8.4 SOCIALIST THEORIES
The prevailing theories of justice throughout the ,vorld are
liberalism and social- ism. Socialism is the political and economic
doctrine that the means ofproduction (property, factories,
businesses) should be owned or controlled by the people, either
communally or through the state. Socialism can accommodate
liberal democratic
forms of government and can even retain some elements of market
capitalism. Communism usually implies socialism within a
totalitarian system.
T h e g u id i n g p r i n c i p l e o f t h e s o c i a l i s t v ie , v i s e q u
a l i t y : T h e , v e a l t h o f s o c ie t y s h o u l d be shared by all.
The ideal distribution of goods usually follows the classic formula
laid do,vn by Karl Marx (1818-1883), the father of modern
socialism: "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs." People should
do work that fits their abilities, and they should reap rewards that
match their nee.ds. Generally, liberal societies let the means
ofproduction accrue to fewer people through the ,vorkings of a free
market-that is, through capitalism. In such a system, wealth goes to
anyone who can acqui re it in the marketplace, but in a socialist
system, ,vealth is controlled by
the state, ,vhich allocates it for the good ofthe people generally.
Few philosophers have had as much influence on the world as Marx
has-,vho,
ironically, did not consider himself a philosopher and did not
believe that ideas alone could have much of an impact on history.
He thinks that ,vhat d rives philosophy, history, society, law,
government, and morality is economics. It is the dominant system of
economics in every age, he says, that determines how society is
structured and ho,v history will go. A society's system ofeconomics
is defined by its means of production-by irs economic and
technological ways of meeting people's physical and social needs.
The means of production, Marx says, shape social relationships,
class structure, technological tools, and political and philosophical
ideas. Those ,vho o,vn and control the means ofproduction make up
the dominant class, possess most of t he ,vealth, wield most of the
political power, and exploit the lower
class. Their ideas-political, philosophical, or social-are the ruling
ideas. The rest of the people own no property and occupy the lowest
rungs ofsociety, selling their labor to the ruling class, the property
o,vners. The nvo camps, then, are forever at odds.
Marx maintains that this pattern of opposition-this class
struggle-repeats irselfthroughout history. It is inevitable and
unalter- able. In it he sees a dialectic process unfold again and again
in society: First there is a historical starting point (the thesis), ,vhich
eventually p r o d u c e s a s t a t e o f a f f a i rs d i r e c t l y o p p o
s e d t o i t ( t h e a n t i t h e s i s ) , t h e c o n - flict being resolved
by a ne,v situation (the synthesis). Marx thinks the dialectic struggle
in modern times is between those who o,vn the means ofproduction
(the bourgeoisie, or capitalists) and those who do not (the
proletariat). The bourgeoisie are few but own all the factories and
other
means of production (thesis); the proletariat are many but o,vn nothing, serving only as workers in the capitalist system (antithesis). To
in- crease thei r profits, the bourgeoisie hire more and more workers
but pay them less and less, replacing workers ,vith machines
,vhenever possible.
I am convinced that the path to a new, better
and pos.
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