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Socialism Flashcards

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1
Q

How did Robert Owen’s view of human nature and character differ to the classical liberal view?

A

Robert Owen was a Utopian Socialist

Believed that a humans character was formed for him through a cyclical view of society

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2
Q

What made Owen’s New Lanark mill so unusual and famous?

A

This employed 2000 people
he improved housing and environmental improvements

Banning the employment of Children and opening community schools which extends into adult education and people were tracked and measured

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3
Q

Why did Owen believe that his reforms at New Lanark made sense both morally and economically?

A

Higher wages
Social welfare was higher
he believed that higher social welfare led to higher productivity

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4
Q

What were Owen’s proposed ‘villages of cooperation’? How did his cooperative vision work out at New Harmony?

A

where villages would work together to collectivity raise children leading to a higher quality of living

this would lead to a higher productivity level

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5
Q

What are cooperative stores? How were they inspired by the New Lanark village shop

A

The shop was bulk buying store enabling lower costs which will leads to small profits going to increase the quality of life

they are owned by the collective members

profits are distributed evenly or reinvested

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6
Q

What are labour exchanges? Why did Owen hope to replace money with labour vouchers?

A

When labour became a currency led to a merit based society with a co-op based shop

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7
Q

Why did Owen work, and sometimes clash, with the trade union movement?

A

Owen was against direct action and protest

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8
Q

Why did Marx believe work to be such a fundamental part of our ‘species-essence’?

A

The simple humanity of life

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9
Q

What is Marx’s theory of alienation? How and why are workers said to be alienated under capitalism?

A

Under capitalism via the division of labour works such that workers font produce an entire product and are hence separated from their natural state. they also may not be able to afford goods

Houses cannot afford to live in

workers no longer feel part of an interconnected society

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10
Q

What is historical materialism? Why was Marx’s view of history so unique?

A

The view that humans have progressed through a series of stages

Because humans no longer had to focus on means of production they would now focus on the means of government

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11
Q

Why did Marx believe that the production of material goods was so fundamental to understanding the past and present?

A

Because in the past the production of goods was encompassing in society

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12
Q

What does Marx mean by a society’s ‘means of production’?

A

Land Labour Capital and Enterprise

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13
Q

How do the means of production influence the ‘relations of production’ found in each stage of history?

A

There are the class relations and are concerned with who owns the means of production

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14
Q

Why did Marx believe history to be story of ‘class struggle’?

A

history is the story between a ruling and a lower class

slaves and slave owners
arisocracy and peasants
bourguease and peasants

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15
Q

What is a society’s ‘superstructure’? Why is it shaped by the economic base (means and relations of production)?

A

The social factors of contemporary socsitery

This is shaped between the economic base of the measures of production and the relations of production

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16
Q

What is ‘false consciousness’?

A

The working classes are unable to see that they are being exploited

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17
Q

What is dialectical materialism? How and why did Marx adapt Hegel’s dialectics?

A

The conflict of the economic base in how society produces goods and services which drives societal and economic progress

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18
Q

Why did Marx believe that old relations of production would eventually ‘fetter’ new means of production?

A

because dialect materialism would lead to the invention of an entirely new structure

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19
Q

What did Marx argue then happened in the ensuing ‘era of revolution’?

A

Communisum

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20
Q

Why did Marx think that commodity production under capitalism was so different to pre- capitalist societies?

A

Pre capitalism commodities are made, exchanged for money, and then commodities are purchased

In cpatalisum money is invested to produce a commodity to make money

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21
Q

What is the difference between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie?

A

The protalitariat with no access to FOP and therefore are forced to sell their labour

The bouquise process capital which can be used to make money

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22
Q

Marx’s theory of labour value:
What does Marx mean by ‘labour power’?
What did Marx believe determined prices and wage levels?

A

Marx theory of labour value- the exchange of labour reflects the amount of labour necessary to produce goods

Capitalism needs labour power to produce goods and labour is treated as a commodity

exchange value which is goods in terms of another commodity have a use value or an exchange value

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23
Q

Marx’s theory of surplus value:
What is the difference between ‘labour power’ and ‘labour’?
What is the difference between ‘necessary’ and ‘surplus’ labour?
Why did Marx believe that workers were being exploited?

A

Labour is what a worker inputs

labour value is what a worker outputs

surplus value is the difference between labour and labour value

Because firms are incentives to increase productivity decreasing % of labour in the necessary labour/ supply of labour

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24
Q

What are some examples of the dialectic conflict and contradictions that Marx thought doomed capitalism?

A

Firms want low wages to allow a low cost of production but also higher wages to stimulate demand for their goods

