SOCIALISM Essay Research Paper Socialism aims at

SOCIALISM Essay, Research Paper

Socialism aims at a social system based on public ownership of the means of production (Von Mises, 1969). Arising in the late Eighteenth and early Nineteenth Century, socialism developed as a reaction to the hardships caused by capitalism and industrial revolution. The government owns and operates all material resources in a social system. Socialism first originated in France and England at about the same time, but as it grew socialism took different courses throughout each country (Wells, 1912). Three major types of socialism existed; they were Christian, Democratic, and Utopian Socialism. Karl Marx, who wrote The Communist Manifesto, was considered one of the most popular socialists. After him socialism was defined as either Marxist or non-Marxist (McConnell & Brue, 1990). Socialism made steady advances, mostly in its revolutionary forms, around the globe after World War II. For the first 30 years after World War II, it seemed as if socialism was on the rise. Even non-socialist nations adopted a number of social programs. By the mid-1970s people realized the socialism had not lived up to its promise; it had not worked well anywhere (Heilbroner & Thurow, 1982). The primary reason why socialism failed was because of the prediction by Marx that the working class would sink continually deeper into poverty and misery was proved to be untrue. Present-day socialist parties play an important role in Western European electoral politics. Usually called Democratic Socialist parties, they have favored a variable economic mix of Capitalism and state control. In the third world, socialist programs have stressed land reform and centralized economic planning, often through a one-party, but since the 1980.s there has been a movement toward state control of the economy (McConnell & Brue, 1990).

From ancient times until well into the 19th century, people were often considered subjects, not citizens, of their states and countries. The people wanted to see a change, which is why socialism was discovered (Heilbroner & Thurow, 1982). Socialism focused its aim on economic, political, and social justice for all people. The possibility of achieving these aims was first envisioned in the last quarter of the 18th century, a time of extraordinary social and political upheaval. (Wells, 1912). Socialism grew out of the French Revolution and its intellectual growth and demand for equal rights, absolute democracy, and the redistribution of property. Socialism was first developed because of the revolutionary impact capitalism had on the European society. Capitalism first emerged late in the Middle Ages throughout the Industrial Revolution. Capitalism (or the market economy) broke all the social bonds that had been seen during the Middle Ages. The class structure, in which everyone had a fixed position and individual responsibilities in society, was demolished. For the first time a large class of factory workers came forth whose livelihood depended on wages. They were considered to be deprived of property because they owned no means of production. The value of their labor was seized by the capitalists for profit, while at the same time their wages were kept as low as possible. Socialists saw the possibility of class conflict in this new capitalist economic structure. The conflict that arose was between the number of exploited workers and their capitalist exploiters. Because of this conflict the socialists predicted the eventual transfer of the ownership of private property (the means of production) from the owners to the workers (McConnell & Brue, 1990).

One of the most familiar types of socialism was referred to as Moderate Socialism. The founders of the Fabian Society, brought together by British social reformers Sidney and Beatrice Webb, viewed socialism in a moderate way. In return the Fabians helped to organize the British Independent Labour Party in 1893; which later would be appreciated with the newly organized Labour party in 1906. A Socialist Labour party was founded in 1877, and later being fragmented in the 1890.s (Heilbroner & Thurow, 1982). The clearest expression of moderate socialism was found in the Second International organized in Paris in 1809. The difference between the 1st and 2nd Internationals is that the 2nd International was coordinator of it.s affiliated political parties and trade unions’ activities. Another characteristic of moderate socialism is that most of its members were revisionists (Goldhagen, 1996).

Another form of socialism, this one beginning in the 19th century, was Christian socialism. Frederick Denison Maurice, John Malcolm Ludlow, and Charles Kingsley, all of who were Anglican clerics, offered Christian socialism as a cure for society.s ills. Claiming that Christianity demands a concern for the poor, these men promoted partnership in production and profit sharing in industry. Christian socialism was especially developed in Germany. In the United States, where European socialism never made much of an impact, the reform programs were put forward by liberal Protestant clergymen in the Social Gospel movement (Von Mises, 1969). The most notable leader was Walter Rauschenbusch, who insisted on “a new order that would rest on the Christian principles of equal” rights and democratic distribution of economic power (Heilbroner & Thurow, 1982).

The third type of socialism that must be ide