What Is Socialism

What Is Socialism Just what is Socialism? The term is being used in many different ways right now leading to a lot of confusion among people. Old Cold War and Capitalist spins on the word have, furthermore, always tried to paint the most vile image of the concept. The idea of collective economic cooperation can be traced to the earliest human social tribal forms; people banded together in communities to provide for the community. There are many biblical reference to communities sharing in their bounty. Jesus shared his bounty with his posse and others. The term Socialism evolved in Western Europe in reaction to the confiscation of common lands and the evolution of Capitalism. Over the course of the last two hundred years, the term has splintered into a variety of definitions. I shall try to briefly review this evolution. Socialism initially had a Utopian cast to its use. A number of people developed ideas about people 'sharing the wealth'. Karl Marx was the first person to attempt to define Socialism and Communism in a sociological manner. His primary work, however, was involved in analyzing Capitalism. In the mid to late 19th century, two distinct definitions began to evolve that lead to our current confusion about Socialism. Both definitions are based upon a reaction to mature Corporate Capitalism. The essence of the first definition is Socialism that is often referred to as Democratic Socialism. The second definition is usually referred to as Social Democracy. It should be noted that these two and all other definitions except for the bastardized use of the term by both Hitler and the Soviet Union have been rooted Democratic values. Socialists have always been in the forefront of the struggle to attain Natural Rights and Civil Rights and other forms of social power that devolves to the entire community as opposed to any power elite. Democratic Socialism is what is usually meant generally by Socialism. Democratic Socialists envision a political economy in which economic institutions are owned collectively in the interest of all. The aim of Democratic Socialism is to replace Capitalism. A Democratic Socialist society would presume that all able-bodied would participate in work and share in the bounty of that work. The obvious concern of such a society is to insure that government remains completely Democratic. The erosion of Democratic control would lead dictatorial control of society, especially where federalism and the separation of powers are compromised. The Social Democratic political movement began in the era of Corporate Capitalist abuses in the late 19th century. This movement does not want to abolish Capitalism but regulate it and provide for government institutions that mitigate the worst aspects of capitalism: poverty, slum housing, health and safety, and the ups and downs of economic cycles. The downside of this movement is that institutions like Social Security, welfare, minimum wages and other forms of government involvement in society are dominated by the oligarchy that continues to dominate society by virtue of their economic and political power. That is what we have witnessed for the last century in America. I want to add one final comment to this essay in reference to Senator Bernard Sanders. The good gentleman has defined himself as a Democratic Socialists for decades, but he would classified as Social Democrat by the definitions used here. While there is some disparity in how the terms are used in political science, the definitions are most often defined as they are in this essay. Senator Sanders will need to define how he would distinguish himself, but he never suggests abolishing Capitalism and always discusses in his proposals the mitigation of Capitalist abuses or problems.