Meaning and Definition of Socialism
Socialism is a concept that finds place in
the thoughts of many political philosophers and theorists ranging from Karl
Marx to Robert Owen, many a times denoting slightly different things. Benjamin
Tucker, the American individualist anarcho-socialist, in his essay titled
‘State Socialism and Anarchism’ defined it as a tendency that advocates for
government control over the means of production as a precondition for
establishing socialism.
Socialism also signifies a transitory state
between Capitalism and Communism where the proletariat has expropriated the
means of production, but the state and alienation had not yet vanished. It
arose as a reaction against the social and economic condition generated in
Europe by the growth of industrial capitalism.
Socialist means the system under which
economic system is controlled and regulated by the government so as to ensure
welfare and equal opportunity to the people in a society. The idea of socialism
is first introduced by Karl Marx and Fredric Engels in their book, ‘The
Communist Manifesto’. The word socialism means ‘all things to all men’.
According to Samuelson, “Socialism refers to
the government ownership of the means of production, planning by the government
and income distribution”. According to Samuelson, “Socialism refers to the
government ownership of the means of production, planning by the government and
income distribution”.
Socialism as a politico-economic doctrine is
the product of western thought. Although socialist sentiments like the urge for
social amelioration, concern for the downtrodden, the craving for social
justice and cooperative living are expressed in the scriptures of the East as
well as the west, the doctrine of socialism in the present form is not older
than the 19th century.
In company with other ideological concepts,
socialism has a double reference. On the one hand, it refers to ideals, values,
properties of what is often called the socialist vision.
On the other hand, it refers to empirical
features of social and political institutions, which are supposed to embody the
vision. On the level of values socialism stands for the values of freedom,
equality, community, brotherhood, social justice, the classless society,
cooperation progress, peace, prosperity, abundance, and happiness - to mention
just the most important ones.
On the level of institutions socialism is
opposed to capitalist private enterprise system which it seeks to replace by a
system of control over wealth and property and the social supervision or
organization of economic activity, this is often summarized in the formula, the
common or public ownership of the means of production A socialist is not
satisfied with merely economic reforms, but advocates a comprehensive
educational, ethical policy. Socialism is not only a vision of life in a
rational society in which there will be no exploitation. One cannot deny that
the compassion for the downtrodden and the concern for social injustice have
inspired social reformers and socialists, but it is equally true that these
alone do not constitute socialism. Socialism in its wide meaning attaches
importance to the economic aspect of human well being.
The definition of socialism in terms of
production, rather than distribution is consonant with Marx. For socialists
economic equality is regarded as the central tenet of socialism. Socialists
insist that planned social purpose should guide, control and mitigate evils of
the system of production and consumption. Socialists consider that it is
essential that profit based competitive economy should be replaced by a
cooperative management for the welfare of all.
Socialism believes in the removal of
disparities and aims at providing equal opportunities to all. Socialism is
opposed to religious creed dogmatism and believes in secularism. Socialism in
developing countries aims at total welfare for all citizens. It stands for
social justice, rapid economic growth and planning. It aims at the ending of
monopolies and social injustices in society.
In essence socialism implies a fellowship,
which denies distinctions of class, believes in equality, common ownership, and
socialization of the means of production and equal opportunities for the
development of personality to all. Socialism undoubtedly presents a bewildering
variety of forms and doctrines. It is also very difficult to give a precise and
neat definition of socialism which will embrace all socialists and exclude all
non-socialists. No doubt the several schools of socialists differ considerably
in their programme of actions. But as Coker remarks, they agree in certain of
their general aims, all seek to secure, through some substantial limitations on
the private ownership of property, a fairer and practically more satisfactory
apportionment of wealth and economic opportunity.
The Encyclopedia of the Labor Movement
defines socialism as a working class doctrine and movement aiming, through
class struggle, at the collective control of society by the workers and the
establishment of self-government in industry.
Proudhan is quoted as having defined
socialism as consisting of every aspiration towards the amelioration of
society. Lenin has defined socialism as proletariat plus philosophy.
