Socialist Pattern of Society

8/11/2019 Socialist Pattern of Society

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PROJECT REPORT ON

SOCIALIST PATTERN OF SOCIETY

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .......3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY....4

OBJECT.5

INTRODUCTION.........................................................6

SOCIALISM: KARL MARX AND FRIEDRICH ENGELS.7

ORIGIN OF SOCIALISM9

MAIN FEATURES OF THE SOCIALIST PATTERN OF SOCIETY..10

MERITS OR ADVANTAGES OF SOCIALIST PATTERN OF SOCIETY12

DEMERITS OR DISADVANTAGES OF SOCIALIST PATTERN OF SOCIETY.13

CONCLUSION....14

BIBLIOGRAPHY..........15


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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The Objective of this project is to examine the Socialist Pattern of Society

This paper is descriptive and analytical in nature. Secondary and Electronic resources have been

largely used to gather information and data about the topic.

Books and other reference as guided by Faculty of Political Science have been primarily helpful

in giving this project a firm structure. Websites, dictionaries and articles have also been referred.

Footnotes have been provided wherever needed to acknowledge the source.


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OBJECT

The object of this compilation is to-

1. Study the Socialist Pattern of Society

2. To study its importance.

3. To study its demerits.

4. To know about its history.


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Chapter I

SOCIALISM: KARL MARX AND FRIEDRICH ENGELS

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels were the founders of modern socialism and communism.

Together they authored the Communist Manifesto, published in 1848, and collaborated on

Marx's famous work Das Kapital, in which he analyzed economic and social history. Marx and

Engels' ideas came to be known as 'Marxism', which greatly influenced the development of

socialist ideas.

Marx used the words 'bourgeois' and 'proletarian' to describe different classes in society. The

bourgeois referred to the class of capitalists owners of factories and employers of wage

labourers. The proletariat was the class of wage labourers who didn't produce things of their

own, selling their labour in order to live. The term 'socialism' refers to a theory of government

where the state owns and administers all production and distribution of goods. There is no

private property.

Marx believed that state control of production (socialism) was a necessary first step. Workers

would need re-education under socialism to move them away from selfish capitalist ideas, and

this might take many years of state control. But eventually a country could move to true

communism, where the 'state' would disappear. His critics, who wanted to see a communist

society established right away, argued that once there was a centralized state in control, those

rulers would not willingly give up their power. History has proved these critics correct. Both

Marx and Engels believed that the ruling classes would never willingly give up their control of

society to a socialist government, and that revolution would be necessary. They felt that the

following steps would be necessary for the purpose-

1. Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes.

2.

A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.

3. Abolition of all rights of inheritance.

4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels.

5. Centralization of credit in the banks of the state, by means of a national bank with state capital

and an exclusive monopoly.


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6. Centralization of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the state.

7. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the state; the bringing into

cultivation of waste lands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a

common plan.

8. Equal obligation of all to work. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture.

9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of all the distinction

between town and country by a more equable distribution of the populace over the country.

10.Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children's factory labor in its

present form. Combination of education with industrial production.

These ideas brought a lot of changes in the society and gave rise to a totally new concept of state

from the one prevalent at that time. It focused on development of society as whole rather than

development of individual. Hence the theory contains a great importance.

Two Schools of Thoughts

After the death of Karl Marx in 1883, Marxism underwent qualitative changes and his followers

were divided into two groups- the orthodox or revolutionary socialists and the revisionists were

evolutionary socialists who propounded the cause of evolutionary socialism. The orthodox or

revolutionary socialists claimed to be the true socialists and inheritors or Marxism. On the other

hand the Revisionists or the evolutionary socialists also pointed out the shortcomings of the

original philosophy. They accept Marx as their source the inspiration but interpreted the Marxian

theory in a manner that Marxian lost all its revolutionary zeal, favour and character.1

