what is socialism andwhat is its relevance today?

Question

does sociliasm really exist in todays scenario? how relevant is it and if it is relevant then how and in what context?

Answer 1

Socialism is basically a form of government that places the needs of society above the individual. It professes to be a system where everyone owns everything but in practice no one owns anything except the government. The basic flaw with it is the lack of incentive for any individual to strive for excellence since distribution is equal regardless of contribution. So, instead of striving for higher efficiency and better yield for effort spent, one would be foolish to work harder than another or is even discouraged from doing so.

There are no individual rights nor is individualism tolerated. Conformity is strongly encouraged. It is basically a way to distribute misery equally to all but a few of the highest government officials who seem to live quite well.

In China, socialism has kept the country decades behind the free world. Having difficulty even keeping it's massive population fed, the Chinese government has adopted many capitalistic reforms. This has created a successful middle class in China. It is also becoming increasingly difficult for the government to maintain control. People who no longer have to spend most of their time scratching out an existance now have more disposable income and free time.

This is creating more and more pressure on the government to permit greater and greater amounts of freedom. The easily controlled peasants are quickly being replaced with ambitious middle and upper class entraprenures and business people with the desire to travel and be free of a Big Brother type of government.

Answer 2

Socialism is: social organization in which the means of producing and distributing goods is owned collectively or by a centralized government that often plans and controls the economy.

History has taught that the best stewards of a nations economy are the citizens of that nation. Citizens being "selfish" motivate them to make more money and create jobs, thus growing the economy.

Socialism does still exist. China is socialist and most of Western Europe has large portions of their economy owned by the government.

Answer 3

Socialism Today

Answer 4

>WOW!< Cajun_ Creater.....Lay off the Kool-aid!

Here it is in a nutshell....

Liberalism = Socialism.
Socialism = Communism Lite.

Think of socialism as a stepping stone on the way to communism. Which is >EXACTLY< the little "utopia" that Cajun_ Creater is speaking about in the above little rant.

Communism, in an "ideal"/"perfect" world, would be a great system......>HOWEVER< We, my friend, DO NOT live in an "ideal"/"perfect" world...Do We?

Communism (Socialism) has not only not worked, it has >NEVER< worked as a viable system of government.

Thinking that "Given the right set of circumstances, Communism (Socialism) would be a great system!" is insanity! (Insanity is defined as doing the same thing..over and over again, and expecting different results.)

Here is a sign for you!
http://www.protestwarrior.com/new_signs.php?sign=4

T.S.

Answer 5

Socialism in a nutshell

In a socialist society the means of production [1] are owned by the workers rather than by a rich minority of capitalists or functionaries. Such a system of ownership is both collective and individual in nature.

It is collective because society can control production unlike the economic anarchy of capitalism and because production is for the common good rather than for individual profit.

At the same time it is individual because workers are no longer a 'collective' mob of alienated non-owners employed by a minority of owners. Work becomes a free and self-affirming activity for each worker and they receive the full fruits of their labor. The capitalists and their servants no longer control production nor grow rich from other's toil. Everybody is an owner. Socialism is genuine free enterprise.

The personally empowering and cooperative nature of socialist ownership underpins similar changes in other aspects of life. Socialism means far healthier individuals and human relationships. It means full participation by each individual in the intellectual, cultural and political life of society.

Socialism requires a revolution with three main stages: firstly the emergence of a workers' movement committed to socialist revolution, secondly the achievement of political power and the expropriation of the capitalists and thirdly a period during which workers learn how to be owners and rulers and cast off the psychological and ideological dross of the past.

Socialism will not be an utopia simply created in people's minds. It will be the product of economic and social development. In developed countries it is now possible for everyone to live a reasonably affluent life and be free of long hours of routine toil. This creates a better basis for cooperation and mutual regard. Historically, where equality would have meant shared poverty, it was inevitable that a minority would plunder, enslave and exploit the majority. At the same time rank and file workers are progressively acquiring through their experiences, the abilities to do without an elite. Their general level of education and training has advanced significantly over the last couple of generations. The work they do, while still totally oppressive, has an increasingly mental and conceptual content. And they now have extensive access to cultural and intellectual resources and the diverse experiences of living in a modern society. So while socialism was impossible in the past, these emerging conditions make it inevitable in the future.

Footnote [1]. The means of production comprise everything, except labor, that is used in production, namely, factories, plant, equipment, offices, shops, raw materials, fuel and components.

We need a new society!

* Work is generally boring, unfulfilling and oppressive.
* Society is grossly unequal. Some people are super rich and others super poor. Many have no job, no education and no skills.
* Many of us live in a personal hell - mental illness, drug addiction, the experience of violence and sexual abuse.
* We all to varying degrees feel isolated and alienated from the society we live in.

What lies behind these lousy conditions? The basic problem is that a minority monopolize society's economic resources and force most us to work for them. This means they get to cream off a lion's share of the output we produce and to control our working lives. This is the basis for a society of oppressed and crippled individuals. It is usually called capitalism.

It is a society where you are rewarded for being a bastard and penalized for doing the right thing. It is a society where most of us are just menials performing crappy work under the command of brown noses. And when they no longer want us we are discarded like a piece of rubbish.

Because work is self-destroying or self-limiting rather than self-affirming, it poisons every aspect of our life. Our spirits are ground down, our minds cramped and our feelings desensitized to the needs of others.

In this dog-eat-dog world, salt is thrown onto every wound. Fears and uncertainties are reinforced, and weaknesses magnified. If you refuse to fit in you are made an outcast. If you are a round peg you are jammed into a square hole. And poverty is the lot of the low paid, the discards on the job scrap heap and those who just can't function any more.

The only solution is a society based on equality and cooperation. This requires a new social system in which we collectively own the means of production and take control of our own working lives. We will no longer be bossed about. We will transform work so that everyone gets to do the interesting and challenging tasks and speed up the automation of the more routine ones. We will ensure each worker the right to a diverse career path that meets their needs and we establish a culture of life-long development. We will also eliminate the unemployment scrap heap and let people reduce their working hours. Such a new society is often called socialism.

In such a society we will not only become more human, but also more productive, because work will be something we want to do and we will make more effective use of our creative powers.

Of course the elite tells us that this is impossible. They tell us that socialism is against human nature and that countries like the Soviet Union and China prove that it won't work. Socialism means police states and clapped out economies.

Is it really against human nature to cooperate for mutual benefit? As for the failure of socialism in places like the Soviet Union and China, if it could thrive in such backward and feudal countries, it wouldn't be worth having. Even capitalism has had a lot of trouble developing in places like these, going by the experience of most other Third World countries.

While the struggle for radical change in developed countries such as ours will never be a tea party, the conditions are there for it to happen. To begin with, socialism in a developed economy would mean shared prosperity rather than futile attempts to share poverty. And over time we are becoming increasingly better equipped to successfully run things without masters. We are becoming better educated. We have the experience of modern life. And even our crappy jobs require most of us to use our brains more than workers of past generations.

Is socialism on the agenda yet? No, not yet, but it is time for some of us to start talking about it.