Discussion question: What is socialism? Is socialism possible or desirable?

Revolution in France, Burke said that…the belief in human equality undermined the social order…. No matter how poorly the French monarchy and its institutions had served the nation, they should be preserved…” (Perry, 2004, p.742). Burke’s application of conservatism, the challenger of socialism, promoted the survival of monarchies. This fuelled the philosophers of socialism to take tangible actions in politics against the government: to protest, to start movements and societies, and to evolve their beliefs into a true ideology. Basically these actions paved the path for the upcoming response to the rise of industrialization.      This rise of industrialization in the beginning of the 19th century marked the arrival of the first milestone. “With the expansion of industry came increasing conflict between employers and workers, and labour took on a social in addition to an economic dimension” (Stott, 1999, p.75). This conflict instigated thoughts about a new type of economic/governmental system. Reaction to this discord brought about the creation of the Utopian Socialists. This group, comprised of such notable leaders as Armand Barbes, Auguste Blanqui, and Charles Fourier, Claude-Henri de Saint-Simon, and Robert Owen, was inspired by failures in the existing governments. These philosophers rejected politics and promoted idealized governments for the good of the common person. The specific artisan uprisings of 1831 and 1834 marked the milestone that united these theories with actual political action: these revolts against the government caused the monarchy to tighten censorship and ultimately dissolve the republican organizations. The result was that these leaders were forced to form secret societies and thus “between 1835 and 1840 the French republican movement underwent a theoretical radicalization in a socialist direction” (Stott, 1999, p.77). Consequently, the philosophers noted the horrific state that workers were in, and began to criticize actual capitalistic profit as promoted by the government. This first wave of socialists wanted to alter society by promoting ideal communities in the early 1800’s. They worked on understanding the new wave of industrialization, and then designing ideal structures to end the resulting injustices.       The second milestone was brought about by the endorsement of the proletarian class. More specifically, this next wave dealt with Karl Marx and Marxism. In the mid 1840’s, Marx argued that although the French Revolution had ended feudalism, it served only to place the Bourgeois class into power. Thus socialism took a new turn with Marx’s argument: he said that the proletarian class was the only class that deserved universal rights and thus should control means of production. Furthermore, Marx promoted the idea that a complete revolution is unavoidable, as it is simply following the line of progression of governmental systems. This was revolutionary to socialism as it tied the theory into science and history: he argued that “the laws of history dictated that capitalism would collapse, having created with itself the means of its own destruction-namely, the rising proletariat. By proclaiming his brand of socialism as scientific, Marx gave it the aura it needed to become the faith for millions of people” (Perry, 2004, p.805).      Marx’s idea that government would naturally shift from feudalism, to capitalism, to socialism gave way to the rise of communism: in 1848 when Marx and Engels printed the Communist Manifesto, socialism opened up to an entire new level: followers of Marx now believed communism to be the final ends of socialism. This was manifest in political reality when entire government bodies began adapting this view. Namely, the 20th century brought about a major milestone that connected socialism to politics like never before that made socialism rather a possibility than a desire. The rise of Vladimir Lenin and the Bolshevik party, as a result of the March Revolution of 1917, marked the official incorporation of socialism into the Soviet Union. Furthermore, this revolution was more than a tie between socialist theory and political reality: through Lenin’s interpretation of communist goals, the era marked the arrival of incorporating imperialism into the socialist doctrine. Lenin argued that ordinary people everywhere needed to fight the war on capitalism, and thus create a revolution across Europe. Socialism continued in Russia through the rule of Stalin, who gave the “ism” connotations of repression and cruelty through violence, intolerance, and labour camps in Siberia. Stalin focused the government on collective industrialization, controlling prices, distributions, and living standards. Ultimately, through the progression of various milestones in the development of socialism, as well as the interaction between socialist thinkers and the government, the ideology has evolved and developed to become a major philosophy in Western history (Von mises, 1981, p.198). Today, as a result of these progressions, socialism has developed into a practice and lifestyle that many have and continue to disagree with, despite its various intents throughout history to bring about an “ideal” society for the common man. Cited references; Perry, Marvin. Western Civilization: Ideas, Politics & Society (2004) Houghton Mifflin Company; 7th edition Stott, John R.W. Human Rights & Human Wrongs: Major Issues for a New Century (1999) Baker Books; Revised edition Von Mises, Ludwig. Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis (1981) Liberty Fund