Socialism is an economic and a political philosophy based on (he idea mat me benefits of eCO110mic acr.ivity-we.alth-should
be eguitdbly
disrribured throughout a societ),. This fdirness is
dchie.vcd through the. principle of colkctivcthat is, public--ownership of the most importdnt means by which goods and services arc
produced and distributed.
Socialism rejects the concepts of private ownership, individualism, and competition for profit
mar lie at me heart of capitalistic mought and
practice Instedd, socialists emphasize cooperation and social responsibility in order to achieve
r.hismore equitable distribution of both income
and opportunity. Political equality is not enough,
mey say. Real equality can come only when
extreme differences in wealth across the population arc reduced, and the public controls the
centers of economic power in a society.
The roots of socialism lie deep in history.
Almost from the beginning there have .been
mose who have dreamed of a society bUilt on
socialist doctrine. Most earlier socialists foresaw
a collective economy that would arise out of and
men be managed by voluntary private action.
With few exceptions, they believed that they
could reach their goals without governmental
action-and, so, early socialist doctrine is orren
called "private socialism."
Present-day socialism developed in large part as
a reaction CO me poverty and other miseries that
accompanied the Industrial Revolution.
The Industrial Revolution occurred as the
Western world moved from an agricultural to an
indusr.rial economy. It appeared most distinctly
in Great Britain in me late 18th century and
spread generally through Western Europe and
to the United States in me 19th century. It was
marked by rapid urbanization and the growr.h of
large-scale manufacturing;
Many observers of 19m-century British hctories and factory towns were appalled by the conditions mey found. Men and women often
worked 14- co 16-hour days-usually in filthy,
noisy, and unsafe conditions. Small children regularly worked alongside their parents, for even
less pay Most factory workers and their families
lived in dank, crowded, and unhealthful slums.
Those and other adverse effects of the Indus'al Revolution led many to seek social and ecodOmic reforms. And those conditions led some
to argue for much more radical change.
Karl Marx
Clearly, Karl Marx (1818-1883),
me farner of modern· day socialism, was the most
significant critic of capitalism to emerge in the
19th century. Much of his work and most of his
extensive writings were done in colJaboration with
Friedrich Engels (1820-1895) Together, Man:
and Engels wrote The Communist Manifesto in
1848-"to
do for history;," as Engels later said,
"what Darwin's theory haS done for biology"
Marx bcJieved that Glpitalism was fatallyflawed.
The proletariat-the
workers-\vere being so
badJy abused by the bourgeoisie--the
ClpitaJists-th;;t they were certain to rise up and overthrow the capitalistic system. You will read morc
about Marx and his ideas in the next section.
Socialists
and Communis~
A powerful
movement took shape among European
workers and thinkers during the middJe and latc
19th century. Almost all socialists accepted Man's
criticism of capitalism. But the movement was
deeply split by the question of how best to
achieve socialism. Some argued mat a socialist·
society could come only out of a "violent ~d
bloody revolution." Over time, those who took
that view came to be called communists. Ome.fS
. argued that socialism could be attained by pca"ce.. fuI means, through the. democratic process.
Today, me terms socialism and socialist arc usually
used to identifY those evolutionary socialists.
The British Labour party and the major "social
democratic" parti<::sofW<::stern
Europe arc leading
examples of mat braI)d of socialism. At various
times in recent history, VJcscparties have controlled
their governmenr.sand have instituted many sOcialist programs through dem<X:r.lticmeans.
socialist
Both capitalistic and socialist· economies have
their strengths and their weaknesses. For supporters of capitalism, it is easy to see weakpesses
in the theory and practice of socialism. For supporters of socialism, on the other hand, it is capitalism that is riddled with faults.
Critics say socialist countries have a tendency
to develop too many layers of bureaucracy, They
say this complicates decision making and has a
deadening effeer on individual initiative. As a
resuJt, critics say, socialist economies arc slower
to take advantage of new technologies.
In the eyes of socialism's critics, the smooth
running of an economy is too complex to be
directed by central planners. Too many unpredictable events arc involved, they claim. Too
many clashing interests are at stake. For all its
fauJts, the invisible hand of the market economy
works more efficiently than tl1e visible hand of
the command economy, say socialism's critics.
