Socialism

Flashcards about Socialism

Socialism

Focusing on co-operation and the role of the society and community.

Revolutionary Socialism

Believes capitalism should be overthrown.

Evolutionary Socialism

Believes capitalism can be reformed.

Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels

Revolutionary Socialists who were highly critical of capitalism and advocated for a revolution to overthrow it.

Rosa Luxemburg

Revolutionary Socialist who agreed with Marx & Engels that capitalism should be overthrown but thought a revolution could be ‘spontaneous’.

Beatrice Webb

Evolutionary Socialist who thought capitalism should be abolished but believed it could be ‘gradually’ replaced by ‘common ownership’.

Anthony Crosland

Evolutionary Socialist who argued for a ‘mixed economy’ and that Marxist class distinctions were unfit for the 20th century.

Anthony Giddens

Evolutionary Socialist who advocated for accepting some right-wing economic policies as long as they could be used to promote policies leading to social justice.

Optimistic Human Nature

Socialists believe that humans should not fear the future or accept their fate and are destined to improve the world.

Fraternal Human Nature

Socialists see human beings as brotherly and comradely and are naturally inclined to generosity and concern for others.

Rational Human Nature

Socialists view humans as naturally logical and rational enough to understand that their needs are best served by working together.

Communal Human Nature

Humans naturally seek to be part of a community and will sacrifice their self-interests for the common good of all.

Malleable Human Nature

Socialists believe that human nature is malleable and able to be changed.

Existential Society

Socialist thinkers see society as crucial because there is no understanding of human nature without a society.

Collectivist Society

Socialists believe that individual efforts are better achieved and more practical when linked to the interests of others.

Class-focussed Society

Class divisions in society exist, and socialists side with the ‘have nots’ or ‘working classes’ to correct these inequalities.

Egalitarian Society

Socialists argue that an unequal society means that equality of opportunity is limited and seek to create a more ‘egalitarian society’.

Fundamental Economy

Socialists place a large amount of importance on the economy.

Redistributive Economy

To create an equal and more egalitarian society it is necessary for wealth to be redistributed across society.

Interventionist Economy

Socialists agree that government should intervene in the economy and therefore they reject ‘laissez-faire’ economics and a minimal government.

Rejection of Anarchism

Socialists advocate for a strong socialist state to replace the capitalist state, unlike anarchists.

Rejection of Medieval States

A socialist state is incompatible with a monarchical state or a theocratic (religious) state.

Enlarged State

Socialists agree that a large and extensive state is necessary.

Class Conflict

Capitalism creates two classes in society, those who have wealth (bourgeoisie) and those who do not (proletariat), leading to class conflict.

Exploitation of the Masses

The bourgeoisie ‘own the modes of production’ and are able to exploit or oppress the masses.

Surplus Value

Workers are paid less than the value of their labour, leading to alienation and dehumanization.

False-Consciousness

Capitalism creates a ‘false consciousness’ which stops individuals from acting in their naturally fraternal way.

Capitalism is Self-Destructive

Each economic crisis will be worst than the last, leading to people losing their ‘false consciousness’ and gaining a ‘class consciousness’.

Capitalism cannot be fixed

It is not possible, feasible or desirable to fix capitalism as it only serves the interests of the ‘dominant economic class’.

Revolution is historically inevitable

History was ‘dialectic’ and a clash between the existing mode of production and those challenging it.

Dictatorship of the Proletariat

After the inevitable revolution, private property would be replaced with common ownership.

Critique of Marxism

Capitalism need not reach an advanced stage before a class consciousness could be achieved.

Spontaneous Revolution

A revolution could and should occur ‘spontaneously’ amongst the people through existing groups such as trade unions.

Engagement with Existing State

Campaigning in things like elections would be the best way to spread the ideas of socialism.

Support for Democracy

A post-revolutionary state should be a genuine democracy with actual competition in elections between differing socialist parties.

Critique of Capitalism

Capitalism should be rejected as an economic system and replaced by a more orderly economy.

Support for the State

Revolutions were “chaotic”, “unmanageable” and “counterproductive” and the state can bring about socialist changes.

Gradualism

The existing state should promote a slow but steady movement towards socialism and ‘common ownership’.

Revisiting Class

Class was more complicated than ‘us and them’ due to the emergence of a ‘managerial class’.

Mixed Economy

A “pragmatic blend of public and private ownership”.

Keynesianism

The government can guide the economy towards steady growth and full employment.

Public Spending not Public Ownership

The government can create constant growth which would lead to more tax revenue which would go towards public spending.

Welfarism

Policies such as the founding of the NHS, implementing universal education and introduction of social security and benefits system are aimed at tackling inequality and poverty.

Embourgeoisement

Society had undergone a process of ‘embourgeoisement’ and was becoming more diverse.

Triangulation

A new form of socialism that bridged the gap between neo-liberal economics and social democracy.

Remixed Economy

It was perfectly accept to allow private industry to be involved in public services.

Cultural Equality

A focus on social equality because society had become “more diverse, multi-racial and cosmopolitan”.

Communitarianism

It was important for the state to repair divisions between groups in society.

Redistribution of Power

A strong state should share its power rather than centralizing it.