socialism

Revolutionary socialists

marx and engels
rosa luxemburg

Social democrats

anthony crosland

Democratic socialist

Beatrice Webb

Third way socialists

anthony giddens

Marx and Engles - human nature

human nature, originally fraternal and altruistic, has been contaminated by capitalism, instilling the 'false consciousness' of bourgeois values

Marx and Engles - the state

the existing liberal bourgeois state is a tool of the dominant capital class, it must be destroyed by revolution and replaced with a socialist state

Marx and Engles - society

capitalist society is sickening, yet, fatally defined by class interest and conflict, a communist society would be perfect

Marx and Engles - the economy

capitalism is corrupt, inefficient and ultimately self destructive
it should be replaced with an economy based on collective ownership

Rosa Luxemburg - human nature

not damaged as much as marx says
fraternity and alturism still flourish in working class communities punished by capitalist economies

Rosa Luxemburg - the state

the existing capitalist state must be destroyed by revolution, but one arising from strike action
the replacement state should be a genuine democracy with free speech and free elections

Rosa Luxemburg - society

capitalist society is class-ridden and morally indefensible, yet alternative societies, or sub-cultures, exist within downtrodden proletarian communities

Rosa Luxemburg - the economy

capitalism is more resilient than marx allowed
its necessary destruction, and replacement by an economy based on workers control, will require determination and solidarity among the proletariat

Beatrice Webb - human nature

the damage inflicted by capitalism upon the human psyche will be compounded only by violent revolution
humanity needs to be guided back, gradually, to its original, cooperative condition

Beatrice Webb - the state

if harnessed to universal suffrage, the existing state could be used to affect a gradual transition to socialism

Beatrice Webb - society

the poverty and inequalities of a capitalist society continue to depress human potential while fostering regressive competition

Beatrice Webb - the economy

a chaotic capitalist economy will gradually be replaced by one which secures for the workers the full fruits of their labour, based upon a common ownership of the means of production

Anthony Crosland - human nature

human nature has a powerful sense of 'fairness' and an innate objection to huge inequalities of outcome

Anthony Crosland - the state

democratic socialist governments (labour 1945-51) prove that the existing state can be used to effect radical socialist change

Anthony Crosland - society

society is increasingly complicated, altered by the emergence of new social groups comprising 'meritocratic' managers and 'classless' technocrats

Anthony Crosland - the economy

a mixed economy, underpinned by limited public ownership and Keynesian capitalism, will finance the greater public spending necessary to secure equality

Anthony Giddens - human nature

human nature has been shaped by changing socio-economic conditions
the pro-fairness instinct is still present, but it now competes with a sharpened sense of individual aspiration

Anthony Giddens - the state

the existing liberal state should be improved, redistributing and decentralising political power while encouraging greater political participation

Anthony Giddens - society

society has undergone embourgeoisement - egalitarians must harness, rather than deny, these forces

Anthony Giddens - the economy

a neo-liberal economy, propelled by privatisation and deregulation, will provide huge tax yields
this will finance huge increases in public spending, which will secure greater equality of opportunity

All socialists - human nature

is malleable and improvable

All socialists - the state

a state is vital to the promotion of core socialist values

All socialists - society

see our social environment as the crucial determinant of out personalities so if society can be improved (made more equal and fraternal), improvements in out attitude and behaviour will follow and class is biggest inhibitor of that

Revolutionary socialists - human nature

is especially susceptible to which ever economic system its under
people are likely to suffer a 'false consciousness' that can only be cured by a revolution

Revolutionary socialists - the state

the existing capitalist state would have to be destroyed by revolution and replaced by a dictatorship of the proletariat, which, in turn, would 'wither away' to produce stateless communism

Revolutionary socialists - society

existing society is so 'sick' and inimical to socialist views that only a revolution can provide the necessary 'shock therapy'

Revolutionary socialists - the economy

socialism is incompatible with a capitalist economy based on private property
a new, non capitalist economy should be created quickly via revolution

Social democrats - human nature

the problems caused by capitalism can only be fixed through revolution, then humanity needs to gradually be guided back to cooperation

Social democrats - the state

believed that the existing state can be used to steer society towards socialist value and the constitution can reform the state (same as third way)

Social democrats - society

society can be 'gradually' improved, and socialist values gradually entrenched, by a series of reforms that gradually curtail private ownership

Social democrats - the economy

believe a non capitalist economy will be created gradually, via a series of elected socialist governments
(crosland) believe that the economy should be mixed (allowing a degree of public ownership) and run along keynesian lines by governments

Third way - human nature

human nature can prosper under capitalism yet still appreciate the importance of core socialist beliefs such as cooperation, fraternity and collectivism

Third way - the state

believed that the existing state can be used to steer society towards socialist values and that the traditional state (in capitalist society) requires constitutional reform rather than abolition (same as social democrats)

Third way - society

society can be gradually improved and believe such improvements can occur alongside private property and capitalism

Third way - the economy

should be neo-liberal, private and deregulated, claiming this will produce a greater tax yield and thus more public spending
globalisation
'a hand up, not a hand out'

Webbs quote on capitalism

Capitalism is the principle cause of crippling poverty and demeaning inequality

Crosland quote on class for society

If its the last thing I do, i’m going to destroy everything fucking grammar school’

Marx on societies quote

‘the history of all hitherto existing societies is the history of class struggle’

Webb on the state quote

The state should guarantee a national minimum of civilised life’