To what extent are socialists united on their views on society (24)

Para 1: The ways in which socialists are united in their views on society

• All socialists believe in tackling inequality in society

Para 1: The ways in which socialists are united in their views on society

• All socialists believe in tackling inequality in society

• All socialists are driven by the belief that there is too much inequality in capitalist societies when they’re left alone, and try to change this.

  • Marx and Engels viewed capitalist society as defined by two conflicting economic classes - the oppressive bourgeoisie and the oppressed proletariat - and deep inequality, rejecting the liberal view that capitalism promotes individual prosperity and liberty. As a result, they advocate revolution and its replacement with a far more equal, socialist society.

  • Though social democracy and the Third Way doesn’t support the abolition of capitalism as earlier socialists do, they are still driven by tackling inequality. Both strands of thought believe in harnessing the economic growth generated by capitalism to increase state spending and improve equality.

    • Anthony Crosland, for example, believed Keynesian economics allowed permanent economic growth and full employment. As a result, the greater amount of tax revenue generated could be used to expand the welfare state and therefore redistribute income and wealth.

Para 1: The ways in which socialists are United in their views on society

• All socialists believe Society can be improved

• All socialists are driven by a positive vision of improving society and tackling its problems

  • This contrasts with conservatism, which sees society as innately flawed and believes it can’t and shouldn’t be changed.

  • Earlier socialist thinkers, including revolutionary socialists, emphasised changing the economic system in improving society, whilst later socialists thinkers also focused on social policy such as education.

    • Beatrice Webb, a democratic socialist, saw trade unionism and extensive state intervention as key to tackling poverty and inequality in society.

    • Driven by Anthony Giddens’ Third Way thinking, New Labour instead put education front and centre. When asked for his top three priorities before the 1997 election, Tony Blair famously said ‘education, education, education’.

Paragraph 2: The Ways in Which Socialists are Disunited in Their Views On Society

• (Disagreement over Inequality Within Society)

• Whilst all socialists agree that equality of opportunity should be pursued in order to improve society, there is disagreement in terms of equality of outcome.

  • The Third Way disagrees with all other strands of socialism as it doesn’t agree with equality of outcome. Though the Third Way does support equality of opportunity, because of their support for free market capitalism, they also accept some level of hierarchy in society, and that some will get richer than others.

    • Anthony Giddens, the founder of the Third Way, argued that some level of inequality of outcome was worth it, as it was necessary in order to benefit from the economic growth generated by the free market.

Para 2: The Ways in which socialists are disunited in their views on society

• Disagreement over society under Capitalism

• Socialists disagree over whether there can be a positive sense of community and society in a capitalist economic system.

  • Earlier socialists, especially Marx and Engels believe there can’t be. They argued that capitalism was based on the exploitation of the proletariat by the bourgeoisie and on harsh inequalities. Further, they saw capitalism as creating a sense of ‘false consciousness’ among the working class, preventing them from acting according to mankinds cooperative, fraternal and selfless nature.

  • Social democrats and Third Way thinkers disagree. Both strands of socialist thought accept a significant degree of capitalism within the economy and believe in the possibility of solidarity and community despite this.

    • Crosland argued that economic change had made society less binary and polarised between the working class and employers than Marx imagined, citing new classes such as managers and technocrats. Given this, he argued not just for pursuing equality of opportunity, but for true social justice and communitarian society.

    • Giddens argued similar, with his Third Way thought supporting the ability of neoliberal capitalism to liberate individuals, whilst also trying to use education and other measures to promote community and counter the negative effects of the free market.

What is the overall argument:

Overall, there are important similarities and differences in socialist views on society, however the agreements arguably outweigh the differences as they are all driven by a positive vision of improving society and tackling inequality.

The Third Way differs significantly, but all other strands of socialist thought are very similar in their views of society.