Utopian socialism

Self-interest refers to actions that elicit the most personal benefit. Adam Smith, explains that the best economic benefit for all can usually be accomplished when individuals act in their own self-interest. In a market economy, individuals own most of the resources available, labor, land and capital, and use voluntary decisions, made in self-interest, to control the marketplace. In this type of system, the government plays a small role and the economy is shaped by two forces, self-interest and…

The Italian communist Antonio Gramsci, imprisoned for much of his life by Mussolini, took these idea further in his Prison Notebooks with his widely influential notions of ‘hegemony’ and the ‘manufacture of consent’ (Gramsci 1971). Gramsci saw the capitalist state as being made up of two overlapping spheres, a ‘political society’ (which rules through force) and a ‘civil society’ (which rules through consent). This is a different meaning of civil society from the ‘associational’ view common…

Health and Sanitation, Local Emergency? The health and safety of a countries citizens must be one of the highest priorities in any respectable country. Well apparently in our society, that is not quite the case. Over the past few years many diseases have made appearances all over the United Kingdom. Cholera and Typhoid have all featured in outbreaks over the past half decade. Furthermore, as peasant folk move from there lowly farms to the big cities, and populations increase, these diseases…

“The conditions of the working classes of England” was published by Frederick Engels in the year of 1845 in Germany, 1887 in the United States, and 1891 in England. He spent his time writing from September of ‘84 until March of ‘85. Engles decided to learn about the conditions of the working while he was working in his a factory with his father at the age of 24 in Manchester, England. “Conditions of the working class of England” was written to help people around the world have an idea of what…

Bicycle Thieves is a 1948 Italian film that follows a poor working-class man named Antonio Ricci. Antonio lives in Rome in the post-World War II era. Antonio, a family man, is desperately looking for a job, like many other men. He is finally offered a position that brings hope to his family which is comprised of his wife Maria, young son Bruno, and his infant baby. The hope of his family is soon diminished when Antonio’s bike was stolen from him on his first day of work. Most of the movie…

In 1910 Ricardo Flores Magon, a prolific Mexican anarchist, foretold the coming of the social revolution in his article titled “A La Mujer”. “She [the revolution] carries death on her breast… Her fists are the invincible fists of a people in rebellion. She does not offer roses or caresses; she offers an axe and a torch.” Magon 's prediction was published in his magazine Renegeracion less than a month before the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution. He used this platform to educate women on their…

Both Alexis de Tocqueville and Karl Marx examine the social change that nations go through either as a result of democracy diminishing Aristocratic ages or because of the wide spread of industrial capitalism. However, Marx and Tocqueville observe the impact of these social changes on the community differently. Marx writings are about how the European world was changing during his lifespan. He observes how the beginning of the Industrial Revolution creates an increase in the level of economic…

Ben Shapiro once said, “the European style of living is seductive: fewer hours worked, more hours at the cafe, less concern over self-betterment. But that style of living does not produce a purposeful life.” From this expert, a capitalist government system will produce a purposeful life. Philosopher David Hume believed in cause and effect, which connects human’s ideas of the world into something they can understand throughout their experiences. Karl Marx criticizes capitalism because he believes…

The appeal of a socialist state for Marx, Mill, and Schumpeter is a better society not only for the wealthy, but everyone in the society. They believe that through socialism humankind can evolve and focus on things other than money and wealth, such as social and human welfare. However, each of these economists held a unique path as to why capitalism would fail, and so it is important to identify these distinctions. To begin, let us examine Marx and his belief on why capitalism would inevitable…

communism. More specifically, many ideologies that had emerged from this era revolve around the idea of socialism. Ideologies such as Marxism-Leninism in Russia or Maoism in China crop up and create new foes of democracy. Many of these socialist ideologies hold their appeal to groups in the Global south due to their high levels of poverty. Many of these people are stricken economically and find socialism as an escape from poverty as well as promise of security. Despite the democratic victory of…