History and Theories of Socialism
People speak of socialism. We should speak of socialisms.
There is an amnesia about the socialist tradition that
abandons entire definitions of that ideal made by serious
mass movements. . . What is needed, if socialism is to find
a new relevance for the twenty-first century, is some sense
of its enormous diversity and complexity.
—Michael
Harrington, Socialism: Past and Future, 1989
I.
Definition
A.
You can find many different definitions, some more narrow and
some more broad, but the traditional one was "an economic and
social system system based on 'social' ownership of the means
of production – factories, farms, and capital equipment."
Today, perhaps the "means of production" should be expanded to
include some intellectual capital - should an individual be
allowed to own a patent on basic science, such as the human
genome?
B.
Varieties of social ownership -
1.
State Socialism - the government owns most of the means
of production. Is this really "social" ownership, though, if
the government is not democratically accountable to society?
Some socialists have claimed that "state socialism" is really
"state capitalism" - ownership by small ruling class.
For example, Rosa Luxembourg (1871-1919), a
Polish-German who was executed for her revolutionary action,
argued that a system that does not remain under democratic
control is not true socialism. In The Russian Revolution
(1918), she declared:
The public life of countries with limited freedom is so
poverty-stricken, so miserable, so rigid, so unfruitful,
precisely because, through the exclusion of democracy, it
cuts off the living sources of all spiritual riches and
progress…. Public life gradually falls asleep, a few dozen
party leaders ... direct and rule. Among them, in reality
only a dozen outstanding heads do the leading and an elite
of the working class is invited from time to time to
meetings where they are to applaud the speeches of the
leaders, and to approve proposed resolutions unanimously–at
bottom, then, a clique affair–a dictatorship, to be sure,
not the dictatorship of the proletariat but only the
dictatorship of a handful of politicians.
2.
Cooperative Socialism - Shared ownership and governance
by workers at the enterprise level. This can be a mandated
national policy, as it was in Yugoslavia under its systems of
worker self-management (about 1951-1980) or it can be a
voluntary arrangement that can arise within a predominantly
capitalist society. J.S. Mill (below) predicted that
this arrangement would eventually predominate through natural
evolution, and thousands of cooperatives still operate in the
U.S. today, mainly in agriculture.
3.
Syndicalism - similar to cooperative socialism, but
ownership is exercised by labor unions that may or may not
operate at the enterprise level. This arose in the French
labor movement, inspired by the anarchist views of Bakunin
(see below), and spread to other countries in Europe and
beyond.
C.
"Democratic Socialism" versus "Social Democracy" - is there
a difference? Historically, I would say "no," but this
has become a confusing rhetorical game. Historically, both of
these referred to the desire to achieve ownership-based
socialism through democratic means, and some people still use
both of the terms that way. However, see, for example, Michael
McCarthy's article, "Democratic
Socialism Isn’t Social Democracy," where he argues that
the Nordic countries and Bernie Sanders are social democrats -
favoring a welfare state - but are not democratic socialists -
calling for social ownership. Still, Sanders and others
choose to call themselves socialists, and that seems to be
giving new meaning to the word.
Here's a statement
of "what we believe" from members of the Democratic
Socialists of America in Pinellas County, Florida
What does “socialism” mean? In simplest
terms, it means reversing our unbalanced power relations in
both our economy and our political system: political and
economic power would be transferred from the few (the 1
percent) to the many (the working class)...
And here's a statement
from Julia Salazar, a "socialist" member of the New York
Senate:
Broadly speaking, what it means to
be a democratic socialist is to have a vision of a
world where everyone is taken care of... In my
campaign this translates to specific shorter-term
policy positions including universal single-payer
healthcare, expanding the rent stabilization system
statewide and enacting universal rent control, ending
cash bail and policies aimed at eliminating mass
incarceration, and so on.
A democratic socialist recognizes the capitalist
system as being inherently oppressive, and is actively
working to dismantle it and to empower the working
class and the marginalized in our society. Socialists
recognize that under capitalism, rich people are able
— through private control of industry and of what
should be public goods — to accumulate wealth by
exploiting the working class and the underclass.
Functionally, this perpetuates and exacerbates
inequality. A progressive will stop short at proposing
reforms that help people but don’t necessarily
transform the system.
A
democratic socialist recognizes the capitalist system
as being inherently oppressive, and is actively
working to dismantle it and to empower the working
class and the marginalized in our society. Socialists
recognize that under capitalism, rich people are able
— through private control of industry and of what
should be public goods — to accumulate wealth by
exploiting the working class and the underclass.
Functionally, this perpetuates and exacerbates
inequality. A progressive will stop short at proposing
reforms that help people but don’t necessarily
transform the system.
