To what extent do different socialists disagree over the role of the state?
A high-quality essay that explores this essay question. Includes introduction, 2 agreement paragraphs, and 2 disagreement paragraphs as well as an evaluative conclusion!
To what extent do different socialists agree over the role of the state? 24
Socialism is traditionally the view of opposing capitalist society and
economic systems whilst supporting collective ownership of economic and
social systems which promotes equality. In order to achieve these goals,
different socialists introduced different ways for the state to provide an
equal society and economy which also adapted to current times. This
therefore led to clear disagreements amongst different strands of
socialism regarding the existence and size of the state as well as its
purpose in society. There is however broad agreement over some areas of
state management amongst some socialists such as its duty to provide
welfare and equality as well as the need for state reforms and changes to
achieve a collective state however there are still divisions within this. This
therefore shows that fundamentally, different socialists do not agree over
the state’s role.
One area in which there is agreement amongst some socialists is the
sates role to provide social welfare and equality in society. This is due to
socialists fundamental belief of equality where humans are all born equal
and only are different due to conditions in society therefore this inequality
in society should be removed by the state which will reinforce collectivism
and harmonious living. Further to this, socialists are against the class
division and social hierarchy created from inequality stemming from
capitalism which further supports their reasoning as to why the state
should provide welfare. This is because there are clear class differences
which mean people who are lower in society need more support to
achieve equality. This view is shared by Social Democrats such as
Crosland who advocates for a welfare system to promote social justice
and redistribute wealth and limit inequality which was clear in his
introduction of a comprehensive education system where the state
implemented a new system to remove inequalities from the previous
tripartite system. This agreement is further seen is democratic socialists
such as Webb who advocates for equality of opportunity which requires
the state to enforce socialist goals as seen in her links with the Beveridge
report which recommends hugely progressive welfare reforms from the
state to re-level society which is much like Crosland’s ideas and therefore
showing clear signs of agreement amongst different socialists. Whilst
many socialists broadly agree on this, there are however limitations to the
extent of agreement as different socialists believe in different types of
equality such as Crosland believes that the state should focus on equality
of opportunity however Marx and revolutionary socialists believe that
once the state wears away, welfare won’t be needed after revolution due
to the absolute equality which reflects that there isn’t complete
agreement on socialist views regardant the role of the state to promote
equality.
Another area where there is agreement amongst some socialists is there
belief that the state is important to implement a collective state. This is on
the basis of their collectivism belief of socialists and that their positive
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