POLS1301 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Friedrich Engels, Utopian Socialism, Scientific Socialism
Lecture 5 - Socialism
socialism emerges as a critique of liberalism
freedom is just privilege, unless it is extended to everyone
that the lib notion of individual freedom is an illusion that masks an inequitable system
Sees humans as malleable - nature not set
who we become is a product of our society
idea that if we change society, we will stop being selfish etc and release true human
nature
e.g. we may see ourselves as rational, but this is because we were born into a liberal
dominated world
underneath this, base is that we desire connection and we are cooperative beings
connection to our work and to one another
desire to exist in fraternity
society doesnt change through ideas etc but through material production
material structures (esp economic) are the basis of society
Central principle: Egalitarianism
justice extended from legal + political into economic + social spheres
liberalism only extends justice to legal + political spheres
from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs
Equality of outcomes, not equality of opportunity
equality of opportunity is a liberal idea
basic needs satisfaction - there should be a basic equality, and this is the
responsibility of the state to provide
e.g. shelter, food, companionship, ability to work
even if you give to society in a higher way (e.g. doctor), your needs are the same and
you should get back the same things from society as everyone else
The Big Three classes of people to come out of the industrial revolution:
Socialism - bottom tier: e.g. peasants selling labour to middle class
liberalism - middle
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Conservatism - highest tier: associated with aristocracy
Early Utopian Socialists - **not in exam**
Henri de Saint-Simon (1760-1825)
Robert Owen (1771-1858)
Charles Fourier (1772-1837)
encouraged communal living, cheap employee goods, etc
Marx
born in Germany
Jewish background
son of wealthy lawyer
Academic
Studied law + philosophy
Atheist - therefore socialism was concerned with religion + its role in politics
Continually exiled from Germany
Friedrich Engels helped finance + write
called his socialism scientific socialism because it offered a rational/scientific critique
of capitalism
wanted to understand society and therefore how to change it for the better
economic account of how the world works
Marxism was the dominant form of socialism by 1880
Historical Materialism - **EXAM**
in the social production of their life, men enter into definite (material) relations that are
indispensable and independent of their will
the sum total of these constitutes the economic structure of society, on which a legal
+ political superstructure, and to which correspond forms of social consciousness
the mode of production conditions the social, political and intellectual life
pyramid:
bottom: mode of production (MOP)
middle: relations of production (classes)
Capitalists + workers
They are in relations to each other because they are each in relation to the MOP
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Lecture 5 - socialism socialism emerges as a critique of liberalism (cid:1684)freedom is just privilege, unless it is extended to everyone(cid:1685) that the lib notion of individual freedom is an illusion that masks an inequitable system. Central principle: egalitarianism justice extended from legal + political into economic + social spheres liberalism only extends justice to legal + political spheres (cid:1684)from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs(cid:1685) Socialism - bottom tier: e. g. peasants selling labour to middle class liberalism - middle. Charles fourier (1772-1837) encouraged communal living, cheap employee goods, etc. Atheist - therefore socialism was concerned with religion + its role in politics. Friedrich engels helped finance + write called his socialism (cid:1684)scientific(cid:1685) socialism because it offered a rational/scientific critique of capitalism wanted to understand society and therefore how to change it for the better economic account of how the world works. Marxism was the dominant form of socialism by 1880.