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25
`What is ‘class consciousness’?
When workers would be concentrated their false consciousness would be exposed and would become class conscious
26
Why did Marx believe revolution to be so important? Why was he sceptical of claims that capitalism could be overthrown more gradually?
He was sceptical as the ruling class will always have the capacity to stop revolution
27
Why did Marx believe that a transitionary ‘socialist’ stage was needed before communism?
because a stage where a society shakes of its socialist values is needed before society can fully brace communism
28
What is the dictatorship of the proletariat? What reforms did Marx suggest might take place under socialism?
When the plotalitariat becomes the ruling class and forces through social change abolition of land, abolition of property, state ownership
29
Why did Marx believe that socialist society would still be unfair? How would communist society be different?
The state would still be unequal and the state would still ecsit class would still edits
30
What did Marx believe would happen to the state in the final stage of communism?
No state No class Abundance of goods leading to more free time No surplus positive Quality of life
31
Equality
Relative poverty leads to low social cohesion. This creates and divides and makes life harder for people of different classes. they live separate and dissimilar lives
32
Social Class
Class is one of the the biggest divides in society and that all history is formed around class struggle
33
Common Humanity
All humans have common interests we look to one another as siblings of species and co-operate
34
Collectivism
limits placed in individual freedom in order to pressure the common good working for collective interests and trade unions
35
Common Ownership
under capitalism only a bourguese class have access to property
36
Workers’ Control
socialists argue that they should have control over the Labour
37
What are the two main questions that divide socialists?
Fundamental socialists- socialism requires overall capitalism Revisionist socialism- Believes that society can be socialist with capitalism
38
How did Rosa Luxemburg challenge Eduard Bernstein’s argument that there was no need to overthrow capitalism and the state?
Moving to Germany in her 20's to pressure the socialist movement The social democrat party became influential in Europe. State supports ruling class- this has to become overturned
39
Why was the dialectic of spontaneity and organisation so central to Luxemburg’s philosophy?
Revolution included spontaneity of DA and careful spontaneity to guide it
40
Why did Luxemburg consider democracy so important to socialism? How would socialist democracy differ to ‘bourgeois democracy’?
because freedom allows socialism to persist without democracy a proletariat dictatorship would form
41
Why did Vladimir Lenin believe that socialism required a vanguard party? What did Luxemburg think of these arguments?
Vanguard Party- a group plotting the revolution who are inside the elite luxenburg was underlain that a vanguard policy could impose an entire revolution that the population wasn't ready for
42
What is ‘democratic centralism’? Why was Luxemburg concerned by Lenin’s arguments? To what extent was she prophetic of what was to happen later in Russia?
Where policy is decided centrally and imposed on the population Luxumburg argued that democracy allows the safeguarding from this
43
Why was Beatrice Webb drawn to the Fabian Society rather than the SDF?
Beatrice Webb was a key member of the Fabian Society which favoured evolutionary socialism unimpressed by Karl Marx
44
Revolutionary Socialism
Socialism is only achievable via the overthrow of the establishment by the proletariat
45
Democratic (Evolutionary) socialism
Socialist reforms can be brought about gradually peacefully and constitutionally through parliemtn
46
Why did Sidney Webb believe in the ‘inevitability of gradualness’?
The idea that capitalism slowly becomes socialist over time Higher political interests and rights leads to greater equality
47
How did the Fabian’s view of the state differ to Marx and Luxemburg’s?
Marx wanted an overturning of society which opposed the views of the more conventional Beatrice Webb This believed in social progressed not a class war victory
48
Why did Beatrice Webb prefer cooperative federalism to cooperative individualism?
This was because of Co - Operative federalism was more open
49
Why did Beatrice Webb nonetheless believe that trade unions were important?
Trade unions were vital to existing as a check on the power of the state and the power of cor-porations
50
Why did local and state governments play a key role in the Webbs’ socialist vision?
Local governments allowed the buying power of communities made higher quality customer products in a state owned co-operativbe
51
How did Beatrice Webb’s ‘national minimum’ foreshadow the welfare state?
Argued state had to tackle causes of problems Must have minimum treatment of workers which is the welfare state
52
What influence did the Webbs have on the early Labour Party?
Grouped socialist societies to become labour party Webb drafted the constitution began to build non membership base
53
Why did Anthony Crosland believe that Marx’s arguments were increasingly irrelevant?
Anthony Crosland was a social democrat Capitalism had changed the years following Marx and that his ideas can no longer apply. There is no longer lower U/P, trade unions, managers and HR
54
How does social democracy contrast with democratic socialism? Why did revisionists disagree with fundamentalists?
Less faith in the Invisible hand after 2007 WW2 had encouraged collective Workers growing more more affluent
55
Why did Crosland believe that alienation and confrontation were unavoidable in both private and publicly owned industries?
Confrontation and alienation are impossible due to low complex modern production
56
Why did Crosland disagree that the collective ownership of property was key to socialism?
Because many in capitalist Britain had the liberties socialism was called upon the bring
57
What arguments did Crosland make for equality? Why did he believe it to be the core aim of socialism?
Inequality breeds more inequality inequality is inefficient
58
Why did Crosland believe that education and public services were key to achieving a more equal society?
Post war consensus needed to go further and that education should be a higher priority
59
Why did Crosland believe that managed capitalism and wealth redistribution could deliver social justice?
While tax shouldn't be too high and stifle good work it should redistribute income
60
What were the ‘major revolutions’ that Anthony Giddens felt the Third Way had respond to?
Globalisation Transformations in how lives were lived relationships with nature
61
How and why did the Third Way seek to triangulate the old left and the New Right?
By combining the best of both ideologies. Social policy of the left and economic stance of the right
62
What was Giddens’ ‘new mixed economy’? How did it influence New Labour?
Markets were needed by that there should be boundaries between the state has to have a welfare state
63
How does a market/ competition state compare with top- down state socialism?
Economic theroy of socialism was always inadequate New economy of both public and private sectors
64
Why did the Third Way stress ‘inclusion’ over equality? What is the difference?
redistribution of equality but less reduction in privilege through wealth tax. Welfare encouraging work. Public finance initiatives academies competition market state
65
Why did Giddens stress the importance of community – of rights and responsibilities?
Because while people are unique our identity is fundamentally shaped by our relationships
66
How and why would a social investment state differ from the old welfare state?
Welfare state should encourage employment by becoming a social investment state. Hand up not hand out Governments should not, through benefits, disencorage work
67
How and why was the Third Way approach to issues like crime and the family different to old social democracy?
tough on crime and tough on the causes of crim e
68
Branches of socialism
Fundamental Socialism - Revolutionary socialism - Evolutionary Socialisum Revisionist socialism -Social Democracy -The Third Way

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