Comment on the opinion that a belief in egalitarianism is common to all forms of socialism.

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Comment on the opinion that a belief in egalitarianism is common to all forms of socialism.

Egalitarianism is a belief in absolute equality.  In a society run by such an idea, members of that society enjoy formal equality, equality of opportunity and equality of outcome.  In an egalitarian society, the gap between the rich and the poor, the ‘have’ and ‘have nots’ will either be minimised or eradicated because all people will earn the same amount regardless of personal talent.  While all forms of socialism will espouse the idea that society should strive to be more equal, not all will go to the extreme of egalitarianism where that equality is uncompromisingly imposed.

There are two main forms of socialism, revolutionary and utopian.  Revolutionary socialist believe that a socialist form of government can only be achieved by rebellion, utopian socialist believe it is possible for a ‘worker’s paradise’ to be created through legitimate means.  Within these two categories it is still possible to identify further sub-categories; within revolutionary socialism it is possible to identify Marxism, Maoism and Leninist-Marxism.  Within utopian socialism it is possible to identify groups such as the Fabian society.  While their ideas may seem radically different on the surface, they all contain a critique of society as it stands today, particularly a critique of capitalism, a method of transition, either revolutionary or reformist and a model which they aspire to, in most instances a more ‘equal’ society.  The two main areas of conflict are between the method of transition and the nature of a more ‘equal’ society.

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The socialist faith in the concept of equality stems from their belief that inequality is caused less from people having naturally different abilities when they are born and more from capitalism which they believe has forced unnatural competition amongst people causing them to be selfish and materialistic.  Inequality is therefore caused by the faults in the structure of society, not by differences between individuals. In response to this, socialism would aim to change the structure of society in such a manner as to make it more equal.

 It is, however, difficult to reconcile mainstream socialist thought with any ...

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