SocialismSocial 30-1

Socialism• There are many different types of socialism. The one thing

they have in common is concern for society as a whole (a concern for the collective). There will always be some form of co-operative management in the economy.

• The term "socialism" is often used by supporters of mixed economies in which capitalism plays a substantial part, and by a government which regulates the economy to promote public welfare.

Socialism and Two Cows

• You have two cows.

Socialism and Two Cows• The government takes all the milk you can produce.• It provides subsidies (cash allowances) for cows who

are sick and can’t produce milk. • Half your earnings go to the government in the form

of taxes so it can provide social welfare programs (and pay for the subsidies).

• The government gives you back as much milk as you can prove you need for your family. The proof requires paperwork and government bureaucrats to process it.

• You start a business that adds flavor to milk, such as chocolate, banana and strawberry.

Utopian Socialism• In Greek utopia means “no place”• A utopia is, by definition, a fantasy.• In 1516 Thomas Moore wrote a book called

Utopia. It was about an imaginary land where government provided the people with everything they needed. No more poverty, unhappiness, and conflict.

• A utopian believes in impossibly idealistic schemes of social perfection, and a self-sufficient society.

Robert Owen:Benevolent Factory Owner

• In 1880 Robert Owen was a Scottish factory owner who built a Utopian society.

• It was called New Lanark: A textile mill with a village for workers.

• He tried to prove as a business man that it was good business to think of the employee’s welfare.

Utopianism: Ideal Perfection

• He employed 2 000 people of whom 500 were children. (He built schools for them.)

• He improved conditions in the textile mill and in the village.

• Owen’s experiment didn’t catch on but some of the reforms did. (Governments and manufacturers opposed it.)

Utopian Cows• You have two beautiful cows. • One produces chocolate milkshakes; the other, vanilla.• You live happily ever after.

Rise of Socialism part 1.2

• 142-156 in text (socialism)• P. 126-130 in text (welfare state)• P. 132-136 (modern liberalism)

Karl Marx (1818-1883): The Father of Communism

• Born in Germany Marx became involved in radical movements in college.

• Lived in Paris and Brussels and moved to London where he spent the rest of his life.

• In he wrote “The Communist Manifesto along with his friend Friedrich Engels, and Das Kapital.

The Communist Manifesto

• "The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles."

• Marx and Engels argued that that if you are to understand human history you must see it as the story of social classes and their struggles

with each other.

Communism According to Marx

• In Marx’s eyes the history of the world (revolution) is driven by class struggles. He called revolution the “locomotive of history.”

• According to Marx in the 1800s the most important classes were (1) the bourgeoisie (the capitalist owners of the factories) and (2) the proletariat (working class).

The Communist Manifesto

• He didn’t want one class dominating over another. In his day he saw the bourgeoisie exploiting the proletariat.

• The proletariat (the working class), on the other hand, owned very little and were forced to sell their labour to the capitalists.

Rise Up!

• Capitalism was doomed: As bourgeoisie (capitalists) grew richer, they spread misery among the poor.• One day soon workers would unite, overthrow the system and become the ruling class.

The Rise of Socialism part 1.3

• The last words in the Communist Manifesto are "Let the ruling classes tremble at a Communist revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. WORKING MEN OF ALL COUNTRIES, UNITE!"

• What Marx had to say sounded a lot like Rousseau: “Man is born free and everywhere is in chains.”

What is Communism?

• If the government owns and operates almost all of the nation's means of production, then that nation's economic system is called communism.

What is Communism?• The terms socialism and communism were once used interchangeably. Today, however, communism designates those theories and movements that, in accordance with the teachings of Marx and Engels, promotes the abolition of capitalism and all private profit, by means of violent revolution if necessary.

What is Communism?• Communism, an economic system, is a form of socialism. All communists are socialists, but not all socialists are communists. • Communists are the extreme kind of socialists and more left wing. Socialists believe in some private ownership of property whereas communists do not.

The Root of all Evil• Communists believed human injustice and

misery created by laissez faire capitalism could be eliminated through state control of the economy (centrally-planned economy).

• Private property was the root of all evil; the motive from one man to exploit another. Communism would end all private property.

• In addition there would only be public ownership of the means of production, distribution, and consumption of goods. This would eliminate competition among men for profit.

No Class Struggle, Poverty and Unemployment

• Since there would be no classes, there would be an egalitarian society and no class struggle.

• Under communism there would be no poverty or unemployment. The government would take care of everyone. The working man’s family would have economic and social security.

Communism Today

• China has a communist economic system. Almost all of the means of production are publicly owned (owned by the government). Government planners decide the answers to the basic economic questions of production. Farming on private plots of land is sometimes allowed. In recent years, the Chinese government has been allowing more private businesses to operate and China’s economy is booming.

Two Cows and Communism

• You have two cows but they’re not yours (you can’t own private property), but you work on a state-owned dairy farm that has lots.

• You send the milk to a central location (which the government owns) and the government takes the milk and provides you with some milk.

• You have sufficient milk in the fridge but would like some cheese.

• There is no cheese available today in the state-run store (there wasn’t last week either) but there’s lots of butter. In fact all you can buy today is milk and butter. You buy some; it’s cheap and put it with the other four pounds you have. Maybe there will be some next week.

• The Desire for Capitalism: You work harder than the rest of the people on the dairy farm and know that if you had your own cows and land you could make cheese and sell it to others who want it. But you can’t.

No country

• No country has an economic system that is 100 percent communism, socialism, or capitalism (though some are close). All countries today have mixed economic systems or mixed economies, with some free enterprise and some government ownership.