socialists claim that if these services were left entirely to private enterprise, then they might prove inaccessible to the more disadvantaged sections of society
Extensive state regulation of capitalism to prevent exploitation by society’s richer and more powerful elements. Examples of such regulations are a legal minimum wage for employees, equal pay legislation, health and safety directives and guarantees for maternity leave
State ownership recommended where private enterprise is seen to fail with bad consequences for the vulnerable in society. The original clause IV of the Labour Party constitution championed by thinkers like Beatrice Webb was a controversial expression of this belief in a more collectivist economy, while the post war nationalisation of industries such as coal, iron and steel can be seen as this being put into practise
What do socialists think are the two main benefits of a redistributionist economy
Things like progressive taxation, increased public spending, extensive public services and more public ownership are seen as expression of a more cooperative, fraternal society with greater social justice
Collectivist principles are seen to make the economy more efficient. Marx and Engels pointed out that capitalism was volatile and unpredictable, causing periodic mass unemployment. A more collectivist economy will be more stable and manageable and therefore more likely to provide the material resources society needs
Why do socialists think that a strong state is necessary
Because with out it it will be impossible to bring about a fairer and more equal society. In the short to medium term at least, it will be difficult to bring about wealth redistibution and greater social justice without an expansive and dirigiste state
They say that any reduction in state power is likely to produce increased economic and social inequality.
What is a dirigiste state
One that seeks to direct a society’s economy
What do branches such as classical marxists and orthodox communists believe will eventually happen to the state
That it will no longer be necessary and will with wither away, with Marx calling this the end of history
What kind of states do socialist reject
Monarchical states - based on the authority of one person
Theocratic states, based on religious principles
Aristocratic states - based on a hereditary ruling class
What kind of state do socialists want
They want to see political power, as well as economic power, redistributed, with decision making reflecting the principle of equality and an empowerment of the people. This means socialist will at least pay lip service to democracy
What two broad categories can we divide socialism into
Revisionist socialism and fundamentalist socialism
What is the difference between fundamentalists and revisionists
Revisionists say that the core themes of socialism are compatible with capitalism and private property but fundamentalists disagree
Define fundamentalist socialism
Earliest form. Originally asserted by Marx and Engels with their classical Marxism, however, this form of socialism has seen been associated with branches such as orthodox communism, neo marxism, euro communism and democratic socialism
Define communism
Seen by Marx as the ultimate stage of human development, represents the perfect society, based on communal ownership, communal living and the principle of each according to his needs
Define Marxism
Sees history as episodic, critiques capitalism and justifies revolution
What do all fundamentalist socialists believe
That at some stage capitalism must be abolished
What was classical marxism the first branch of socialism to do
Set out detailed analyssi
What did Marx mean when he described the likes of Owen and Fourier as utopian socialists
He used this term to denote the vagueness and superficiality of their beliefs
What did Marx say that capitalism promoted
Exploitation, alienation and oppression of one class by another and was therefore fundamentally at odds with key socialist principles like fraternity, solidarity and equality
Who ideas did Marx and Engels draw on when they said that history goes through stages moving towards an end point
Friedrich Hegel
What is the idea that history moves to an end point by going through stages called
Historicism
What did Hegel think happened at the end of each historical stage
There was an intellectual clash, known as a dialectic. This dialectic occured when the official narrative about a society’s aims and culture - as propounded by its ruling classes - no longer corresponded to the perceptions of the majority, who experienced what Hegel described as alienation.
What did Hegel say a dialectic would produce
A new kind of society, a new orthodox mentality and a new stage of history that would survive until the next wave of alienation
Define class consciousness
Marx and Engels said this was a by product of capitalism that would be especially pronounced among the downtrodden working class. It would eventually be the engine or revolution and capitalism’s destruction
Define historical materialism
Marx and Engels view that each stage of history was defined by a clash of economic ideas, relating to how society’s resources should be produced and distributed
How did Marx and Engels adjust Hegel’s historicism
They said that the prevailig mentality would always be defined by economics and the mode of production. They thought that history was a series of economic stages, a process they termed historical materialism
They saw the dialectic not so much as a clash of ideas as of economic interests - something they termed dialectical materialism. Within this dialectic, one class would be economically dominant, while the others will be exploited for economic purposes. This was the logic that led them to realise that capitalism was historically doomed, given the class consciousness it would produce among an economically exploited and therefore alienated proletariat
What is the mode of production
The way society’s resources were generated and dispersed
List the stages of historical materialism and dialectic change according to Marx and Engels
1) Primitive societies with no economic organisation
2) Slave based societies with slaves as the main mode of production
3) Feudal societies - land is owned by the monarch and then leased to lords, tenants and eventually serfs
4) Emergence of capitalism
5) Emergence of proletariat and class consciousness
6) Revolution and destruction of capitalism
7) Socialism (dictatorship of the proletariat)
8) Withering away of the socialist state
9) Communism
10) End of history
Explain Marx and Engels belief in revolution
They said that capitalism was bound to become unsustainable because it would produce a large alienated workforce which had developed class consciousness and that it would therefore be necessary to smash capitalism through revolutionary violence and replace it with an alternative economy and society. They said this could not be achieved peacefully within existing liberal societies. Said these states were the servants of the capitalist societies that must be destroyed. Rejected evolutionary or reformist socialism as an inherent contradiction
