The Industrial Revolution brought extreme poverty and pollution into newly industrialized nations. Those who before had been peasants and farmers went off to work long hours in unsanitary factories with unfair conditions. The early socialists recognized this, and demanded change. They believed natural resources should be owned by the people and for the people, and private property should be abolished. Early socialists had seen what capitalism could do to people; they argued against it, and said it lead to exploitation of all kinds by lucky people who then maintained their dominance in a hit-or-miss market by taking advantage of the people. Equality would only be achieved when the common man owned the means of production and regulated the distribution
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One of these thinkers include Charles Fourier. He was a traveling clerk who felt like a slave to his occupation. He believed that that the free market, marriage, and the patriarchy put people into repetitive, boring roles in life. His solution to the problem was the have phalansteries, which were buildings divided into four parts based on what type of labor one wished to perform. One could change jobs, and therefore housing residence, as she wished. These phalansteries were in phalanges, or self-sufficient communities with an agricultural backbone. Wages would be high and based on community efficiency, and property was shared. Moreover, in these communities, men and women had equal rights, homosexuality was not shunned, and children were valued. Charles Fourier’s ideas were ahead of his time, beneficial to society, and important to the history of …show more content…
However, programs like the NHS in the U.K., Medicaid and Medicare in the U.S., and Canada’s health care system prove that socialism’s goals are practical and achievable. In addition, the economies of Vietnam and Scandinavian countries do very well under socialist-influenced economic systems. In fact, Switzerland and Norway have some of the highest GDPs per capita in the world. Socialism has gained a negative connotation, especially in the U.S. as an aftereffect of anti-Soviet propaganda; but if people could educate themselves on the true meaning and beliefs of socialism, the world would be a more equal and economically successful
One of these thinkers include Charles Fourier. He was a traveling clerk who felt like a slave to his occupation. He believed that that the free market, marriage, and the patriarchy put people into repetitive, boring roles in life. His solution to the problem was the have phalansteries, which were buildings divided into four parts based on what type of labor one wished to perform. One could change jobs, and therefore housing residence, as she wished. These phalansteries were in phalanges, or self-sufficient communities with an agricultural backbone. Wages would be high and based on community efficiency, and property was shared. Moreover, in these communities, men and women had equal rights, homosexuality was not shunned, and children were valued. Charles Fourier’s ideas were ahead of his time, beneficial to society, and important to the history of …show more content…
However, programs like the NHS in the U.K., Medicaid and Medicare in the U.S., and Canada’s health care system prove that socialism’s goals are practical and achievable. In addition, the economies of Vietnam and Scandinavian countries do very well under socialist-influenced economic systems. In fact, Switzerland and Norway have some of the highest GDPs per capita in the world. Socialism has gained a negative connotation, especially in the U.S. as an aftereffect of anti-Soviet propaganda; but if people could educate themselves on the true meaning and beliefs of socialism, the world would be a more equal and economically successful