Difference between revisions of "Socialism"

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The caption reads, "Long live the great undefeatable flag of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin!"

Socialism uses government power to redistribute wealth. In totalitarian countries such as USSR, China, Cuba, North Korea, etc., it has caused widespread shortages of basic goods and services. These Communist countries used an "Iron Curtain" to keep their citizens from emigrating. Although this acts as a drag on the economy, in democratic countries of the industrialized west, some socialist ideas have been put into practice with varying degrees of success.

Controversy

The ideology of Socialism is subject to a variety of interpretations. From a conservative perspective, socialism is an economic system whereby the means of production are seized and monopolized by the government without compensation to the builders of the capital, and where investments, production, distribution, income, prices, and economic justice are administered by a government nomenklatura that regulate the transfer of money, goods (including capital goods), and services primarily through taxation and regularized and institutionalized aggressive coercion. However, the majority of socialists would reject this description. Democratic socialists advocate a system of governance based on the principles of solidarity, equality and liberty, viewing these principles as interconnected, with increased socio-economic equality associated with increased practical freedom to fulfill human potential. In many countries, such as the United Kingdom, socialist movements have been built on Christian and co-operative bases, embracing the notion that individuals should 'treat others as they would wish to be treated', and arguing that all individuals have a moral responsibility for the welfare of other members of their society. Socialism seeks to prioritize human welfare over other goals, such as profit and wealth accumulation by elites; it views increased redistribution of wealth as vital to securing greater freedom and happiness for the bulk of the people, and deplores the devastating effects of gross inequality on society in terms of increased crime, mental illness, unhappiness and lack of life chances.

Key elements

As a political ideology based on the expropriation of wealth, socialism stresses the privileges of the nomenklatura over the rights of workers and earners. Many of the most notoriously oppressive dictatorships have been socialist, such as the Soviet Union and National Socialist Germany. As an economic theory, socialism calls for redistribution of wealth, through taxation of private wealth coupled with "progressive" social policy or directly via nationalization and public ownership of property without compensation to owners. Wage earners suffer under Socialism, as it is hard to get paid in a system that discourages private persons from accumulating income.

Although socialist ideas such as the provision of unemployment benefits, state pensions, universal health care, and state control of key industries have been common throughout the developed world in the modern era, the United States has tended to reject socialism as an ideological position. In other parts of the world, such as Europe, Africa, Asia, and South and Central America, there has generally been more explicit support for socialism as a doctrine, and socialist parties have been among the most successful political forces of the last 100 years.

While socialism has often been atheistic in character, and many leading socialists (most prominently Karl Marx) have been critical of the role of religion - and conservative religion in particular - which they criticize for lending support to an unjust social order, some Socialists have been Christians, and there has been considerable interplay between Christian and Socialist ideas. Christian socialists have asserted that early Christian communities, in particular, displayed certain traits, such as the holding of possessions in common,^[1] the rejection of conventional sexual mores and gender roles,^{[Citation Needed]} the provision for communal education, etc., that could be considered similar to socialism. See, for instance, Arnold Toynbee, the British historian, has responded to this,

"the Marxian excerpt from a Christian Socialism is an experiment which is doomed to failure because it has denied itself the aid of the spiritual power which alone is capable of making Socialism a success. ….'Christianity', they say, 'is the opiate of the People'; and, in the Soviet Union… Christianity or of any other theistic religion have been debarred… from admission to membership of the All-Union Communist Party. In fact, Communism has been definitely and militantly anti-Christian.

Thus the campaign against Christianity which is to-day an integral part of the propaganda of Marxian Socialism is a challenge to the living generation of Christians …we latter-day Christians may still turn a Marxian attack upon Christianity to good account … a re-awakening of the Christian social conscience has been the one great positive practical achievement of Karl Marx" ^[2]

Karl Marx considered socialism to be a transitory stage between capitalism and communism. In his view, socialism is summed up by the expression: "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs." A major criticism of socialism is that it infringes individual rights in favor of the populace. In a very real sense, politics in the western world throughout the 20th century was shaped by the conflict between socialist and capitalist governmental policies.

Although socialist parties are common in Europe, the leading examples all currently embrace some free enterprise, individual property rights and certain other aspects of capitalism although leading European Socialists are very critical of America. In many European countries socialism has been changing to Social democracy.

Britain, the Labour Party and socialism

At its inception, the Labour Party borrowed socialist ideas by committing itself to a program of nationalization under 'Clause 4' of their Constitution, but was always fundamentally committed to the British State and the Westminster model of parliamentary government. Clause 4 was formally dropped after the election of Tony Blair as Party leader, signaling the creation of 'New' Labour.^[3] The British governments of 1945-1950 and 1950-1951 under Clement Atlee implemented the nationalization of several industries and utilities, including coal, steel, water, railways and electricity. The best known example is the nationalization of health care to create the National Health Service (NHS). This made - literally overnight - health care "free" at the point of delivery for everybody in Britain.

Since the election to government of the Labour Party in 1997, many "progressive" measures have been introduced, such as the Minimum Wage, Child Tax Credits, union recognition legislation, increased maternity and paternity leave, the Child Trust Fund, refurbishment of council housing, free bus travel for the elderly, increased paid leave for all workers, free nursery-school places, and large cuts in unemployment.^[4] In addition, over a million children and a million pensioners have been lifted out of poverty;^{[Citation Needed]} however, many in the Labour Movement are extremely critical of New Labour's tentative approach to reducing inequality, and are frustrated that the government has not been more willing to make the case to the public for the redistribution of wealth.

World socialism

US liberal politicians often echo the rhetoric of world socialism: ^[5]

• "Because George W. Bush [is] among the most menacing and belligerent [presidents] in American history. [He has] outlined a program of limitless and perpetual warfare, on every continent, and against any regime that stands in the way of the rapacious American ruling class.... like Hitler and the Nazis, American militarism has embarked on a campaign of world conquest and world domination... [President Bush has issued] a declaration of the unbridled appetites of the military and of the most ruthless, corrupt and criminal sections of the American ruling elite ...Like Hitler, Bush presents an upside-down view of the world in which small and weak states are mortal threats to the most powerful and heavily armed..." (World Socialist Web Site, 31 January 2002)

Criticism of socialism

Socialism is often criticized by many people, including Bill O'Reilly. In his book 'Culture Warrior' O'Reilly starts the book out by painting a bleak picture of what America would look like with a socialistic government. He states problems such as lawlessness, lack of morals and ethics and an overbearing politically correct "feel good" government.^[6]

Socialism is usually considered by most to be a weaker form of a communistic government, where a small few control and impose their beliefs onto other people. For example, Europe is used as an example of socialism. Most of the region is controlled by the European Union who impose restricts on religion and freedom of speech while promoting an "equal" and politically correct society.

Different strands of socialism

• Communism
• Social democracy
• National socialism (Nazism)
• Fascism

References

External links

• The Intellectuals and Socialism, By F.A. Hayek, The University of Chicago Law Review, (Spring 1949), pp. 417-420, 421-423, 425-433.
• Socialism Encyclopædia Britannica.