Anomer criticism is that socialism deprives
people of the freedom to decide for memsclves
how to use their income. Most of a person's
income goes to taxes. Since earners get to keep
only a part of meir earnings, they have link
incentive to \York harder and earn more. Vlhy
work hard when your basic needs will be taken
care of anyway>So ask socialism's critics.
In response, socialists point to the inequalities
ofweaJth and powcr that exist under capitalism.
SociaLists argue rhar socialism evens out inequalities and (hus is morally superior to capiraJism.
J n their view, socialism makes political democracy work more smood1Jy by suppkmencing
it
\\~th economic dcmocracy.
Dcfendcrs of socialism also argue that it
gives workers and ordinary citizens more conliol ovcr their daily livcs. Undcr capitalism,
they say, a company's managcment can abruptly decide to close a factory that is no longcr
making moncy. Thc company has no obligation to ask its workers' opinions, ev.en though
such a decision can throw thousands out of
work and disrupt an entire community. This
could not happen under socialism, the argument gocs. Workers and community leaders
would sit on the company's
board. They
would help decide what was best for the entire
work force and communitY-not
just for the
company's shareholders.
hat is communism> From the mid-1940s
on ro the early 1990s, much of American
foreign policy was aimed dr counte~jng the
influence of communism in the world. Yet, even
today, many Americans do not have a very clear
understanding of th3t doctrine.
ComJllunism as it is known in roday's world
W3S
born in Europe in the middle of the lasr
ccnruryS 1t is a political, economic, and social
theory builE by Karl Marx and then, especially in
the Soviet Union, by Vladimir Lenin and Josef
Stalin 6
W
Karl Marx's Communist Theory
Communism is often called a collective ideology
That is, it is a theory that calls for the collective,
or state, ownership of all land and other prOductive property. As you have read, its basic concepts
were first set. out in The Communist Manifesto,
written in 1848 byI<ar1 Man:: and Friech1ch
Engels. This politi~al document condemned the
misery and the exploitations of the Indusuial
Revolution in .Europe,
and it called upon
oppressed workers across the continent to free
themselves from Ucapitalist enslavement. '" The
pan1phlet ended Vv'ith0:is rallying cry:
·iru:c .
2. How docs socialism differ from capitalism>
3. What part did the Industrial Revolution play
in the birth of modem socialism?
4. State two criticisms of socialism and twO criticisms of capitalism.
Critical Thinking
5. Making Comparisons
How might a
socialist and capitalist government differ in their
treatment of the problem of nncmploymcnt?
"The
prolctari:lJ1s h.ve nothing
t~
but their
chains. They h.ve • world to wiD. ·Worl::in~~~ ~f 411
countries, lllIite'"
.
In his major work, Das Kapital (first publishcd in 1867), Marx analyzed the dcvelopment and workings
of capitalism. from· its
historical roots. It prcsented Marx's view of capitalism based on four closely relatcd concepts:
(1) his theory of history, (2) the theory of value
and capitalist accumulation, (3) his view of the
nature of the state, and (4) the dictatorship of
the proletariat.
.
Bascd on his idcology, Marx envisioned communism as a ufrec, classless society"'-a
society
in which all social classes wouJd vanish and all
propcrty would be owned by all people in common. There wouJd be no exploitation of labor
and no nncmployment.
Goods would be produced in abnndance, and they would be available to all according to need. People would be
happy to work hard, pleased to contribute their
best for thc benefit of all.
SThe word
communirm
comes from the Ltin combelonging to all. n The· ide!
of communal property d.tes b.ek at least to the early
Greeks. In the fourth cenrury B.C., PI.to proposed a system of communal property in. Thc Republic.