1Urmila Sharma, S.K. Sharma, Principles and Theory of Political Science, Atlantic Publishers and Distributers (P)ltd,

p. 493, 2000


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Chapter II

ORIGIN OF SOCIALISM

Socialism literally sprang from observing the success of capitalism, while believing that

conditions for workers could be improved if the control of production were moved from

capitalists to the state. A top-down control system, such as that used in large business, was the

model for socialist society. Yet the true engine of capitalism, the free market, was overlooked

and left out of the plan. Social reformers, from the early Utopian Socialists to the Marxists, were

literally awed by the tremendous success of capitalistic industrial production. In The Communist

ManifestoKarl Marx stated:

The bourgeoisie, during its rule of scarce one hundred years, has created more massive and

more colossal productive forces than have all preceding generations together. Subjection of

Nature's forces to man, machinery, application of chemistry to industry and agriculture, steam-

navigation, railways, electric telegraphs, clearing of whole continents for cultivation,

canalization of rivers, whole populations conjured out of the ground, what earlier century had

even a presentiment that such productive forces slumbered in the lap of social labor.2

The socialists did not want to disrupt this technological miracle, but merely to distribute the

profits of it more fairly. They observed the workers earning profits for the wealthy businessowners and maintained they were being unfairly exploited. Believing the strength of the system

was in its structure, they didn't want to eliminate businesses, but merely to replace the wealthy

business owners with the state. As early as 1791 Talleyrand, in France, compared the ideal

society to a National Workshop. In the 1820s Henri de Saint-Simon envisioned the ideal society

as one large factory.3 After his death, his followers, calling themselves the Saint-Simonians,

devised a system in which all of society would be organized like a single factory and socialism

was the word they chose to represent it.4This was the origin of socialism.

2Marx , Karl; and Engels, Friedrich, The Communist Manifesto, Penguin Books Ltd., Middlesex, England, p. 85, 1986

3Manuel, Frank E., The New World of Henri Saint-Simon, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, p.

308-309, 367 19564Hayek, Friedrich A., Individualism and Economic Order, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, P. 3, 1948


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Chapter III

MAIN FEATURES OF THE SOCIALIST PATTERN OF SOCIETY

1. Eliminates Capitalism

Socialist State wants to eliminate capitalism which led to unequal distribution of wealth. It

divided the society into two classes - rich andpoor, haves and have-nots and the exploiter

and exploited and created wide gulf between the two. Socialist state seeks to cure all the evils of

the capitalism such as injustice, inequality, class war etc by abolishing it.

2. Opposes Competition

Socialist State tries to eliminate all forms of competition. It wants to have cooperation instead of

competition between the employers and workers. It tries to substitute cooperation for

competition.

3. Economic Equality for all

Socialist State tries to secure economic equality for all by abolishing the wide gaps between

different sections of the society. It stands for the principle of economic equality. It opposes the

concentration of wealth in the hands of a few people. It aims to bridge the gap between the rich

and poor so that opportunities are enjoyed by all equally. It desires to have a society in which

there is no inequality in the distribution of property. According to Laveleys: Socialist state isan

equalizer and leveler5.

4. Opposes private property

Socialist State tries to abolish the institution of private property. It regards private property as

theft and source of all evils in the society. It declares that land and capital should belong to all

and not to a privileged few.

5. Social control of means of production

5Urmila Sharma, S.K. Sharma, Principles and Theory of Political Science, Atlantic Publishers and Distributers (P)ltd,

p. 495, 2000


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Chapter IV

MERITS OR ADVANTAGES OF SOCIALIST PATTERN OF SOCIETY

Socialist State has become very popular and powerful movement in modern states. It has

exercised deep influence on the policies of every state. Today it is seen in different parts of the

world in one form or the other. Everywhere the state is interfering in economic and industrial

affairs where public welfare is involved. It is owning, controlling and managing industries and

public services which are of national importance. The trend of every state today is, thus, towards

socialist state7. Its merits are:

1. It puts society above the individual and considers the good of all as something superior to the

mere good of the individual. It regards social welfare as the basis of production.

