Human nature
- Social – we are social animals, preferring to live together rather
than on our own
- Capable of collective action – working together, achieve more
collectively
- Human nature is shaped by social conditions – social experiences
shape us e.g. growing up in poverty increases criminal likeliness
People will engage more in society if it is equal
Society is more of a utilitarian approach – society as a whole
Some people should pay more tax so that it is equal. – managed equality
with nigh taxation and large welfare state
Democratic society
Core ideas and principles of socialism and how they relate to
human nature, the state, society and the economy:
• Collectivism – to cover how collective human effort is both of greater
practical value to the economy and moral value to society than the effort
of individuals
• Common Humanity – to cover the nature of humans as social
creatures with a tendency to co-operation, sociability and rationality, and
how the individual cannot be understood without reference to society, as
human behaviour is socially determined
• Equality – is a fundamental value of socialism – to cover the
disagreements among socialists about the nature of equality and how it is
critical to the state, society, economy and human nature
• Social Class – a group of people in society who have the same
socioeconomic status – to cover the extent to which class impacts on
socialists’ views of society, the state and the economy
• Workers’ Control − to cover the importance and the extent of control
over the economy and/or state and how it is to be achieved.
Collectivism
Collective rather than individual effort = more achieved
Prioritises group over individual – collective ownership, co-operative
communities, nationalisation
Competition is wasteful
Prioritising group – more unity, looking after each other
Moral – interests of group over individual. Generates social unity and
responsibility to one another
Economic – prevents waste and uses all capabilities
1. A society which prioritises the whole group rather than the
individual
2. An economy which is equal and owned by all to ensure that
individuals cooperate rather than compete
3. A large state (for most socialists) to ensure that the economy is
managed (to create above 2 points)
, Common humanity
What is different about the ‘common humanity’ tenet and the
‘collectivism’ tenet?
1. Humans are a product of their society
2. Human are naturally inclined to work together/cooperate – they
benefit from this in terms of social harmony (as opposed to
competition, which breeds conflict)
3. Humans can, and should, be driven by moral rather than material
motivations e.g to improve their society, to help the least fortunate
etc
4. People who co-operate develop connections and understanding
which enable them to become aware of what they share rather than
what divides them
Cooperation - individuals working collectively to achieve mutual benefit with
the fraternal belief that humans work best when working together
Fraternity - humans regarding each other as siblings rather than individuals.
Relationships are not based on competition or hostility but on generosity and
solidarity
Common ownership - common ownership is the opposite of private
ownership that exists with the free-market capitalist economy. Common
ownership means that the state and the public have the ownership of
property and economy
Mixed economy - an economic system that combines private and state
enterprise
Keynesian economics - economist John Maynard Keynes argued that
governments should stimulate economic demand in times of recession via
state spending. Government should also state manage the economy by using
tax and interest rates to influence demand and prevent recessions
Evolutionary socialism - rather than a radical change, via a revolution,
socialism is achieved gradually within pre existing parliamentary structure.
Socialism will therefore emerge in a gradual piecemeal fashion via the state
Capitalism - an economic system, organised by the market, and based on
private property, free enterprise and competition between individuals and
companies
4 types of socialists
Revolutionary – Marxist – left wing/communist
Democratic socialist – gradual reform of capitalism, less radical than Marx
Social democrat – moderate – post war 1940s government
Third way – more in favour of free market and competition
Revolutionary socialism – Karm Marx and Friedrich Engels (Rosa
Luxemburg) – argues socialist values cannot coexist within capitalism and
therefore there must be a revolution to transform society and the
economy.
Evolutionary socialism – argues that change should happen gradually.
Democratic socialism – Beatrice Webb – argued capitalism could be
gradually reformed via parliament to achieve a socialist state. Advocated
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