socialism essay plans

agreements on human nature

- naturally fraternal, cooperative and altruistic (Enlightenment)
- is malleable so is shaped by socio-economic environment

disagreements on human nature

- revolutionary socialists think capitalism has completely corrupted human nature, but social democrats and Third Way are less pessimistic on capitalisms influence
- Third way believe there is a new sense of individualism forming in the post-materialistic society as it evolves in a new and complex way

agreements on the state

- the state is needed in order to enforce socialist values and move towards greater equality

disagreements on the state

- revolutionary socialists believe that the capitalist state must be overthrow, but evolutionary (WEBB), social democrats and Third Way believe in gradual replacement or improvement
- the Third Way is much more sceptical of the states abilities than social democrats

agreements on society

- socialists believe that society shapes human nature, so if society is improved then improvements in attitude and behaviour will follow

disagreements on society

- revolutionary socialists believe that through history society has been dominated by a singular ruling class (that must be abolished), but social democrats and the Third Way believe society has become much more complex and class boundaries have changed
- revolutionary socialists believe that society can only be improved via revolution but evolutionary socialist believe in more gradual improvements

agreements on economy

- capitalism is fundamentally flawed and it's effects if not dealt with will be harmful to society

disagreements on economy

- revolutionary socialists want to completely remove and destroy capitalism, evolutionary fundamentalists want to gradually replace it, social democrats want some private business but with Keynesian economics, Third Way want mostly private economy but with people paying taxes
- Third Way don't think Keynesian economics will work but social democrats believe it is the best way to achieve growth and equality

agreements on collectivism

- human nature means humans are naturally altruistic, cooperative and fraternal (positive influence of the Enlightenment) so they would therefore chose collectivism so that society works more efficiently
- human nature is shaped by environment so capitalism is corrupting it
- LUXEMBURG mass realisation of class conciousness

disagreements on collectivism

- revolutionary socialists want total collectivism, social democrats believe this does not really mean freedom (Soviet Union example by CROSLAND) and Third Way believe in limited collectivism due to more individuality and more focus on social inclusion
- there are disagreements over collectivism in the economy, revolutionary want loads, social democrats less and Third Way even less

agreements on common humanity

- humans are naturally cooperative, fraternal and altruistic so understand that there are shared problems within society
- CROSLAND and GIDDENS agree that humans have an instinctive recognition of fairness and would object to huge inequalities, MARX wants a state where you contribute according to your ability and receive according to your needs
- human nature is shaped by environment so capitalism could be driving us away from recognising common humanity (LUXEMBURG hates WW1 because it pits workers against each other)

disagreements on common humanity

- how much capitalism tarnishes humanity, revolutionary socialists say completely, social democrats a bit less and Third Way not very much
- Third way believe human nature has evolved in a way that is more complex than could have been expected so there is a new individualism

agreements on equality

- equality is the ultimate end goal of socialism

disagreements on equality

- how equality will be reached, revolutionary socialists believe it can only be reached by overthrowing the current capitalist state, social democrats and Third Way believe in gradual improvement of the state
- what form of equality will be reached, revolutionary want equality of outcome and equality of opportunity but Third Way are more focused on equality of opportunity than equality of outcome

agreements on social class

- all agree social classes have formed as a result of the inequalities capitalism creates and that the classes exploit each other

disagreements on social class

- revolutionary socialists believe that one class has dominated through history and needs to be overthrown, social democrats and Third Way believe that society has changed and classes are becoming less relevant and polarised

agreements on workers' control

- all socialists agree that workers should have more control over the economy

disagreements on workers' control

- how much control workers should have, revolutionary believe in full control, social democrats in less and Third Way in even less