What Role Does Equality Play in Socialist Ideology - Essay Example

What role does equality play in socialist ideology? BY YOU YOUR SCHOOL INFO HERE HERE What role does equality play in socialist ideology? Introduction The question has been asked what role equality plays in socialist ideology. In order to properly address this question, it is necessary to analyse the foundations of socialist philosophy to understand the role of the social condition in political and economic decision-making. Socialism, utilising a very generic definition, is founded on a fair and equal distribution of wealth in which working-class labourers directly control factors of production where labourer income and overall lifestyle livelihood is enhanced through the development of cooperative corporations. Under this ideology, social and economic surplus achieved through socialist philosophy is allocated to labourers in the working class equitably and where political and corporate systems become decentralised. Thus, under this practical definition of socialism, equality not only plays a powerful role in socialist doctrine, it is the foundational imperative of the ideology. The underpinning role of equality in socialist thought Equality, both socially and economically, underpins the foundation of socialist thought. Under most socialist models, the philosophy is an evolution from attempts to block or otherwise emerge from capitalist ideology which, during the 19th Century, began to dominate many international economies experiencing economic growth born of the Industrial Revolution. Capitalism, by design, applauds the emergence of the profit-seeking corporation in which capital assets, including industrial machinery and factories, are controlled by either private citizens or private businesses (Degen 2008). Gains on capital assets and paid labour are then allowed to accrue to serve the utility of private ownership supported by various pricing mechanisms as the foundation of allocation of capital goods (products and services) which is unequal depending on economic resources of the consuming public. Socialist ideology, on the other hand, especially with the more revolutionary Marxist school of thought, considers capitalism to be extravagant and utterly inefficient as allocation of capital goods produced is disproportionate to satisfying the needs of a broader society and labourers are deemed to be exploited to ensure surplus of production is available for private owners. Socialists reject disparate allocation of produced and natural resources and prefer social ownership of capital assets to maximise the utility of majority society (Degen 2008). This is akin to a form of act utilitarianism in which maximising majority utility, even when requiring some self-sacrifice, are mandates (Hooker 2001; Kagan 1991). Thus, the ethical doctrines of socialism in which maintaining positive social welfare and establishing the mechanisms to ensure social cooperation becomes a foundational value in this doctrine (Giddens 1998). Under socialist philosophy, ensuring sustained human welfare becomes a primary objective and considers labourers, by inherent nature, to be efficient and productive contributors to the economy and to establishing positive inter-dependencies under a cooperative social structure (Lamb and Docherty 2006). Equality under socialism, however, is not constrained to only issues of establishing instruments to ensure human welfare and community cooperation. Pragmatic socialists, those with realist philosophies, understand that equality is only an ideology and there are mitigating circumstances occurring politically, socially and economically that can conflict the process of equal distribution of capital goods to the broader social condition. Socialist realists recognise that “ethics and morality are often products of power and material interests” that can conflict the process of establishing equality within the state (Doyle 1997, p.43). A socialist system, when considering the role of corporations in sustaining more positive human welfare, wants to eliminate the autocratic business hierarchies to ensure shared decision-making moving horizontally throughout the organisation (Horvat 1982). However, these internal policy objectives are not always compatible with the tangible business environment, especially in a corporate environment that has become highly inter-dependent with a variety of capitalistic markets and customers. To establish legitimate controls in a business organisation operating within a socialist nation, some autocratic management systems are necessary to sustain competitive advantages and thus negate the possibility of establishing complete equality so desired under socialist doctrine. It is necessary when attempting to understand the role of equality in a currently-operating socialist system that extenuating market and environmental conditions will often forbid establishing equality within a corporate environment. Thus, equality is an ideology and not always legitimately achievable even though it is a desired outcome of establishing inter-dependent business systems. The aforementioned hindrances to establishing complete equality throughout the social condition under socialist philosophy are an evolution of neoclassical realism, or the realisation that states, political regimes and corporate environments do not always have the ability to function as unitary entities and thus cannot always achieve social cohesion desired under socialist philosophy (Schweller 2006). Ideologically, however, it should not be negated that socialists seek opportunities to remove such impediments that can conflict the process of establishing social unity and ensuring fair and equal allocation of capital goods throughout a cooperative society. Therefore, it should be recognised that equality is always a primary objective for corporate and political policy-making even though the genuine political and