According to Bertrand Russell, Socialism,
like everything else that is vital, is rather a tendency than a strictly
definable body of doctrines. Communal ownership may mean ownership by a
democratic state, but cannot be held to include ownership by any state, which
is not democratic. Ludwig Moses has defined Socialism from an economic angle in
his book Socialism; Socialism is a programme for transforming the economy and
constitution of society according to a defined ideal. Socialism is essentially
concerned with the idea of equality. It aims at the highest rationalization of
material life, a rationalization which capitalism could never attain. The
essence of socialism is that all the means of production are in the exclusive
control of the organized community.
Marx and Engels’ Concept of Socialism
Karl Marx propounded a set of doctrines that
is known by his name as Marxism or Communism which perhaps has become one of
the most important political philosophies in the study of politics. Without
question the most influential of all socialist and communist theorists was Karl
Marx. In fact, Marxist philosophy resulted in creation of socialist political
systems in almost half part of the world in the twentieth century. Marx has
been a prolific writer, who has written tremendously on the rise of industrial
capitalism in Western Europe, its expected demise and its replacement with the
communist form of governments. Frederich Engels has been his lifelong
collaborator and co-author of many of works by Marx. They shared similar
intellectual convictions and nurtured friendship that help Marx sustain through
the financial troubles plaguing his life.
Marx saw capitalist society as unequal and
unjust society which flourished at the cost of the working class. The dynamics
of industrial capitalism produces two classes: the capitalist class and the
working class. The capitalist class owns the mode of production and
expropriates the resources of the society to further its own interests. The
goal of the capitalist or bourgeoisie class lies in maximizing its profit or
surplus generated by exploiting the working or proletariat class. The working
class is compelled to slog for long working hours, have no share in the
surplus, and lose all control over their creativity and their lives. This leads
to alienation in the working class. Since the interests of both these classes
are hostile to each other, there is ongoing class war in capitalist societies.
This is explicit in the famous lines of Karl Marx, as he says the history of
all societies hitherto is the history of class struggle. In other words,
Marxism argued that history is narration of class struggle between two
diagonally opposite classes. It is the private property which is the malefactor
and responsible for all social divisions and exploitation in the society.
Individual ownership is despised as it leads to an unequal and oppressive
social order. Industrial way of life in Western Europe has been the exemplifier
of this reality. In fact, Marx thought that bourgeoisie class’ control is so
encompassing that the state also acts as the executive committee of the ruling
Bourgeoisie. Therefore once he said that “the theory of communism may be summed
up in one sentence: Abolish all private property.
The way out is the revolution that will
overthrow the existing capitalist mode of production by the communist mode of
production. Marx believed that the capitalism harbored inherent contradictions
due to which it was doomed to collapse. On one hand capitalism has higher
development of forces of production. On the other hand, within them, exist most
efficient forms of class exploitation and highest development of human
alienation. Because the workers are paid so poorly, their purchasing power will
be limited, causing overproduction and under consumption leading to periodic
crises. These self-contradictions in capitalism will lead to crumbling of such
system under its own pressure, thought Marx. The annihilation of capitalism
will give way to socialism. In the Socialist mode of production state/ public
ownership would replace private ownership of major means of production,
conscious public planning would replace the anarchy of capitalist decision
making, and social equality would progressively replace class inequality. Marx
believed that when the polemics in the society will reach its extreme,
revolution will become inevitable. Following that, the proletariats class will
seize power establishing the dictatorship of the proletariat. Socialism will be
a transitory stage leading to establishment to communist society. This society
will be a classless, non exploitative society in which the state will wither
away. There will be equal opportunities for all, and enough for everyone. The
guiding principle will be from each according to his abilities, to each
according to his needs.
Ironically his predictions did not come
true. There could never emerge that assumed surge of working class against the
capitalist class as workers and labor unions won concessions on the working
conditions and voting rights in the times of Marx itself. On the contrary,
later on, capitalism in different countries explored various ways to avert such
crisis and survived by co-opting the working class. Examples are Market-led
capitalism, Negotiated/consensual capitalism, Developmental state forms of
capitalism being practiced in many countries of Europe. For example Social
market capitalism followed by Germany’s obliges the capitalists to generate
strong sense of job security and other incentives for the workers.
