O scientific socialism, also called Marxist socialism, is a political, social and economic theory. It was created in 1840 by Karl Marx (1818-1883) and Friedrich Engels (1820-1895).
As the name implies, this model was based on the scientific and critical analysis of the capitalist system.
The objective of this doctrine was the transformation of society based on an in-depth analysis of its economic, political and social relations.
Karl Marx's work entitled “The capital” (1867) was the most emblematic of that period. Here, Marx analyzes the capitalist system and addresses various topics such as:
- the class struggle;
- the added value;
- the social division of labor;
- the production of capital;
Besides her, the “Communist Manifesto”, published in 1848 by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, brought together the principles and objectives of this theory.
Characteristics of scientific socialism
The main concepts developed by scientific socialism are:
- Historical Materialism: the concept of material accumulation is used to explain the history of societies.
- Dialectical Materialism: the material concept is closely related to the dialectic, which in turn is related to the social and psychological.
- Value Theory: the concept of added value is related to the workforce, the time of realization and the profit obtained.
- Class struggle: this concept involves the struggle between the (exploited) bourgeois class and the (exploited) proletariat.
- Proletarian Revolution: in this case, the proletariat (dominated class) fights for its ascension by occupying the position of the ruling class (bourgeoisie).
Top Thinkers
The main thinkers of scientific socialism were:
- Karl Marx (1818-1883): German philosopher, liberal economist and revolutionary.
- Friedrich Engels (1820-1895): German revolutionary philosopher and theorist.
Differences between Scientific and Utopian Socialism
O utopian socialism it is the first socialist current that emerged before scientific socialism. It was based on the change in society's consciousness through equality between classes.
To this end, the utopian socialists proposed a new model of the “ideal society” in which a change in social thinking would propel a harmonious society. For them, it was possible to implement this model without the need for a struggle between classes (bourgeoisie and proletariat).
On the other hand, the thinkers of scientific socialism had a more active and less idealized view of society. The way they sought for socialism to be implemented was based on a critical and analytical understanding of the capitalist system.
For them, the utopians proposed a new social change, however, they did not think of the method that would be developed so that this change could take place.
In short, these thinkers felt that utopian socialism was full of fanciful and unrealistic ideas.
Want to know more? Also read the articles:
- Socialism
- Capitalism
- Marxism
- Sociology in Enem: what to study