business environments can forbid establishment of these desired ideologies for preserving human welfare effectively. Even Karl Marx, a more revolutionary socialist with powerful distaste for the capitalistic system, recognised that as factors of production improve, socialist-mandated varieties of social organisation eventually evolve into inefficiency and can suppress ongoing progress toward establishment of social equality (Gregory and Stuart 2004). It is then, even under a well-constructed socialist system, where class struggles become inevitable (Gregory and Stuart 2004). Nonetheless, it has been established that equality is the primary driver behind socialist values and principles, even though there are uncontrollable situations in a variety of industries and political structures that conflict actual achievement of this ideological stance. Examining, again, Marxist socialist philosophy, one of the primary goals to ensure equality in the social condition is to free labourers from exploitive work conditions and work that tends to alienate them from others in society maintaining higher tangible resources or political power (Engels 1968). Marxist socialism ideologies, generally aligned with other socialist philosophies such as reformist or ethical socialism, promote mechanisms in political and corporate environments that assist in improving the productive capacities and competencies of labourers (Engels 1968). Maximising human capital in this fashion by providing more opportunities for workplace autonomy and shared decision-making (as two relevant examples) are considered primary efficiencies under socialist doctrine that produce better, more motivated capital outputs that will, ultimately, make a fair and equal allocation of these resources more easily achievable. Under the capitalistic system, the tangible utilisation of money is considered a primary contributor to maximising capital goods growth and enhancing factors of production, as well as providing individualised satisfaction of hedonistic utility for private business owners and the general consuming public. Renowned socialists such as John Stuart Mill and Karl Marx believed, instead, that satisfying human equality would be better accomplished by establishing a labour voucher system or providing earned labourer credit mechanisms to ensure a more fair and equitable distribution of resources and capital goods (Horvat 1982). Leon Trotsky, a stringent follower of revolutionary Marxist social policy, realised that money could not simply be arbitrarily abolished from a socialist system and must fulfil its historical role in developing economies before ultimately being phased out by more equitable social systems such as the aforementioned labourer voucher systems. Why emphasise the role of money when attempting to answer the significant of equality in a socialist system? Again, pragmatic socialists understand the complexities of political and corporate systems that conflict full realisation of socialist ideology as it relates to social equality. Concurrently, the socialist ideology strongly reinforces the absolute necessity for equal allocation of resources and equal human welfare policy establishment to achieve the necessary efficiencies in production and social policy formation that will provide maximum benefit to the broader social condition. Thus, the utilisation of money as an enhancement for improving capital assets, a necessary function in a socialist system, is allowable even though it is a product of what is considered to be an inefficient and profligate system. Socialists, instead, seek opportunities to advance reliance on currency to improve the social condition whilst also recognising the short-term need for certain pricing mechanisms until a less-reliant socialist system can evolve through the efforts of cooperative political, social and corporate entities. Conclusion As has been illustrated through the research, equality plays a powerful role in the establishment and evolution of socialist values and ideologies. In fact, it serves as the foundation by which all social policies and corporate organisational structures are developed in an effort to provide maximum utility to the entire social population within a nation or state. Even though equality cannot always be a literal circumstance due to a variety of impediments in industry and politics, equality is absolutely an underpinning philosophy of the doctrine where liberty, labourer emancipation, and social cooperation are primary objectives and drivers for creation of socialist social policy. Equality is the most fundamental value and principle under socialist doctrine where benevolence replaces hedonistic desires common in capitalistic systems and acts as the driver for policy development in industry, politics and social welfare programs. References Degen, R. (2008). The Triumph of Capitalism, 1st ed. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers. Doyle, M.W. (1997). Ways of War and Peace: Realism, Liberalism, and Socialism. New York: W.W. Norton. Engels, F. (1968). Marx and Engels Selected Works. Lawrence and Wishart Publishing. Giddens, A. (1998). Beyond Left and Right: The Future of Radical Politics. Cambridge: Polity Press. Gregory, P. and Stuart, R.C. (2004). Comparing Economic Systems in the Twenty-First Century: Marx’s Theory of Change. London: South-Western Cengage Learning. Hooker, B. (2011). Chapter 8: The Demandingness Objection, in Chappell, T. (2011). The Problem of Moral Demandingness: New Philosophical Essays. Palgrave MacMillan. Horvat, B. (1982). The Political Economy of Socialism. Martin Robertson and Co. Ltd. Kagan, S. (1991). The Limits of Morality (Oxford Ethics Series). Claredon Press. Lamb, P. and Docherty, J.C. (2006). Historical Dictionary of Socialism. Oxford: Scarecrow Press Inc. Schweller, R.L. (2006). Unanswered Threats: Political Constraints on the Balance of Power. UK: University Press. Read More