socialism: tensions n divisions

revisionist socialism: a form of socialism that has revised its critique of capitalism n seeks to reconcile greater social justice w surviving capitalist forms

managerialism: the theory that a governing class of managers, technocrats n state officials - those who possess technical n administrative skills - dominate both capitalist n communist societies

Third Way: the notion of an alternative form of economics to both state socialism n free-market capitalism, sought at diff times by conservatives, socialists n fascists

knowledge economy: an economy in which knowledge is supposedly the key source of competitiveness and productivity esp in the form of info n communication theology

DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISM:

  • revolutionism: reviewing n changing a political theory. to differentiate between types of revisionism the term’

  • argued for a socialist state to be achieved via the ballot box rather than through revolution

  • the fabian society led by beatrice n sidney webb believed elite groups could be influenced by the moral supremacy of socialism over capitalism

  • sidney wrote clause iv for L

SOCIAL DEMOCRACY

  • took shape around 40s n 50s

  • social democracy most developed the most in early post-1945 period

ethical socialism:

  • theoretical basis of socialism stems more from moral or religious beliefs than science

  • in france n the uk, has been influenced by the humanist ideas of fourier, owen n morris » also draws on Christianity

  • unregulated capitalism is thus rejected as it is driven by the ‘sin of avarice’ rather than faith in a ‘common humanity’ as liberalists would claim

revisionist socialism:

  • by the end of the 19th century, socialists had come to believe the analysis of Capitalism was defective » abolition not required

    • class conflict not intensifying as expected, but becoming complex n differentiated

  • western socialist parties have been revisionist irl » wish to tame capitalism over complete abolition

  • new objectives:

    • mixed economy

      • public + private ownership, selective nationalisation

    • economic management

      • capitalism regulation

    • welfare state

      • humanising capitalism

      • promotes social equality n poverty-eradication

crisis within social democracy:

  • early post-1945, keynesian social democracy seemed to have triumphed

  • keynesianism based on unstable compromise

  • social democracy crisis held back til 1970s

THIRD WAY

neo-revisionism n the Third Way:

  • reformist socialist parties have undergone a further bout of revisionism since 1980s

    • distanced from traditional social democracy

common themes in the Third Way:

  • socialism » the brain within society is dead

  • emphasis on community n moral responsibility

  • adopts a consensus view of society, in contrast to socialism’s conflict view of society

  • concern with social inclusion » has substituted the traditional socialist commitment to equality

the future of socialism:

  • socialism can be seen as being revived at a national level

  • backlash against politics of austerity

  • anti-establishment radicalism