Subject POSC333 Contemporary Political Ideologies Session Socialism Socialism Socialism background Socialism views itself as a critique and an alternative to liberalism anti liberalism What becomes central to the socialist critique of liberalism is the rise of capitalism and private property The government is not the only entity capable of limiting our freedom the economy Liberalism is correct in trying to replace the feudal system but individualism and a heavy emphasis on capitalism are not the way to do it Socialists like conservatives have an organic view of society You can not look at how people are behaving to understand human nature you have to understand the social relationships Human nature is always a product of social relations If we re a product of social relations and we don t agree with that set of social relations we can change them Some socialists argue that human beings are naturally cooperative Socialists are interested in looking at and examining existing social relations mainly capitalist relationships the dominant one at the time Socialist theory was beginning to be formed Agent Obstacle Goals Agent Class people most harmed by existing social relationships Obstacle Economic inequality class struggle groups advantaged vs groups disadvantaged Goal Fufillment of basic needs universal human emancipation political equality is not enough we must also achieve economic equality Utopian Socialism Social relations are the main area of concern for utopian socialists Utopian socialists are called that as a kind of critique Marx felt they were too abstract First utopian socialists derive from Christianity St Thomas More many people feel liberalism and capitalism directly violate Christianity Utopia St Thomas More Even if you dismantle relationships of aristocracy and monarchy there are still differences between powerful and powerless More thinks it s sinful that some people go without while others have an abundance Capitalism encourages us to think about the accumulation of wealth and no other values we want to have More s Utopia is both a critical and moral critique of capitalism More thinks we reward laborer inproportianately people who make the most money don t fufill basic human needs while people who do things we need make the least Scientific Socialists much more interested in grounding ideas in a rational way Robert Owen tried to found a town based on co operative principles greater equality in economic relationships will contribute to higher efficiency Karl Marx How is the industrial revolution actually reducing the average lifespan Why is capitalism transforming economic relationships positively for only a few Marx was considered bright but his views were considered too radical Advocated the elimination of the Prussian Empire Became increasingly critical of economic relationships Frederich Engels the son of a wealthy industrialist Engels sent away to run a factory in England comes back radicalized due to seeing horrors in the workplace Both begin engaging in political activism Marx expelled from Prussia France Belgium and finally finds a home in England Like conservatives distressed with what he sees very unlike conservatives Marx interested in radical change Das Kapital Structure of how things work a means of production bourgreosie money Marx says the bourgeosie owns the means of production and the struggle for the means of production is the conflict between the proleteriat and bourgeosie b labor proleteriat those in the circuit of capital who sell their labor on the open market c put these together and you get a product ex Steve Jobs Chinese workers iPhone Marx says the value of a particular item is determined by how much people will pay for it on the market This is called exchange value Exchange value costs of production surplus value Surplus value then returns to investor who owns means to production If you re the bourgeosie you want to maximize surplus value so you reduce costs of production Circuit of Capital continued means of production labor product exchange value cost of production surplus value continual goal is the production of surplus value if you re a member of the ruling class your interest is reducing the cost of production as much as possible by getting the best labor at the lowest price if you re a member of the proletariat you want to maximize what you re receiving for your labor Marx talks about credit as a way to restart the circuit of capital but this means that income must keep up with credit Capitalism drives our particular class interests If you re a member of the proletariat unemployment is bad If you re a member of the bourgeosis unemployment is beneficial to you up to a certain point Three kinds of conflict capitalism calls 1 economic conflict crisis of overproduction 2 political conflict class conflict 3 moral conflict exploitation people working really hard but money is just returned to bourgeosie In structure of capitalism Marx harkens to Locke s labor theory of value if you pick an apple you give it to your boss and he decides how much you get for it as a opposed to if i get it it s mine Historical Materialism Marx believes that liberalism s emphasis on choice freedom liberty etc is a product of capitalism and a justification for it Looking at the long view of history will help us understand historical processes of change Marx material economic relations The engine of history what really creates change is the economy Base structure superstructure Base structure economic change is the sum total of the relations of production constitute the foundation on which superstructure political relations religion ideology rests Revolution in economic relationships leads to the rise of liberalism part of the superstructure This is why Marx rejects welfare liberalism and unions because they change things within the superstructure not the economic structure Tale of two classes Feudalism is an agriculturally based society so it s naturally a heirarchy because of the economical relations bourgeoise class was a revolutionary class American Rev Magna Carte rebels etc suddenly people start challenging the heirarchy increasing political and social turmoil BECAUSE of economic conflict revolutions start in the economy and ripple into the superstructure 2 Classes 2 Revolutions Revolution 1 Feudalism Capitalism bougeosie revolution People belong to a new economic and political class that was tired of nobility Industrial revolutions could not happen in