Politics : Socialism

Humans can achieve their aims and improve society through collective action

Humans have a tendancy for cooperation, sociability and rationality. Human behaviour is determined by people's place in society.

Humans are social creatures with a natural tendency to work together to achieve their goals, tied together by the bonds of fraternity.

The interests of the group should take priority over individual self-interest.

We are defined by our social groups, membership offers fulfillment.

Collective endeavour utilises the economic potential of society more efficiently than wasteful competitive individual effort.

Collective action via the state ensures a fairer distribution of goods and services via state intervention than free-market forces

Advocate collective action based on the principle 'from each according to his ability, to each according to his need'

Accept some degree of free-market capitalism and pursue collectivism in a more limited way

Suppresses human individuality and diversity

Leads to growth of arbitrary state so erodes freedom

Humans are naturally inclined to work together as it provides the best results for society and allows us to form supportive connections

Capitalist competition sets one person against another and undermines our common humanity

Humans can be driven by a desire to contribute to the betterment of society

Social equality / equality of outcome - equal distribution of economic rewards e.g. income

Egalitarianism

Theory designed to remove inequalities and ensure Bertone has a fair chance

Demand absolute equality, the abolition of private property and replacement with common ownership of all means of production

Call for the relative equalising of society within a reformed capitalist economy via welfare measures, government spending and progressive taxation to remove absolute poverty.

Material incentives continue to play an important role in human motivation, and greater emphasis is placed on equality of opportunity

Ensures fairness

Reinforces collectivism, cooperation and solidarity

Satisfied basic human needs

All can participate and benefit as wealth is created by communal effort so should be owned collectively. Private property encourages materialism.

People's experiences of society should be more or less the same - supported by fundamentalist socialists but rejected by social democrats and third way

Everyone who contributes to society will receive the same rewards - supported by Marxists, rejected by social democrats and third way

Everyone has an equal chance to make the best of their abilities, with no artificial barriers to progress for those who work hard and have the ability and talent - supported by third way, rejected by Marxists and social democrats

Human society is unequal but all individuals have an equal minimum standard of living guaranteed by state welfare provision - supported by social democrats, rejected by Marxists and third way

Believe members of a social class share similar outlooks and aims so are the principal agents of change.

Complete / partial ownership of an enterprise by employees

Control of the state by workers

Economically determined by relationship to means of production. Conflict is inevitable. Ruling bourgeoisie use state apparatus to maintains dominace. Class conflict leads to revolution.

Aims obtained through government intervention to narrow income and status differences. State welfare and class consensus - peaceful

Workers' control promotes collective effort and pursuit of group interests - tackles workplace alienation and challenges capitalist view that the workforce is a commodity

Workers are the most important element in economic production so should have right to control means of production so reduce capitalist control of economy

'moderate' workers' control enables introduction of limited social/economic reforms. Industrial self-Management by workers living under socialism reinforces idea a socialist society should raise conditions for working class.

Deindustrialisation - reduced size of working class and weakened trade union movement

Rise of post-industrial service and information economy, together with an expanding middle class

Businesses don't just relay on workers

Workers may not have the entrepreneurial or managerial qualities required

Early industrialisation and capitalism brought poverty, exploitation and unemployment. Workers excluded from politics.

The bourgeois state is an instrument of class oppression which upholds capitalist interests but will not be overthrown by gradual change. Revolution and violence.

Fundamentalist regimes - flawed as they replace private ownership with state ownership rather than common ownership

Revisionist form of democracy that attempts to reconcile free-market capitalism with state intervention

Capitalism is dependable but distribtutes wealth unfairly so must be protected by state intervention. Peaceful constitutional reform based on social justice.