2. It rightly depicted the evils existing in the present day society. It desires to put an end to the

evils of capitalism like economic inequalities, wastage of resources lack of proper planning

wasteful production etc.

3. It wants to destroy the institution of private property, reduce the present economic inequalities,

put an end to all types of exploitation and create a better society.

4. Its principle of production is social benefit but not personal profit. It manages and regulates

industries not with profit motive but with social needs.

5. It secures better conditions of work for the workers. It raises their status and importance in the

society.

6. It favours gradual changes based on peaceful and constitutional methods. It is evolutionary in

nature. So it paved the way for the success of democracy.

7. Finally, it will free the individual from want and starvation and will thereby provide him with

greater opportunities for political and economic activities.

7Dr. S. Subramaniyam, Political Science, Tamil Nadu textbook corporation, Ed. 1, p. 15, 2000


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Chapter V

DEMERITS OR DISADVANTAGES OF SOCIALIST PATTERN OF

SOCIETY

In spite of the above advantages, socialist state has been subjected to severe criticism on thefollowing grounds:

1. It leads to authoritarianism as it puts too many powers in the hands of government. It results in

the restriction of individual liberty as the state interferes in every sphere of individual activity.

State becomes the master and the individual becomes its servant.

2. It kills individual initiative and enterprise because it does not allow private property. In the

absence of private property, men may not like to do maximum work.

3. It advocates socialisation of means of production. It is difficult for the state to manage all

industries, control the means of production and distribution. Complete management of all

industries by the state will result in inefficiency, redtapism, corruption and nepotism. Industries

may not be run on sound and economical lines.8

4. It ignores and neglects completely the interests of the consumers. It does not provide to the

consumer any choice in respect of consumption. The consumer has to adjust his needs to

production which is controlled by the state.

5. It is argued by the critics that practical instances show that countries with a socialist system

like China has made less progress compared to those having laissez faire system as United

States.

8Dr. S. Subramaniyam, Political Science, Tamil Nadu textbook corporation, Ed. 1, p. 16, 2000


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CONCLUSION

The theory of Socialist state or the Socialist Patter of Society is like a storehouse of confusion.

One fails to understand as to what it really aims at. Despite these weaknesses, the theory of

Socialist state has now become a matter of universal appreciation. All thinkers ranging from the

advocates of Liberalism to that of Communism express their unflinching faith in the doctrine of

Socialist state.

The days of a hundred percent Individualism are gone forever. Today all states are moving

towards Socialist state. People everywhere expect that the state will actively promote their

welfare and that it should play a positive role in their life. It would be best to conclude with the

words of J.C.Johari who says:

None can deny the fact that the movement of socialist state has brought about numerous

reforms. The rise of wages, reduction in the hours of work improvement of working conditions,

curbs on the prevalence of destructive competition, decrease in the degree of exploitation and the

like are some of the leading achievements of socialist state.


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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books-

1.

Urmila Sharma, S.K. Sharma, Principles and Theory of Political Science, Atlantic Publishersand Distributers (P)ltd, 2000

2. Marx , Karl; and Engels, Friedrich, The Communist Manifesto, Penguin Books Ltd.,Middlesex, England, 1986

3. Manuel, Frank E., The New World of Henri Saint-Simon, Harvard University Press,

Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1956

4. Hayek, Friedrich A.,Individualism and Economic Order, The University of Chicago Press,Chicago, 1948

5. Dr. S. Subramaniyam,Political Science, Tamil Nadu textbook corporation, Ed. 1, 20006. Deniel Bell, The coming of Post-Industrial Society, Basic Books; Reissue edition, 1976

Websites-

1. http://books.google.co.in
http://books.google.co.in/http://books.google.co.in/http://books.google.co.in/

Socialist Pattern of Society

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