What Is Socialism?

Both roads are also in agreement with how much need there is for working class consciousness. Socialism in general is very concerned with narrowing the gap between the ruling class and the proletariat. Marxist thinkers, who are very closely linked to revolutionary and revisionist thinkers, believe that the working class are exploited and there is a very clear gap between labour and the capitalists who take advantage of the working class. This links back to the need to revolution as revolutionists believe that this gap will become so large that revolution is the only feasible option. Evolutionists or social democrats define class by income and status differences. Nowadays the link between class and socialists politics had definitely weakened as the gap has become narrower. Furthermore the standards of living and wages have risen significantly and as a result the idea of revolution is far less appealing for socialists than it was before. They also agree on the fact that the working class is a huge political force and it is

“From each according to ability, to each according to his contribution”, is socialism’s slogan. Socialism is a social and economic system characterized by common ownership, democratic control, and production for use only. Common ownership means that the resources of the world are owned by everyone thus, nobody can take control of resources beyond their personal belongings. The concept of democratic control means that everybody in a society has the right to participate in the social decisions that affect them. Production under socialism is directly and entirely for use. For example, everyone receives their share of production based on how much they have contributed. After a percent of their share is deducted to go to the common good, workers receive their share of production. Examples of common good is transportation and education, but common good is also used to help those who cannot directly play a part in production like elderly people or children. Socialism works under the assumption that everyone is willing to

However, believers in socialism would completely disagree with this ideal. Socialism is the economic system in which the workers, instead of a rich minority of entrepreneurs, own all industry. Workers receive the full fruits of their labors instead of being given miniscule compensation for backbreaking labor. Since the people are paid well for their work, work becomes a cooperative entity where people come to rely on one another and people actually are more inclined to do their fair share to help the advancement of society as a whole.

Socialism – a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state

For example, it shapes the nature of religion, law, education, the state and so on. According to Marx, capitalism sows the seeds of its own destruction. For example, by polarising the classes, bringing the proletariat together in ever-increasing numbers, and driving down their wages, capitalism creates the conditions under which the working class can develop a consciousness (or awareness) of its own economic and political interests in opposition to those of its exploiters. As a result, the proletariat moves from merely being a class-in-itself (whose members share the same economic position) to becoming a class-foritself, whose members are class conscious – aware of the need to overthrow capitalism. The means of production would then be put in the hands of the state and run in the interests of everyone, not just of the bourgeoisie. A new type of society – socialism developing into communism – would be created, which would be without exploitation, without classes and without class conflict. Marx’s work has been subjected to a number of criticisms. First, Marx’s predictions have not come true. Far from society becoming polarised and the working class becoming poorer, almost everyone in western societies enjoys a far higher standard of living than ever before. The collapse of so-called ‘communist’ regimes like the former Soviet Union, and growing private ownership and capitalist growth in China, cast some doubt on the viability of the practical implementation

Socialism an ideology which favors the working class above everything; and as Karl Marx said, proletariat would take over the world. This statement is true to many countries as percentage wise the working class outnumbers any other by a landslide. So it must come by no surprise that when a quarter of the working class is not working and more than half are hungry and sitting under the poverty line they

As mentions before socialism is the doctrine that espouses public ownership or control of a major means of production. It aims to achieve an equitable and efficient distribution of social goods and greater economic planning then exist under capitalism. Although the central concerns of socialism appears to be economic its ramifications extend to the moral, social and political realms, in fact together with nationalism, it is the leading ideological and political movement of the 20th century.

Marxist Communism, in it’s most pure form, calls for the abolition of the old society (Pg 86) and radical ruptures of traditionalist ideas” (Pg 87). In it’s place, there must be a reinstatement of a new communist society where all old ideals of capitalism or feudalism or any other “old conditions of existence” (Pg 86) must be dissolved. In process of overthrowing the old society, Marx describes a plethora of other problems of which the proletariat as well as the communist party must face. Within the Manifesto are several different obstacles that haunt the struggle of the proletariat and the Communists. The chief of such obstacles is the “battle of democracy” (Pg 88), which Marx claims it to also be the “first step in revolution” (Pg 87).

"Let the ruling classes tremble at a Communistic revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. Working men of all countries, unite!"- Communist Manifesto Chapter 4 (Ref. 1)

Struggles during the 19th century between social classes over differences in private enterprise and property ownership, became a driving force for changes and reform in Modern Industrial society. Historically, conflict outcomes generally favored the Bourgeoisie, or middle class, over the Proletariats, the working class, during this time in Western Civilization. However, an advancing group of socialists, began referring to themselves as communists, and “advocated the abolition of private property in favor of communal, collective ownership”, promoting the Marxist revolt led by the Proletariats to eliminate private ownership and social classes altogether. (Hunt et. al., 2012, 707). The Communist Manifesto, published in the name of the Communist League, reflected these and other political ideals, relationships between social classes, and guidelines for the revolution with a fundamental set of principles.

In the Manifesto of the Communist Party, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engles aim to represent the working class of society and condemn the oppressive nature that a capitalistic society puts on them. They address the problems with capitalism, specifically its economic model, in order to help define communism as a social model. The Manifesto provides the history of class oppression and compares previous structures to its current situation in 1848. Marx and Engels are calling to all proletariats to wake up to the injustices that are forced upon them and realized it is time to restructure the classes. They provide the theory of revolution in which communism will be born.

But, however, conflict theories like Marxism tell a different side on this approach. Marxist views state that our society is arranged, and shaped by the social strains of the modern society; to promote the social class system. (K White, 2012:pp.155). Additionally, this Marxist view is supported by (Vicente Navarro, 2015:pp.405-423), states that the society is divided into two distinct categories which are the ‘Bourgeoisie’ who exploit the ‘Proletariat’. The ‘Bourgeoisie’ in Marxist context means to belong to the upper class who owns the means of production, and the ‘Proletariat’ implies on the working class who are exploited and have to work for the capitalist; to keep them on top of the hierarchy economy. (Earl Ham Sociology, 2012). For example:

Victim of class domination, the proletariat revolts to establish a new society where the workers have power over the resources that facilitate production. According to Karl Marx, the progress of society is based on the accessibility “productive forces,” a combination of the instruments of production and human labor, to men (Marx, 157). The division of that labor is unequal, where one class does all the work and the other consumes the products of that labor (Marx, 159). This unequal distribution of labor creates a contradiction between the interests of the

brings awareness on the part of the working class of their common relationship to the means of

With the industrial capitalism that took place, Marx’s defines how Marxism can be seen with the past progresses of diverse methods of production (Emerling 2005: 17). Marx sees capitalism as being the oppressive and unwarranted structure of employment and production. The industrial capitalism is seen to be an economic system which promotes inequality (Emerling 2005: 17- 18). This leads to how the workers are being alienated, showing how their humanity is being deprived (Emerling 2005: 17-18). The industrial capitalism can thus be seen as the capitalist, the bourgeoisie and the proletariats. With the different classes seen, one can clearly see how the alienation of workers has been taking place. The Capitalists are known as the ruling class. They control the distribution of the products and thus reaping the most benefits made from the production. The