To what extent are socialists consistent towards the state?
Agree that the state plays a role in socialism
State is needed for redistribution of wealth and greater social justice
Rejects monarchical, theocratic and aristocratic state
Agree that to ensure equality of opportunity, the state plays a role
E.g Marx advocated for dictatorship of the proletariat as a transitory state before
achieving communism
Webb wrote Clause IV of the labour party in support of nationalisation, seeing the
expansion of the state as the best way to stop the free market
Taken into the 3rd way where the state plays a role in ensuring the redistribution
wealth e.g Crosland’s view on the improvement of education to provide equality of
opportunity
E.g adopted by Blair ‘education, education, education’
Disagree whether the state needs to be removed for socialism
Marx wrote that the state should ‘wither away’, viewing it as an agent of capitalism
which serves the free market
Supported by Luxembourg who believed the evolutionary path to socialism was
insufficient
Selznick’s belief in co-optation which secures the oligarchic nature of
parliamentary society
‘Horse trading’ - filters out radical ideas e.g Corbyn unable to achieve
parliamentary success versus Blair
But…
Webb viewed expansion of the state as necessary to facilitate equality
Giddens saw postmodern society, where in the face of globalisation, people were
less willing for revolution, less class consciousness
Therefore said that capitalism can meet socialist interests
Disagree on the state’s role in the economy
Marxists believe in collective ownership, arguing that the workers should be given
surplus value
Say that the free market alienates us from ourselves and limits the capacity for
humans to collaborate
Socialist democrats (Webb) believe that the state plays a key role in economy, as
part of the Fabian society made LSE to allow the technocratic elite to engineer
society to inject socialism
Third way: Giddens - through Blair e.g Blair made the Bank of England
independent from government so they can set interest rates-
Providing equality of welfare and opportunity rather than outcome
, To what extent do socialists have a common view of human nature?
Agree that humans are malleable
Believe in nurture not nature
Experiences derive from society which the individual can never be separate from
Not self-contained
Behaviour is a reflection of society
Socialists most optimistic
Marx: history involves a ‘continuous transformation of human nature’
Gidden argued human nature has been influenced by changing socio-economic
factors
Crosland: as capitalism becomes ‘humanised’, human beings will flourish
Agree that human nature is cooperative
Natural for humans to want to be communal
Co-operation more natural than competition
Marx saw the collective as the best way to motivate (ethical motivation)
Leading to beliefs in collectivism- anarcho syndicalism (abolish wage system)
Led to beliefs in nationalisation supported by Corbyn who advocated railway
nationalisation in 2017 manifesto
But…
Social democrats reject complete common ownership, replacing it with the
‘commanding heights of the economy’
Disagreement regarding motivations, third way believe in financial
motivation-humans should still be self-serving
Agree on equality
Revolutionary and social democrats believe human beings are equal
Socialist egalitarianism: most significant forms of human inequality are endowed
by society rather than nature
Role of the state is to aim for equality
Giddens: ‘equality must contribute to diversity instead of hindering it’
Crossland: humanity rejects inequality of outcome
But…
Disagree on how this belief in equality should play out in society
Revolutionaries believe in absolute equality- removal of capitalist base will stop
unequal superstructure- culture reflects capital
E.g China’s cultural revolution
Surplus value shared amongst the worker
Social democrats: relative social equality driven by reallocation of wealth
Webb’s belief in expansion of state rather than revolution e.g LSE for social
engineering
Humanisation of capitalism
Rosenburg: through trade unions, certain aspects of human nature will return, such
as fraternity
Third way (Giddens) inequality can benefit welfare state via keynesianism
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