6Stalin, and other commUnists in the Soviet Union
and elsewhere, frequently referred to the ideology as
Marxist-Leninism. MMX origin411y used the term scientific socialism to clistinguish his thought from older and
less extreme forms of socialis·rn. In hter years, Marx
ome to prefer the term communism.
munis, meaning "common,
The Marxian
View of History
To Marx,
aU of human h.istory has been a story of class
suugglc-of
conllier among SOCIal classes compeong fo: me control of labor and of producuve property. In char view, ulere have always
been r\Yo major and opposing classes in socicry-Ol1e an oppressor class <lnd [he orher an
oppressed class. Thus, in the Middle Ages the
comending
classes were Ul<: nobiJiry and their
serfs In the modern world jt is the bourgeoisie
who keep me proletariat in submission.
Marx's docu1.ne held that the conflict berween
me classes would become so in[ense in me modern era tha t a revolt of the masses and the downfall of me bourgeoisie would be inevitable The
communists' political role was that of speeding
up these revolutionary processes, by violence jf
need be.
The Labor
Theory
of Value
In the communist view, me value of every commodity is set
by the amount of sociaUy useful Jabor put into
it. In short, labor creates all value. A pair of
shoes or a rebuilt engine is each worth so much
because it takes that much labor to produce it.
Because the laborCf made the shoes or rebuilt
the engine, the communist
argues that me
laborer should receive that value in full.
Marxists reject the fre~ enterprise notions of
competition and profit. Competition,
they say,
forces the capitalist to drivcwbrkers"wages
down to the lowest possible point. Profits are
condemned as "surplus value,'? wrung from the
grinding toil of the masses.
The Nature
of the State.
Mari saw-the state
and its government astheil~trurnent
of the dominantclass'in society-a
tool bywhich the capitalists m;lintained their poWCl aridprivilegc.d ·poSition.
Othe; social institutions were alsO seen .~ playing a
role in enforcing capitalist control over the masses.
Thus, Marx described religion as "the opiate of
the people." Religious beliefS, he wrote, arc a drug
fed to the masses, a hoax through which they are
persuaded to tolerate their harsh lot in this life in
the hope that someday they will gain what Marx
c.alled a "fictional afi;crlik"
The Dictatorship
of the Proletariat
Marx
did not believe that the final form of communist
society would appear immediately
upon the
overthrow of the bourgeoisie.
He saw the need
for a transitional phase during which the state
. would represent' and enforce the interest of the
masseS. This was caUed, in Marx's terminology,
the "dictatorship of the proletariat" -a period of
authori tman rule through
which society must
pass on the way to the goal of a classless society.
He a.rgued that once the goal of c1asslessness was
realized, the need for the state and its government would disappea.r.
Marx also expected that me bonds of common in terest between
wo~kers in differem
countries would be so strong that they would
oversh<ldow notional identities and mtional loyalties Thus, for example,
he [hought
unt
French and German
facwry
work~rs\voujd
come rogemer on [he basis of their shared economic situztion-and.
so nationalism, a major
cause of European W3rs, would be eliminated
with the establishmenr of communism.
Marx was convinced
that the world's most
advanced industrialized
countries,
with their
large working-class
populations,
were ripe for
revolution.
In particular,
Marx expected that
workers' revolutions
would occur in France,
Germany, and Great Britain, and then in. the
. United
States. But, that revolution
actually
occurred in the largely agricultural
Russia in
1917; and with that upheaval came the creation
of the world's firstc6~munist
state?
Marx's analysis of capitalism did not provide
,a real bJueprint--or
anything close to one-for
the formation of a communist
society. This left
the leaders of the Russian communist revolution
with the task of interpreting
his ideas for clues
on what was to be: done.
71nhis laler years, Marx did recogniz-e the possibility
th'l his theories might firsl be: tested in pr.ctice in RllSSi •.
Lenin also rook the Russi.-firsl
view, in the e>rJy
1900s. He thDughr th.t Ic:ss >.dvanced countries with
theircompantivc:ly
smaU indusrrial populations, ;ffered
ecnalO advantages
ro >. revolutionary
movemenrnotably, the dfectiveness with which workers could be:
organiz-ed and controHed.