II.
Socialism
in the Ancient World
A.
Primitive Communism - Assets owned by
tribe, distributed by the chief. Not the product of
philosophy.
B.
Greek philosophers -
1.
Phaleas
of Chalcedon - equality of possessions would prevent
social disputes and revolutionary movements.
2.
Plato
advocated communal living for the ruling class to
prevent conflicts of interest.
3.
Aristotle
and Democritus defended property rights for all classes
to strengthen incentives, charity, prevent “tragedy of
commons”
C.
Early Christians - Church in Jerusalem
practiced collectivism in response to poverty; voluntary
system, "and there were no poor among them." These
passages in the Biblical book of Acts served as
inspiration for life in monasteries and for later
Christian socialists, such as the
Hutterites today.
III.
Early Critics of Capitalism
A.
Thomas More (1478-1535) Lord High
Chancellor of England who was executed for opposing the
plan of Henry VIII to separate from the Catholic Church
and declare himself the head of the Church of England,
allowing him to annul his marriage to Catherine of
Aragon. More was also known as a social critic who wrote
a remarkable book of fiction, Utopia, about an island
nation with no private ownership, no unemployment,
rotation of work tasks and housing, free hospitals,
meals taken in community dining halls, and simple laws –
removing the need for lawyers. Slavery of criminals and
prisoners of war was allowed, but slaves were
periodically released for good behavior. More's book
served as inspiration for real-world proposals from
later authors, below, whom Marx called "Utopians."
B.
Jakob Hutter (c1500-1536) Tyrolean (now part of
northern Italy) Anabaptist leader who led his
congregations to practice communal ownership of goods,
following the example of the early church in Acts, in
addition to their Anabaptist beliefs of nonviolence, and
adult baptism. Today, Hutterites, like the Amish, still
live in rural minimalist communities. Some similarities
to Homestead
Heritage, near Waco.
C.
Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)
Philosopher who inspired the French Revolution and
declared “The earth belongs to no one, and that the
fruits are for all!”
D.
Étienne-Gabriel Morelly (1717-1778)
French author of The Code of Nature 1755,
designed a utopia where no one would own significant
capital or private possessions. Production and
distribution of goods regulated by government.
IV.
Utopian
Socialism
A.
William Godwin (1756-1836) and Marquis
de Condorcet (1743-1794) -
perfectibility - enlightenment will lead to
greater virtue, equality, and withering of the state.
B.
Saint-Simon (1760-1825) - ) In "New
Christianity," he argued that “the whole of
society ought to strive towards the amelioration of the
moral and physical existence of the poorest class.” To
that end, he wanted to transfer power from the
hereditary aristocracy and elevate the status of all
productive and creative people, including entrepreneurs,
artists, scientists, and bankers, along with manual
labourers. He proposed a national system of planning to
organize public works and use technology
efficiently.
C.
Robert Owen (1771-1859) - Believed the
poor are product of environment. Instituted
universal education, shorter work hours, decent housing,
etc. at his factories.
D.
Charles Fourier (1772-1837) - Proposed
system of producer cooperatives, or phalansteries,
each with 1600 people living/working in one large
building and farmland. Profits split among
shareholders and workers. Workers rotate
jobs. Forty phalansteries opened in the
U.S. One of them, La
Reunion, operated by European
immigrants from 1855-1856, played an important role in
the early history of Dallas, which had been established
as a settlement by John Neely Bryan 1841. One of the La
Reunion colonists, Benjamin Long, served two terms as
mayor of Dallas. Reunion Tower is named for the colony,
and some of the colonists are buried in a historic
cemetery near it.
E.
Pierre
Joseph Proudhon (1809-1865) and Mikhail
Bakunin (1814-1876) - anarchists -
all government power is corrupt, so build society on
system of voluntary cooperatives. According to Proudhon,
"In place of laws, we will put contracts; no more laws
voted by the majority, or even unanimously. Each
citizen, each town, each industrial union will make its
own laws. In place of political powers we will put
economic forces . . . in place of standing armies, we
will put industrial associations. In place of police we
will put identity of interests..."
IV.
Revolutionary
Socialism
A.
Auguste Blanqui (1805-1885) - Believed
socialism would be adopted voluntarily, but coup must be
led by a small organized minority. Anticipated Leninism.
B.
Marx
and Engels - Blended revolutionary socialism in
the short run with utopian socialism in the long run.
1.
Early socialism - Revolutionary tactics
and establishment of a "dictatorship of the proletariat"
(typified by the Paris Commune) are necessary to
establish socialism. Dismissed the ideas of Owen,
Fourier, Proudhon, and others as naive and
"utopian." Distribution "to each according to his
work."