A mixed economy

Keynesian economics

Reform of capitalism using the welfare state to redistribute wealth and tackle inequality

Bernstein's revisionist study argued capitalism was not developing along Marxist lines as capitalism is resilient and not brutally exploitive so should be reformed

Post-1945 social democracy balanced economic efficiency and egalitarianism with sufficient tax revenue but exposed by economic downturn in 70/80s exposed tension

Represents ideological 'middle ground' in context of a modern globalised economy which advocates primacy of market, community, consensus and competition state e.g. New Labour

Primacy of market over state and rejects 'top down' state intervention - wealth creation and progressive taxation

Distances itself from moral and social downside of neo-liberal economics, communitarian liberalism + personal autonomy + mutual dependdence

Social model based on consensus and harmony which distances itself from socialist focus on class differences and inequality, focusing on self-reliance and mutual dependence

Promotes social inclusion rather than the socialist commitment to equality - equality of opportunity and meritocratic social system which targets marginalised groups

Aim to develop workforce's skills and knowledge, focusing on social investment and competition state to boost the economy

Lacks real socialist content

Rebranding to attract middle-class voters and business

Social class is central to socialism

Human nature is socially determines and can only be expressed under communism

Historical materialism

Dialectic change

Revolutionary class consciousness

Historical and social development can be explained interns of economic and class factors. The economic system 'conditions' all other aspects of society.

Each stage of human history had its own economic system and class structure. Within each stage, dialectical change is propelled by by struggle between exploiters and exploited - ends with communist society

Exploited class must acquire a revolutionary class consciousness to overthrow oppressors. Proletariat must become 'class for itself', aware of own interests and determined to pursue them.

Humans are social beings influenced by society but capacity to be productive and capable of leading satisfying lives - doesn't exist under capitalism

Alienated from labour as they don't own what they produce, production process as well as colleagues due to competition and lack of freedom to pursue their potential

Workers free to realise true human potential by engaging in activities with increased leisure time and participating in meaningful work to remove alienation

'Inevitability of gradualness' - gradual reform to establish socialism

'Economic side of democracy' - expansion of the state rather than overthrowing

Workers were limited, selfish and uninformed so democracy should be represented

Representative democracy would lead to skilled 'socialist' governing class

Gradual growth of state power was evidence that collectivism would bring in a new socialist age

States ability to deliver socialism would depend heavily on highly trained specialists and administrators to organise society and the economy

Marxist revolutionary who opposed evolutionary socialism and disagreed with Lenin over key features of Marxism

Evolutionary socialism and revisionism are not possible as capitalism is based on economic exploitation

Struggle by the proletariat creates the class consciousness needed to overthrow the capitalist society and state

An evolutionary or revisionist socialist strategy would leave the capitalist system of economic exploitation intact - needs revolution

The Mass Strike, the Political Party and the Trade Unions (1906) - class consciousness and strikes lead to mass strike and socialist revolution - no disciplined ruling party

Leading post-war revisionist theorist of British socialism with works such as The Future of Socialism (1956)

Capitalism lacks the inherent contradictions required to bring social change therefore managed capitalism can deliver greater social equality

The state must manage capitalism to deliver greater social equality, provide a more egalitarian distribution of rewards, status and privileges and remove class barriers.

Governments pursuing Keynesian economics could maintain high employment, ensure low inflation and promote continuous growth. Economic expansion required to fund welfare to improve living standards for those at the bottom of society. Capitalism had produced rising living standards.

High levels of government spending is required on welfare services and the redistribution of income and wealth

Important intellectual figure in the development of the Third Way, through books such as The Third Way: The Renewal of Social Democracy (1998)

Rejects state intervention. Social democracy must be modernised due to the impact of globalisation, new knowledge of the economy d more individualistic aspirations

Giddens' rejected the economic and social engineering that underpinned the state welfare and redistribution programmes of previous social democratic government

Free market is the most efficient system of production and it encourages desirable personal qualities, such as responsibility

Equality of opportunity over equality protected by government action. Believes state welfare fosters a culture of dependency and instead requires a 'social investment' state in infrastructure and education.

Community and responsibility, rather than class conflict, are important to offset the negative effects of the free market and promote social cohesion, shared values and individual and social responsibility.