Socialism and Communism

Historical Development Plato’s Republic Communism of the select (the upper class)  pursuit of common interests Utopianism Renaissance Utopias (Thomas More’s Utopia) French Utopian Socialism Industrial (Modern) Socialism Robert Owen  New Harmony, IN Karl Marx  Das Kapital (the Capital)

Historical Development Continued Divergence of Socialism Communism in the former Soviet and Eastern Europe and China Market socialism in Western Europe (particularly Scandinavian countries) Two main elements of Socialism Public property (means of production) ownership Central role of gov’t and central planning

Marxism Based on Dialectical Materialism Hegel’s Dialectic: Theses  Anti-thesis  Synthesis (scarcity, insatiability, economy) Materialism Materialism (economic conditions) determines the society Dialectical materialism Feudalism  Capitalism  Socialism

Marxism Continued Flaws of capitalism according to Karl Marx Unequal relationship between employer and workers  exploitation of labor  insufficient demand  crises and depressions  confrontation between bourgeoisies (have) and proletariats (have not)  collapse of capitalism Merits of Marxism Pointing out many potential problems of pure capitalism Weakness of Marxism Not foreseeing the flexibility and adjustability of capitalism (increased gov’t role, labor union, etc.)