2.
Full Communism - Withering of the state.
Distribution "according to needs." Little
discussion of planning.
C.
V.I. Lenin - Revolution led by an elite
"vanguard." Theory of imperialism justified
Russian revolution. At first congress of Russian
Social Democratic Party (1903), Lenin’s followers were
organized into the Bolsheviks and opponents of the
vanguard leadership style organized into the Mensheviks.
V.
Democratic
Socialism
A.
Louis Blanc (1811-1882) - Democratic
socialist who held position in Prov. Govt. Proposed
public works projects to reduce unemployment.
B.
Ferdinand LaSalle (1825-1864) and August
Bebel (1840- 1914) - Socialist reform based
on democracy, universal suffrage, and worker control of
factories. LaSalle organized first German socialist
party in 1863, but died a year later. Bebel formedthe
Social Democratic Workers' Party in 1869 that merged at
Gotha in 1875 into the Socialist Workers' Party. Bebel
served as chairman of the Social Democratic Party of
Germany from 1892 until his death in 1914. He opposed
rising racial supremacism, militarization, and colonial
policies in Africa.
C.
Gotha Program - Marxists and Lasalleans
met in 1875 to discuss merger into a single German
Social Democratic Party. Prepared draft of party program
had Lasallean tone. Marx objected, but was ignored. SDP
became parliamentary party, forcing Bismarck to enact
social security system. SDP became the model for
European parties.
D.
John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) - Classical
economist, but sympathetic with socialists, and
influenced Fabians (below).
E.
The Fabian Society - Led by Sidney and Beatrice
Webb and George Bernard Shaw, supported evolutionary
program of social reforms. Idealist rather than
materialist. Incorporated into the platforms of the
Independent Labour Party (1893), and Labour Party
(1918).
VI.
The
Efficiency of Socialism
A.
The von Mises Critique - Ludwig von Mises
argued that efficient planning was impossible in a
socialist state because socially owned producer goods
have no objective prices which are required for rational
decision making.
B.
Lange's Market Socialism - Proposed a
system where the pattern of production would be set by
consumer sovereignty and freedom of occupational choice
would be maintained.
1.
Factory and industrial managers - Minimize cost
of production and expand output until the marginal cost
of production equals price. The marginal revenue of the
product.
2.
Central Planning Board - Adjust prices according
to shortages or surpluses at the end of an accounting
period.
VII.
Socialism since World War II
A.
The
Growth and Decline of Command Socialism
1.
Postwar
Growth
2.
Latin
America in 1960s (Cuba), Africa in the 1960s and 1970s,
when European colonialism began to crumble.
3.
Conflicts
- Yugoslavia in 1949, Stalin's death in 1953 and by
Khrushchev's denunciation of Stalin's terror at the 1956
Party Congress. China and Albania in 1960s. Prague
Spring, 1968.
4.
Importance
of Pope, 1978, formation of Solidarity, strikes and
political demands in 1980 and 1981
5.
Gorbachev,
1985. August 1991, activities of the Communist Party
suspended, Gorbachev dissolved Soviet Union.
B.
Democratic
Socialism in Transition
1.
In
Great Britain, the Labour party victorious 1945, major
changes in recent years. It initially supported
nationalization of some industries, but that ceased to
be true in 1997 when Tony Blair became prime minister
and reformed the party.
2.
In
1951, the Socialist International (SI) was established
as a global association of political parties that seek
to establish democratic socialism. It was initially
democratic and anti-Communist, but eventually expanded
to include more authoritarian parties. Because of that
trend, the German socialist party (the SPD) split away
in 2013 and created the Progressive
Alliance. In recent years, the more authoritarian
parties (China, Cuba, North Korea, etc.) have been
sticking with the SI and the more democratic countries
have been moving to the PA which now claims 140
participating parties and partners.
See
more.
3.
Programs of nationalization were also conducted in
France and Italy after World War II, and in 1983.
4.
As of 2018, political parties associated with the
Socialist International or the Progressive Alliance were
represented in the governments of at least 43 countries.
5.
Strong performances by Bernie Sanders, Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez, and others, who, as we noted above,
call themselves democratic socialists, have apparently
caused a shift in the perception and understanding of
the word, "socialism" - particularly among younger
Americans. Gallup surveys suggest that the meaning
of "socialism" is shifting away from government
ownership in the U.S. and is more
popular than "capitalism" among Democrats and
young people. Membership in the Democratic Socialists of
America reportedly
grew from about 6,000 in 2015 to a reported
80,000 today.
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