socialism 101

Every introduction to socialism is skewed by the ideological commitments of the socialist writing it. As Current Affairs editor-in-chief Nathan Robinson points out: “if you ask 10 socialists what it means you’ll get 12 or so different definitions.” This article does not aim to survey the diverse theoretical, empirical and normative commitments of socialism as a tradition in political thought, nor does it try to provide grounds for formulating a “one true socialism”. Rather, by analysing values central to the paradigm, we hope to canvas concrete and idealised institutions conducive to a world free from exploitation, hierarchy and the denial of real, human needs.

Anti-Capitalism Broadly speaking, socialism is best understood as an economic arrangement alternative to, or evolving from, capitalism. This allows us to make a distinction between socialists and social democrats. The latter seek to supplement capitalist institutions with regulations and social programs like free healthcare, education and welfare. Intuitively, it seems that an economic system cannot be labelled capitalism and socialism at the same time. As such, to proffer an understanding of socialism, we must first analyse the constitutive features of capitalism. It is important to note that the presence of one or more of these features does not entail the presence of a capitalist economy. Markets, for example, predate capitalism by centuries, and the origins of wage-labour can be traced back to Rome or juridically to Anglo-Saxon England. Solidarity Central to the socialist ethos is the rejection of the class system, in the name of the ethic of solidarity. This is most eloquently summarised by American socialist Eugene Debs: “While there is a lower class, I am in it, and while there is a criminal element I am of it, and while there is a soul in prison, I am not free.” Socialists contend that class oppression is a central barrier to human dignity, freedom and equality. While there is vast disagreement in how to address some common features of society often-associated with capitalism in a socialist economic system, the fundamental abolition of class categories is an aim central to most socialist thought.

Wage-Labour & Exploitation Socialists argue that there is something fundamentally exploitative about capitalist social relations. However, they disagree on what this is. Many Marxists and Anarchists adopt the labour theory of value (LTV), that holds that economic value of a good is constituted by the amount of (socially necessary) labour time that went into producing it. As such, workers are exploited when they are paid a wage less than the value produced by their labour. Defenders of capitalism have used the LTV as a bulwark against socialism, arguing that as it is empirically false, the core assumptions of socialism are misguided. While there are strong arguments both for and against the empirical success of the LTV, both sides miss a more fundamental point — that workers are responsible, and entitled to, the fruits of their labour (known as the labour theory of property (LTP)). Distribution and Ownership Socialists tend to agree with the abolition of the class system and the democratic control of workplaces and communities. However, they diverge on the economic mechanism by which goods and services are allocated. Marxists hold that the ills of capitalism are caused by a system of commodity production (ie. production-for-profit) and that markets must be replaced by “united co-operative societies [regulating] national production upon a common plan”. Thereby, many Marxists and anarchists advocate for a planned economy (production-for-use) accompanying a partial or total abolition of all market relations. Other socialists argue that planned economies have a propensity towards bureaucracy, hierarchy and inefficiencies (as seen in the USSR) incongruous to the ideals of socialism, holding that autonomous worker cooperatives should be able to engage in commercial activities and trade of some (but not all) goods and services. Socialists also typically hold that productive resources should be put under social or common ownership. The nature of ‘social’ ownership differs extensively, with workercooperatives, municipally held, and nationally held resources all falling under this category.

Conclusion At its roots, socialism developed from the ideals of thinkers systematically opposed to capitalism. Since then, debates have raged endlessly on how to spell out this alternative. Fundamental to this ideal is the abolition of the class system and the call for direct management and control of production by free associations of workers. Socialists must follow this vision with institutional experimentation, open-mindedness and genuine pluralism if we are to propose a feasible, ecologically-oriented and revolutionary alternative to capitalist and state socialist systems of the past. SOCIALISM 101 SOCIALISM 101 SOCIALISM 101 SOCIALISM 10 SOCIALISM 101 Himath Siriniwasa explains the basics of socialism.