Socialism is political and economic doctrine which emerged at the end of the 18th century and is characterized by the idea of transforming society through the limitation of property rights private, the control of economic resources by the working classes and a management of public affairs aimed at promoting equality Social.
Socialism emerged during the Industrial Revolution as a political program of the working classes. It was born as a reaction to the living conditions of workers in the large industrial centers of the Europe, opposing liberalism and individualism and advocating a total reformulation of the society. The new society projected by the socialists should be built on a communal basis.
As an economic doctrine, socialism is the opposite of liberalism, which is based on private ownership of the means of production and a market economy.
French journalist and agitator Noël Babeuf (1760-1797) is considered one of the forerunners of socialism. At the end of the 18th century, he defended proposals of a socialist nature, such as agrarian and tax reforms.
Karl Marx (1818-1883) and Friedrich Engels (1820-1895) are two of the leading names in socialism in the 19th century. They founded the so-called "scientific socialism", which, based on a scientific method, criticizes the capitalist regime and intends to be a political program for the liberation of the working class. The ultimate objective of this program is to overcome social classes - communism, a form of social organization in which the State and private ownership of the means of production would be abolished.
In Marxist theory, socialism would represent the intermediate phase between the end of capitalism and the implantation of communism. Under socialism, the people would take over the affairs of the State and would manage them based on their own interests, with the rational organization of the productive forces. For Marx and Engels, this step would be historically necessary for the construction of communism.
utopian socialism
Utopian socialism was a current of thought created by Robert Owen (1771-1858), Saint-Simon (1760-1825) and Charles Fourier (1772-1837). Born in the early nineteenth century, utopian socialism emerged from the critique of capitalism and tried to find solutions to the problems of industrial society.
The name utopian socialism emerged thanks to the work Utopia by Thomas More, since utopia, used in a pejorative way, refers to something that does not exist or cannot be achieved. These first socialists had in mind the construction of a more harmonious, just and abundant society.
Marx and Engels, while acknowledging the importance of these socialist thinkers, distanced themselves from them, accusing them of "fantasizing" about the future of society. Mar and Engels criticized the utopian socialists for ignoring the importance of class struggle and for not presenting, in a concrete way, a viable path to socialism.
Read more about utopian socialism.
scientific socialism
Scientific socialism, created by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, proposes the scientific analysis of capitalism, aiming at its overcoming.
Scientific socialism, also known as Marxism, moves away from utopian socialism by proposing a "science" of revolution, with the purpose of determining the laws that govern the forms of social organization, its emergence and its extinction. From this theory, communism appears as a "scientifically predictable" phase of history.
Marxist socialism is theoretically based on historical materialism, which proposes a rational knowledge of the world. Through the analysis of past economic formations (such as feudalism), historical materialism pursues the law of social phenomena. The objective is to understand how historical processes, the laws governing death and the emergence of new social organizations occur. Communism arises as a necessary consequence of the dialectical (contradictory) movement of history.
According to scientific socialism, this scientific knowledge of history, in order to result in the desired social transformations, must be linked to political action. And the social class responsible for acting is the proletariat. According to Marx, only the working classes, through revolutionary action, could resolve the conflict of capitalist society, promoting its overcoming.
real socialism
Real socialism is an expression that designates countries that have tried to put socialist ideals into practice. Importantly, socialism, as thought by nineteenth century theorists, was never fully implemented, much less communism.
In the 20th century, socialist ideas were adopted by some countries, such as the Soviet Union, China, Cuba, North Korea and East Germany. However, in some cases, a communist system made up of authoritarian and extremely violent regimes emerged. Far from theoretical or ideal socialism, real socialism was (and is) characterized by the formation of regimes that systematically disrespected human life and individual freedoms.
See too:
- Characteristics of Socialism
- Capitalism
- Communism
- Difference between Communism and Socialism
- Difference between Capitalism and Socialism
- Anarchism