Gustave De Molinari

Throughout Europe, people of all different classes and moralities had different views of socialism and how it should be achieved/expressed throughout time in that area. An economic and political system based on collective or state ownership of the means of production and distribution is known as socialism. Socialism branched from Republicanism in the early 19th century, because people came to disapprove unequal distribution of wealth and goods. Socialists wanted equal rights for all, but they were opposed to upper class people who received more income for less work with little impact on society. A socialist economic system is the representation of attempting to eliminate economic inequalities and exploitation. Goals of this would be ending

The classical style of the ancient Athens, derived from Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome in the 15th century, has had a universal impact on many cultures during previous time periods. The classical period reflected traditional forms focused on symmetry and elegance; it flourished during the time of the Renaissance through artist such as Michelangelo, Raphael, and Leonardo De Vinci. The artists’ main goal was to attain the absolute beauty in their art by showing emotion through detail, almost through perfection. Some examples of well-known classical arts during the Renaissance were ‘Belvedere Torso’ and the ‘Medici Venus’. In the 17th century the classical style was revived, now called the neo-classical style. It was born in Rome but its popularity flourished all over Europe. The neo-classical movement clashed with the age of Enlightment and continued through the 19th century. The neo-classical principles were based around the same characteristics as the classical arts such as: balance, proportion, order, simplicity, clarity, and reason. It was strongest in architect, sculpture, and decorative arts. The neo- classical style continued to spread throughout the world and became sought after in the 17th and 18th century in countries such as France and The United States, and it influenced some of the greatest government buildings in America.

The socialists, believing everyone is equal, saw that the proletariat was being treated poorly and knew that would have to change. The cruel working conditions and little civil rights made a gap that no single man could cross without help. Many believed that socialism was the key. Socialism grew from the problems of the Industrial Revolution. The relationship of the Revolution to socialism was that of a problem to a solution, respectively. If not for the Industrial Revolution, the problems between the classes would never have grown so apparent. Then again, without the Industrial Revolution the world would be stuck in the past.

Utopian Socialists also believed in the “Golden Rule,” that is, do unto others what you would like done to you. There was no room for bitterness towards other people. They were also very patient in the area of getting what they want. They thought that nothing in life happens quickly and easily. It can be said that they believed in Darwin’s “Theory of Evolution,” so to speak. They knew that what they wanted to achieve would come slowly, but surely. They would also never resort to

The works of Karl Marx are a crucial part of the foundation of the utopia, as they outline the overt flaws in a capitalist system and define the economic plan of the utopia. Although not inherently communistic in every aspect, the dominant political ideology of the utopia is libertarian socialism. Under libertarian socialism, the citizens can reach their full potential while remaining under the care of the government for systems such as healthcare and education. By being allowed to the same opportunities as everyone else from birth, the concept of equality of opportunity is instilled in each person and is further cemented into the foundations of each individual as they age. Eventually, they will come to see themselves and others as complete equals, which will give them a better understanding of their environment and will make for better choices.

A Utopian communist society was set up for failure based off the ideas of Charles Fourier. He was a Utopian socialist who shaped the political and economic basis of Brook Farm. He was part of the French Revolution and was disgusted by the violence that human beings committed in order to achieve their goals. He believed the way to rebel against the government and to achieve goals was through peace, not through murder. Fourier’s societal vision included an ideal community called a “Phalanx.” The

Marxist believed that working class will revolt against their upper-class oppressors and establish a new government of equality. He claimed that after the revolution the government would seize all private property and create a socialist where wealth was eventually divided.

Socialism is the underlying motivation behind communist movements in history. Socialists believe that it is unjust for a small amount of people to own the biggest portion of the wealth in society. This idea lead to the concept of a communist society, in which the existence of private property is eliminated in favor of government-owned property being shared among all it’s people. The government would provide jobs and care for all people equally. The idea was that through communism, there would be no social classes, thus eliminating alienation for any of the people in the society.