Characteristics of Socialism
Some of the characteristics of socialism are
as follows:
1) Public
Ownership
2) Economic
Planning
3) Positive
Role of Government
4) Egalitarian
Society
5) Work
and Wages According to Ability and Needs
6) Provision
of Basic Needs
7) No
Competition
8) Maximum
Social Welfare
1) Public
Ownership: This is the core tenet of socialism. In a socialist
economy, the means of production and distribution are owned, controlled and
regulated by the public, either through the state or through cooperatives. The
basic motive is not to use the means of production for profit, but rather for
the interest of social welfare.
2) Economic
Planning: Unlike in a capitalist economy, a socialist economy is
not driven by the laws of supply and demand. Instead, all economic activities
such as production, distribution, exchange and consumption are planned and
coordinated by a central planning authority, which is usually the government. A
socialist economy relies on the central planning authority for distribution of
wealth, instead of relying on market forces.
3) Positive
Role of Government: In socialism, government plays significant
role in decision making. Thus, government has complete control over economic
activities like distribution, exchange, consumption, investment and foreign
trade etc.
4) Egalitarian
Society: Socialism rose as an opposition to the economic
inequality brought about by early capitalism. As such, it aims for an
egalitarian society where there are no classes. Ideally, all the people within
a socialist economy should have economic equality.
5) Work
and Wages According to Ability and Needs: In socialistic
economy, work is according to ability and wage according to need. It is said
that under socialism from each according to his ability to each according to
his needs, is socialism.
6) Provision
of Basic Needs: In a socialist economy, the basic needs
such as food, shelter, clothing, education, health and employment are provided
by the government without any discrimination. This is one of the greatest
advantages of socialism. Provision of basic needs by the government can. However,
result in the masses thinking that they cannot survive without the government,
creating a perfect environment for the rise of authoritarian governments.
7) No
Competition: Typically, when you want to buy a car, you
are spoilt for choice. There are different brands and different models with varying
features and prices. It is up to you to choose one the best one for you. The
same applies for many other products. In a socialist economy, there is no
competition in the market since the state is the sole entrepreneur. The state
only focuses on provision of necessities, which results in limited consumer choice.
8) Maximum
Social Welfare: The sole objective of socialism is the
maximum social welfare of the society. It means that there is no scope of
exploitation of labor class. Government keeps a close eye on the needs of the
poor masses while formulating plans.
Structure of State socialism
1) Common
Ownership and Collectivization: Many literatures of early
communists reflected on the idea of common possession. In early times common
possessions were looked upon by many as ideal to be looked at. The early
Christians held everything in common. With in major religions like Christianity,
there have been strong voices in favor of common ownership. Jan Hus is one such
name from early 15th century who held radical views about papacy and questioned
its ambit of power. He was executed in 1415 but this led to rise of Hussite
kind of communism.
2) Central
Planning and Economy One of the generic features of socialist
political systems has been to have a highly regulated economy. It meant state
ownership of major means of production, including banks, factories, large farms
etc. Central planning was adopted to bring the desired change in economy. The
aim was to subsume societal production within one enormous bureaucracy. This
led to state-owned monopolies and centrally planned command economy. This meant
that the government completely controlled the economy by controlling the price,
rolling out the subsidies and guarding the production process. The objective of
the central planning was to upgrade production to the level that could take
care of needs of all in the society. For example, Soviet leadership was aware
of the hardship and poverty in Czarist Russia.
Therefore, the task was to create abundance.
The economy was geared up to generate enough resources for basic amenities of
food, shelter and to provide social security in terms of medical care and education,
transportation etc. In principle, the production in socialist societies was
driven by catering to the society rather than the market calculus of capitalist
societies.
All socialist and socialist- oriented state
place high priority on developing means of public consumption such as health
clinics, schools, passenger buses and parks to make it available to the poor.
Now all post communist states are reworking on their economic policies trying
to liberalize their economy. Their productivity is now being guided by private
consumption and market incentives. But in some of the countries like Russia, a
wealthy class has emerged that has prospered during this transition to
capitalism.
3) One
Party State and Centralized Political Control:
Generally, most of the political regimes that call themselves socialist or
follow state socialism organize themselves as one party state. It means that
these states are ruled by a single political party. This feature of monopoly of
one party state became trademark of Soviet Union, People’s Republic of China,
People’s Republic of Hungary and such other countries. The only party permitted
in such societies is the communist parties of these states. This communist
party acts as the apex of political life. The principle of Party as the
Vanguard as proposed by Lenin is strictly followed. The government is organized
on the basis of the policy of Democratic Centralism. It is difficult to
identify party separately from government as party controls the government. All
executives and officials of the government are occupied by the Communist party.