1. Define:
communism
2. On what four closely related concepts did
Ma.rx build communist ideology>
3. (a) Where did Marx believe the first communist societies would appear> (b) Why>
Cri tical Thi.n.ki.ng
4. Drawing
Conclusions
statement on page 2-
Recall
the
"The
proJcurians
have: nothing
ro Jose bur their
chains_ They have •• world ro win. Workingmen of all
countrics, unite!',
What do you think. this statement means>
'Who
S
Comrou
A politic
productio
wealth th
away wit
communi
govemm
productiv
• Commu
IlSocialis
Communism
and Sodalism or Free Enterprise/Capitalism
ouId control the wealth produced by a nation - the government
or individuals?
ism and Socialism'
I and economic philosophy based on governmental ownership/control of the means of
(productive property such as farms, businesses, industries, etc) to insure that the
t is produced will be equitably distributed throughout society_ This is meant to do
the social class 'system where the upper class can abuse the lower class, Even though a
t government enforces a strict socialist economic system, some communist
nts do allow a limited amount of free enterprise to exist in an effort to increase
ty and efficiency .
ism is a political philosophy
1 is an economic philosophy
/Free Enter rise
An econo ic system based on ownership/control of the means of production by private
individua s or corporate groups who share in the wealth that is produced.
Capitalis mainly exists uDder a democratic form of government because people are permitted
to make c 10ices in government and the economy_ However, in an effort to curb the abuses
caused b a complete Laissez Faire capitalistic system such as existed in the US and Britain in
the 1800s democratic governments have established rules and regulations that place government
controls
the operations of business and industries, These government regulations are a form of
socialism
ll!IDemocr cy is a political philosophy
_Capitali m is an economic philosophy
Karl Ma
Father of
Jewish i
PubJishe
ideas
Believed
(19th cen
x 1818-1883
odem-day communism
igrant from Germany living in London in the mid-19th century
The Communist Manifesto along with Friedrich Engels in 1848 as an outline of his
he history of society was a history of class struggle - Ex: The Industrial Revolution
ury)
Marx con enmed the misery and exploitation of the industrial working class (Proletariat) of
Europe b the wealthy capitalist class (Bourgeoisie)
II!IOppressd workers generate the wealth but don't share in it - posses little or no political power
aGreedy apitalists control the wealth they did nothing to create - posses great political power
.Saw co fliet as inevitable - workers VS, capitalists
ved workers should rise up and seize both political power and the means of
, The existing government would be replaced by authoritarian rule in order to abolish
capitalis and establish communism. The result (in theory) would be the creation of a
communi t state in which all people live in a "free, classless society" and the people in common
would 0 n all property and the means of production, and the wealth would be shared by all.
-no une
loyment
y
shares in the work and in the wealth produced
Ultimatel " the need for government \vould cease as people worked for the good of all and
shared eq ally in the wealth they produced - a Utopian society.
Tbe So
The firs
Vladimi
Lenin's
1926 un
commu
Stalin b
Soviet
system
iet Union (1917-1991)
country to establish communism was Russia in 191 . The Bolshevik Revolution under
Lenin led to the creation of the first communist countr~/ - the Soviet Union. Following
eath in 1924, Joseph Stalin ruled the Soviet Union with an iron hand. As dictator from
i1 his death in 1953, he used repression and brutality to for e his concept of a
'sm on the Soviet people resulting in the death ofmillions. During the Cold War, Joseph
carne the personification of all that Americans feared about communism_ In the end, the
nion and its commW1ist government collapsed due to it's inefficienc - as an economic
nd the people's desire for greater freedoms in government and the econom '.
Reason
1) Co
enterpri
2) Com
3) Co
4) Co
socialis
democr
5) The i
for opposition to Communism
unism is seen as a threat to the ideals of individual freedom, democrac " and free
e.
unism takes away competition, initiative and profit as incentives for produ ti -i ;.
unism opposes/suppresses the practice of religion.
unists advocate violent revolution as the means of achieving political po :ver. Howe er,
tend to be less violent and are generally willing to work through the existing
tic process to achieve power.
ealistic goals of cOffiffiW1ismcan never be fully achieved.
a
The Col War resulted from the conflict and competitio-n for dominance in the world betv.;een
the lead ng communist nation (the Soviet Union) and the leading Democratic nation (the S.