They envisioned workers developing class-consciousness, or awareness of a shared place in society – a camaraderie - and the need for a change. The awakening of class-consciousness would ideally be followed shortly by a revolutionary class struggle. In this conflict, the proletariat would rise up against the bourgeoisie and establish a communist society. In a communist society, all private ownership would be abolished, and the means of production (factories, farms, ect) would belong to the entire community. The needs of a society would be put above and beyond the specific needs of an

The specific qualities that make neoclassicism, neoclassicism is it’s strongly influenced by classical Greek and Roman culture. For example there was once a French ruler who despite his height was determined to be the greatest ruler France had ever seen. This French ruler’s name was Napoleon Bonaparte. Despite his short comings and tragic end he will forever be memorialized at The National Gallery of Art. This is due to his court painter, Jacques-Louis David. Painted in the style that closely if not completely resembles, or embodies the sculptures of Greek and Roman emperors, “The Emperor Napoleon” hangs in life size for all to see. Napoleon poses in his war uniform just as the Greek emperors would. The emotionless, Godlike expression on Napoleon’s face is very reminiscent of Greek sculptures and paintings. This painting which highlights Napoleon as a man willing to fight for his people in a time of war is the same type of propaganda Greek emperors would use in times of war, but they would do so using stone, not paint. David’s references back to classic Greek civilization makes this painting very

Many people, besides myself, have also contemplated this question, whether a utopian society could exist, and have put forth their own theories. Karl Marx and John Rawls are two thinkers that questioned what the theory of justice. Marx believed that history was always moving forward towards a utopian ending. Marx disliked injustice and declared this in his Communist Manifesto in 1846. His theory is centered on the idea that forms of society rise and fall as they develop and then became an obstacle for the development of human productive power and reality is governed by economic needs. This belief means that the present organization of society must be destroyed. To establish this new society, people must be organized and take up the struggle against the capitalists who take advantage of them. This struggle, according to Marx, will end in victory for the workers. However, Marx was unable to discover what laws and principles that would produce the just society in which he strived for.

Their main aspect was the destruction of the old feudal structures and the capitalist system and to bring about an independent state – a republican. As noted previously, Marx and Engels hoped that the bourgeoise revolution in France would bring about the ‘immediate prelude to the proletarian revolution’, however, due to the weakness of the Communist League in which they were part of they had no choice but to form a democratic movement for the workers in Germany. The aim of this movement according to (Swell, 2008) ‘was to destroy absolutism and to unity the backward states into one democratic republic’. Marx and Engels note that this achievement in the worker’s movement can only be achieved by revolutionary

In the light of the reading materials for this unit, I will try discuss the crowd of Gustave Le Bon which is a study of popular mind. In his book one, Le Bon has shown us several characteristics of the crowd psychology such as “impulsiveness, irritability, and incapacity to reason, the absence of judgments of the critical spirit, the exaggeration of sentiments, and so forth” (Wikipedia.org). Le Bon defined “Crowd in its ordinary sense as means a gathering of individuals of whatever nationality, professor, or sex, and whatever the chances that have brought them together” (web.archive.org). Le Bon claimed “that an individual in a crowd is a grain of sand amid other grain of sand, which the mind stirs up at will” (Wikipedia.org).

Ever since the creation of man, society has been trying to achieve harmony between its citizens and establish a utopia in which everyone can live in peace and harmony. During the 1800s many citizens of capitalist countries believed that they were living in this utopia, however the working class begged to differ. It was not until the mid-1800s that someone finally stood up for these proletarians as this man believed that the exploitation of members of the working class was unfair. This person was called Karl Marx. This German philosopher inspired workers to rise up and challenge injustices and exploitations. In addition, his views on life and the social structure of his time revolutionized the way people think. It was not until Karl Marx

The Enlightenment, also known as Neoclassicism was notable as being a revival of classical elements and techniques. The Neo in Neoclassicalism means new. This movement started in the mid-1700s and lasted until the mid-1800s. During the Enlightenment people started to think in a different fashion than they used to by using science to challenge old ideas and philosophy to develop new ones creating a sense of depth and development of understanding to art of that time. The economy changed the audience in which artist were creating for, this changed what artists choose to depicted in there art. No longer where artist creating only art for the upper class but artists were painting for everyone to see, because of this most art painted during Neoclassicism