Communist systems employ huge bureaucracy to carry on their political and
economic agenda. Over all, the system lacks transparency, and covert operations
are carried out to strictly control the state and society.
Most of the socialist systems developed
formidable state structures. Like Soviet Union constructed a police state in
which power is distributed and stability maintained by force and intimidation
and in which civil liberties are routinely abused. Centralization of government
became an essential political character of all communist societies.
Resultantly, the power became highly concentrated in the hands of an elite
group who furthered their interest in the name of maintaining socialism. A complex
network of ‘social organizations’ are used by the party to gather information
and impose additional social control. The communist parties are cadre based
parties with wide membership and hierarchy. They socialize, indoctrinate and
mobilize masses to support and serve the system.
Examples of Socialist Countries
Examples
of socialist countries include:
Soviet
Union
Cuba
China
Venezuela
Republic
of India
United
republic of Tanzania
Republic
of Angola
Portuguese
of republic
People’s
Republic of Bangladesh
Democratic
Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
People’s
Republic of Mozambique
Types of Socialism
Many types of socialism exist around the world, and they
all differ when it comes to ideas on how best to incorporate capitalism into a
socialistic structure. In addition, the different forms of socialism emphasize
the diverse aspects of social democracy.
Some of the types of socialistic systems is as follows:
1)
Utopian socialism
2)
Communism
3)
Marxism
4)
Leninism and Marxism–Leninism
5)
Stalinism
6)
Anarchism
7)
Mutualism
8)
Collectivist anarchism
9)
Democratic socialism
10)
Social democracy
11)
Eco-socialism
12)
Green anarchism
13)
Liberal socialism
14)
Ethical socialism
15)
Libertarian socialism
Utopian Socialism: Is a term
used to define the first currents of modern socialist thought as exemplified by
the work of Henri de Saint-Simon, Charles Fourier and Robert Owen,
which inspired Karl Marx and other early socialists. Although it is technically possible for any set of
ideas or any person living at any time in history to be a utopian socialist,
the term is most often applied to those socialists who lived in the first
quarter of the 19th century who were ascribed the label "utopian" by
later socialists as a negative term, in order to imply naivete and dismiss
their ideas as fanciful or unrealistic. Later socialists argued that visions of imaginary ideal societies,
which competed with revolutionary social democratic movements, were not
grounded in the material conditions of society and were therefore
"reactionary". Forms of socialism which existed in traditional societies,
including pre-Marxist communism are referred to as primitive communism by
Marxists.
Communism: Communism (from Latin communis,
"common, universal") is a philosophical, social, political,
economic ideology and movement whose ultimate goal is the
establishment of a communist society, namely a socioeconomic order
structured upon the ideas of common ownership of the means of
production and the absence of social classes, money and the state. Along
with social democracy, communism became the dominant political tendency
within the international socialist movement by the 1920s. While
the emergence of the Soviet Union as the world's first nominally communist
state led to communism's widespread association with the soviet
economic and Marxism- Leninism, some economists and
intellectuals argued that in practice the model functioned as a form of state
capitalism or a non-planned administrative or command economy.
Marxism or Marxist communism: It refers to classless, stateless social
organization based upon common ownership of the means of
production and to a variety of movements acting in the name of this goal
which are influenced by the thought of Karl Marx. In general, the classless
forms of social organization are not capitalized while movements associated
with official communist parties and communist states usually
are. In the classic Marxist definition (pure communism), a communist
economy refers to a system that has achieved a superabundance of goods and
services due to an increase in technological capability and advances in the
productive forces and therefore has transcended socialism such as a post-scarcity
economy. This is a hypothetical stage of social and economic development with
few speculative details known about it.
Leninism and Marxism–Leninism: Vladimir Lenin never
used the term Leninism, nor did he refer to his views as Marxism–Leninism.
However, his ideas diverged from classical Marxist theory on several important
points (see the articles on Marxism and Leninism for more information). Bolshevik communists saw these
differences as advancements of Marxism made by Lenin. After Lenin's death, his
ideology and contributions to Marxist theory were termed
"Marxism–Leninism", or sometimes only "Leninism".
