What factors gave rise to socialism? The basis for modern socialism primarily originates with the Age of Enlightenment and the accompanying rise of liberalism and the Industrial Revolution.
Factory owners became wealthy, while many workers lived in increasing poverty, laboring for long hours under difficult and sometimes dangerous conditions.
Socialism emerged as a response to the expanding capitalist system
.
By the late 19th century, after the work of Karl Marx and his collaborator Friedrich Engels, socialism had come to signify opposition to capitalism and advocacy for a post-capitalist system based on some form of social ownership of the means of production.
Mechanization of the manufacturing process
led to the Industrial Revolution which gave rise to two major competing economic systems: capitalism and socialism.
The fall of the First International
did not end socialism but led to the rise of socialism as a mas movement everywhere. The trade unions witnessed heavy numbers and also socialist ideology based political parties emerged. The Governments too were forced to implement reforms by these parties.
Socialism is defined as
an economic system in which the means of production are owned not by private individuals but by the community in order that all may share more fairly in the wealth produced
.
The emergence of socialism in Europe was also
due to the French revolution in 1789
. EXPLANATION: “The French revolution” took place in the year 1789, the French revolution was one of the most ‘important revolutions’ changed the history of the world completely.
- Public Ownership.
- Planned Economy.
- Classes of Society.
- State is responsible for basic necessities of life.
- Equal Opportunity to all.
- Non-existence of competition and limited choice of consumer products.
- Pricing Mechanism.
Socialism is, broadly speaking, a political and economic system in which property and the means of production are owned in common, typically controlled by the state or government. Socialism is based on the idea that
common or public ownership of resources and means of production leads to a more equal society
.
Zambia’s healthcare is universal
and, therefore, an example of socialism. Turkmenistan is a strong example of socialism with energy subsidized by the government, many housing subsidies and an economy that is largely state-run.
Socialism, for Marx, is
a society which permits the actualization of man’s essence, by overcoming his alienation
. It is nothing less than creating the conditions for the truly free, rational, active and independent man; it is the fulfillment of the prophetic aim: the destruction of the idols.
When was the rise of capitalism?
From the 16th to the 18th century
in England, the industrialization of mass enterprises, such as the cloth industry, gave rise to a system in which accumulated capital was invested to increase productivity—capitalism, in other words.
Under Nehru, the Indian National Congress, India’s largest political party, adopted socialism as an ideology for socio-economic policies in 1936.
KEY Points. Disadvantages of socialism include
slow economic growth, less entrepreneurial opportunity and competition, and a potential lack of motivation by individuals due to lesser rewards
.
- Utopian socialism.
- Communism.
- Marxism.
- Anarchism.
Answer: Socialists were
those people who were against private property and saw it as the root of all social ills of the time
.
(i)
Collective Ownership. (ii) Economic, Social and Political Equality. (iii) Economic Planning. (iv) No Competition.
In socialism,
all means of production are owned by the community, i.e., Government, and no individual can hold private property beyond certain limit
. Therefore, it is government who utilises these resources in the interest of social welfare.
The first socialist state was the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, established in 1917.
Why did socialism become more popular in Europe during the 19th century?
There was a huge gap in wealth between factory owners and the people who worked in their factories
.
The first modern socialists were early 19th-century Western European social critics. In this period socialism emerged from a diverse array of doctrines and social experiments associated primarily with British and French thinkers—especially Charles Fourier, Saint-Simon, Robert Owen.
The 12 values, written in 24 Chinese characters, are the national values of “prosperity”, “democracy”, “civility” and “harmony”; the social values of “freedom”, “equality”, “justice” and the “rule of law”; and the individual values of “patriotism”, “dedication”, “integrity” and “friendship”.
In theory, based on public benefits, socialism has the greatest goal of common wealth; Since the government controls almost all of society’s functions, it can make better use of resources, labors and lands; Socialism
reduces disparity in wealth, not only in different areas, but also in all societal ranks and classes
.
What are the three main goals of a socialist economic system?
A planned economy, greater equality, and ownership of income-producing property by the state rather than private parties
.
Countries that have constitutional references to socialism and are thus considered to be socialist states include: Bangladesh (The People’s Republic of Bangladesh), Eritrea (State of Eritrea), Guyana (Co-operative Republic of Guyana), India (Republic of India), Nepal (Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal), Nicaragua ( …
Definition of socialism
1 :
any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods
. 2a : a system of society or group living in which there is no private property.
Marx’s work laid the foundations for future communist leaders such as Vladimir Lenin and Josef Stalin. Operating from the premise that capitalism contained the seeds of its own destruction,
his ideas formed the basis of Marxism and served as a theoretical base for communism
.
What led to the rise of capitalist economy?
The Industrial Revolution
gave rise to the theory of capitalism. Money is required for purchasing land, labor, and machinery which are important means of production. When the money is invested to generate more money, it is known as capital. The people who own capital are known as capitalists.
Capitalism is based on individual initiative and favors market mechanisms over government intervention, while socialism is based on government planning and limitations on private control of resources.
How did capitalism arise?
Capitalism developed historically
out of previous systems of feudalism and mercantilism in Europe
, and dramatically expanded industrialization and the large-scale availability of mass-market consumer goods.
The ideology of Gandhian socialism is rooted in Gandhi’s work titled Swaraj and India of My Dreams in which, he describes
Indian society, with no one rich or poor, no class conflict, where there is an equal distribution of the resources, and self-sufficient economy without any exploitation and violence
.
- Equitable distribution of resources.
- Absence of exploitation.
- Jobs and employment for the citizens are more guaranteed and secured.
- Equitable distribution of income.
- Prevention of private monopoly.
A socialist economy features
social rather than private ownership of the means of production
. It also typically organizes economic activity through planning rather than market forces, and gears production towards needs satisfaction rather than profit accumulation.
Advantages And Disadvantages of Socialism: Socialism is a government structure, a system of social organization, or a theory that advocates giving the community as a whole control and ownership of production and distribution rather than the individual.
Industrial Revolution and Robert Owen
Appalling conditions for workers, combined with support for the French Revolution turned some intellectuals to socialism. The pioneering work of Robert Owen, a Welsh radical, at New Lanark in Scotland, is sometimes credited as being the birth of British Socialism.
Socialism was a response to capitalism in that
it was aimed at the workers who suffered in order to fuel the industrial revolution, but did not see much of the wealth that was generated
. Thus, it aimed to ameliorate some of the inequality of industrial capitalism.