Insisted that a new economy and state, forged by revolution, were essential if socialist values were to be secured. The dictatorship of the proletariat would eradicate any traces of the liberal capitalist society that preceded it and pave the way for a stateless communist society based on common ownership, one that would be so flawless that it would represent the peak of human achievement and the end of history
How did Lenin wish to refine Marx’s ideas
Said that Marx’s insistence that the revolution and dictatorship of the proletariat could only occur in societies where capitalism and the proletariat were well developed
Which key thinker shared Lenin’s disagreement over the notion that revolution could only occur in places where capitalism was well established
Rosa Luxemburg
Why did Lenin and Luxemburg object to Marx’s idea that revolution could only occur in countries where capitalism was well established
Because this idea unacceptably implied that less developed countries would have to go through many more decades of oppressive rule and all the horrors of a developing capitalist economy before the salvation of socialism could arrive
What are the two most famous works of Marx and Engels
The Communist Manifesto (1848)
Das Kapital (1867)
How did Marx define the bourgeoisie
The ruling class that managed the economy
How did Marx define the proletariat
The working class, which sold its labour to the bourgeoisie in return for wages
How did Marx counter the liberal idea that capitalism was bound to succeed as it provided prosperity and individuals liberty for all
Said that capitalism usually sought to be competitive by creating surplus value, where employers paid employees minimum possible wages so as to allow greater profits to refine the means of production. They said that this surplus value was capitalism sowing the seeds of its own destruction by nurturing resentful class consciousness in the working class who would resultantly rise up and overthrow the system by revolution
Explain Marx’s rejection of the idea that the liberal state was politically neutral
Argued the state would serve the interests of whichever class solved the economy. The liberal state was therefore ‘merely a committee’ for the ruling class and could never provide an evolutionary road to socialism. This would inspire later revolutionary socialists like Ralph Miliband and Tariq Ali who ridiculed the parliamentary socialism championed by institutions like the Labour party
What did Marx say should happen after the revolution had occured
They said a new state should emerge to govern in the interest of the new economically dominant class - which they called the dictatorship of the proletariat. Once this alternative state had cemented socialist value it would wither away and be replaced by communism - a stateless society of common ownership based on the idea from each according to his ability to each according to his need
What did Lenin want to do to Marx’s idea of revolutionary socialism
Accelarate it and ensure that socialism and communism could pre empt the development of capitalism
How did Lenin support the idea of accelarating revolutionary socialism in What is to be Done? (1902)
Said that revolution in pre industrial countries should be the cause but not the effect (as Marx argued) of socialist ideas developing
Lenin believed revolution occuring before capitalism had fully developed would prevent the people from developing any kind of sympathy towards capitalism (a situation Leninists referred to as false consciousness) which would then be a further obstacle to socialism
Although Luxemburg agreed with Lenin’s impatience for socialism, she was also concerned that his ideas would…
Make socialism less relevant to the already industrialised masses in Germany
Over what idea do supporters of Lenin and Luxemburg undergo a major split
In respect of how the revolution should arise, how it should be conducted
Which 4 tasks did Lenin say the vanguard (the revolutionary elite) were there to complete
1) Plot and plan the overthrow of the existing regime
2) Incite and organise the revolution
3) Prior to and during the revolution, it would start educating the masses into the basic virtues of socialism
4) Once the old regime had been toppled, the vanguard would form a new organisation: the Communist Party. This new party would embody Marx’s dictatorship of the proletariat and direct all aspects of the new post revolutionary society - a doctine that became known as democratic centralism
Define democratic centralism
Not democratic in the generally accepted sense. Only one party and only within that party could there be open discussion. Lenin said that once the body had made its decision, this decision would embody the will of the people, making further debate at best unnecessary and at worst disrespectful to the revolution. The doctrine was later used to justify severe repression in orthodox countries like China and Russia
How did Stalin uphold and develop the ideas of Lenin
Collectivised agriculture and instituted a five year plan for industrial development, either relocating or murdering a whole peasant class in the process
Rejected the permanent revolution theory of Trotsky, who argued that any new socialist state could only entrench itself by encouraging revolutions in neighbouring capitalist countries. Instead, Stalin promoted the idea of ‘socialism in one country’ where the USSR would isolate itself from the outside world and thereafter promote an idea of socialist nationalism (a concept Luxemburg rejected )
How did Mao develop orthodox communism
Adopted similarly brutal methods as had been performed in Russia. Instead of rejecting Trotsky’s notion of a permanent revolution, Mao refined it into the notion of an ongoing cultural revolution - one that would destroy the old way of thinking in much the same way that the previous revolution had destroyed the old mode of production
When was Mao’s cultural revoltution mainly conducted?
Between 1966-9
Describe Mao’s cultural revolution
Campaign of persecution against any aspect of traditional Chinese culture (like ancestor worship) that was thought to legitimise inequality and promote anti socialist thinking. Religion, deference to the elderly and the subordination of women were cruelly discouraged. As with Stalin’s Russia, millions of people died in the process
Why were many of the countries that adopted the orthodox communist method in the second half of the 20th century too impatient according to Marx
Because he would have seen them as nowhere near the level of economic development necessary for revolution
Give some examples of countries that invoked the ideas of vanguard parties and democratic centralism in the second half of the 20th century
Cuba, North Korea and North Vietnam