Marxism–Leninism soon became the official name for the ideology of the comintern and
of communist parties around the world.
Democratic
socialism: In democratic socialism, factors of
production are under the management of an elected administration. Vital goods
and services such as energy, housing, and transit are distributed through
centralized planning, while a free
market system is used to distribute consumer products.
Revolutionary
socialism: The running philosophy of revolutionary
socialism is that a socialistic system can’t emerge while capitalism is still
in play. Revolutionaries believe that the road to a purely socialistic system
requires a lot of struggle. In such a system, the factors of production are
owned and run by workers through a well-developed and centralized structure.
Libertarian
socialism: Libertarian socialism works on the assumption that
people are always rational, self-determining, and autonomous. If capitalism is
taken away, people naturally turn to a socialistic system because it is able to
meet their needs.
Market
socialism: Under market socialism, the production process is under
the control of ordinary workers. The workers decide how resources should be
distributed. The workers sell off what is in excess or give it out to members
of the society, who then distribute resources based on a free market system.
Green
socialism: Green socialism is protective of natural resources.
Large corporations in a green socialistic society are owned and run by the
public. In addition, green socialism promotes the development and use of public
transit, as well as the processing and sale of locally grown food. The
production process is focused on ensuring that every member of the community
has enough access to basic goods. Moreover, the public is guaranteed a
sustainable wage.
Advantages of Socialism
a.
Elimination of discrimination: The system disapproves
discrimination, and each person does what he is good at or what he enjoys best.
If there are jobs that should be done and there is no one to perform them, a
higher remuneration is provided. Natural resources are protected for posterity.
b. Deficiency of exploitation: A
socialistic system ensures that no worker is exploited. How? Well, each of the
workers in the community has a say on how the resources are managed, and each
person receives and contributes based on an individual’s potential. According
to the socialistic system, each person is guaranteed access to basic goods,
even those who are not able to contribute. As a result, the system helps to
minimize poverty levels in the society. In addition, each person has the same
right to access health care and other important social aspects, such as
education.
c. Absence of business fluctuations: A socialist economy is also superior to a
capitalist economy that is free from business fluctuation. Generally planned
economy co-ordinates the action of various producing units, prevents
discrimination between saving and investment and make full use of available
resources. It is able to control over production and avoid general deflationary
trend.
d. Economic Growth:
I will consider economic
growth as an important advantage of socialism because it adopts economic
planning as a means of promoting rapid economic growth. A planned socialist
economy functions right according to the plan in a systematic and orderly
manners and marches rapidly on the road to economic progress.
Disadvantages
of Socialism
a.
Lack of competitiveness and innovation: Socialism does not reward
entrepreneurial ventures or competitiveness. Consequently, a socialistic system
does not encourage innovation as much as capitalism.
b.
Dependence on cooperative pooling: Perhaps the greatest
disadvantage of a socialistic system is its reliance on cooperative pooling to
get things done. In addition, people who are competitive in the community are
viewed in a negative light. The society expects cooperation and not
competitiveness. According to socialism, competitive individuals tend to find
ways to cause social unrest for personal gain.
c. Red-Tapism
and Inefficiency: In
socialism there is a lot of involvement of bureaucracy and are the drivers of
all economic machinery. The work civil servants are not comparable with the
private entrepreneurs. Civil servants merely do the jobs because it is their
duty and they will get paid whatever the consequences. Thus inefficiency arises
and in the long run the economy suffers.
d. An
Artificial System: As a socialist economy is a
planned economy, every aspect of the economy is to be determined by the
government. Forces of demand and supply do not apply which is one of the
disadvantages of socialism. Thus in the long run the economy becomes state
rather than wasted, whereas these make an economy prosper.
e. Consumers
Suffer: In
the final analysis it is the consumer who loses out. Sovereignty of consumer
does not apply in a socialist economy. Consumers do not enjoy the status of a
consumer as in a capitalist economy. Choices of goods and services are able to
maximize their total satisfaction.
f. Economic
Equality: Socialists claim more equal
distribution of wealth but practically it is proven that complete economic
equality is virtually impossible. There is a distinction between the rich and
poor. Moreover since it is a planned economy the poor suffer even more.
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