Socialism Lecture Notes Flashcards

Flashcards covering the key vocabulary and concepts from the Socialism lecture notes.

Socialism

A political and economic theory of social organization based on collective or state ownership of the means of production, distribution, or exchange.

Collectivism

A core idea of socialism that emphasizes action taken by groups is more effective than action taken by individuals and facilitates shared goals and common humanity.

Common Humanity

A core idea of socialism states that humans are social creatures with a tendency to cooperation, sociability and rationality and the individual cannot be understood without reference to society, as human behaviour is socially determined.

Equality

A core idea of socialism focused on a more equal distribution of wealth and income within society.

Social Class

A group of people within society who have the same socioeconomic status; socialists believe that we need to become a classless society.

Workers' Control

A core idea of socialism, where democratic socialists advocate for a more equitable distribution of economic resources and decisions taken for the benefit of all members of the workforce.

Fraternity

Workers can group together, in fraternity, against their capitalist oppressors. The sharing of common interests and beliefs; it implies that a group sharing those beliefs is as close as ‘if they were brothers’.

Class consciousness

Describes a stage under capitalism at which the proletariat becomes aware of their exploitation at the hands of the bourgeoisie: A potentially revolutionary class of people emerges.