Journal on "Utopian Socialism"

Journal 6 pages (1811 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Utopian Socialism

Socialism

This is the theory or system of social organization, which places all the means of production from private owners to the community as a whole (Heilbroner 2008). The government controls these means. Socialism was deemed the solution or remedy to economic and moral defects of capitalism. The concept has popularly been attributed to Karl Marx but it really owes to Vladimir Lenin, who confronted the practical difficulties of setting the system up. The main difficulty was removing the profit-seeking incentive, which fuels competition. Lenin dreamed of a less complex economic organization, which was premised on the elimination of the profit motive. It would be operated by the four simple rules of arithmetic. When the theory was implemented following the Soviet revolution in 1917, economic production fell to 14%. A mix of socialism and capitalism was resorted to but which also fell in 1927 (Heilbroner).

Revolutionary uprisings in the 16th and 17th centuries fomented the concept of ideal social conditions (MIA 2011). The demand for equality spread to individual social conditions. In those times, the three great Utopians surfaced, namely Saint-Simon, Fourier and Owen. They advocated the emancipation of all humanity, not just specific classes of people. Their advocacy was to establish reason and eternal justice in society, even if it seemed as far as heaven from earth. They saw the bourgeois world as irrational and unjust and thus faded naturally. They argued that, if pure reason and justice ruled, things would be different. The only lack was the individual to lead it and teach men to understand the truth as He does. He might have been born 500 years earlier and would have spared the world of much error, suffering and bloodshed if He were heeded (MIA).

Utopian Socialism

Utopia is the imaginary, ideal republic suggested by Thomas More (Blunden 2011).

It is a society where all social conflict and distress are resolved. It had advocates and followers as early as the early 19th century. It was said that, although Marx and Engels advocated a concept of socialism opposed to the Utopian type, they had much respect for its leaders, such as Charles Fourier and Robert Owen. A Utopian society does three things. It inspires the oppressed to rebel and sacrifice for a better life. It provides a clear meaning of the aim of socialism. And it shows how socialism is ethical in that tenets can be applied without discrimination (Blunden).

There were more than 40 versions of the Utopia between 1700 and 1850 (Blunden 2011). One problem with the concept is the lack of method to achieve the ideal society, according to Charles Fourier. The power of its vision may be strong enough, but it only comes out straight from the sky. It should evolve from a criticism of existing conditions, which human beings can identify with. Plato envisioned a slave society, consisting of strict categories of philosophers, warriors and commoners. He assumed that this setup would insure justice and social stability because it fixed citizens to specific life tasks attuned to their interests and virtues. Plato published his ideal in his book, "The Republic," in 360 BCE. Thomas More described his version in his book, "Utopia," published in 1515. It was where reason rules and produces individual freedom and equality. The concept was a complete illusion during his time. In his concept, public stores are always full and everything is equally distributed. Hence, no person can ever be poor or in want. Everyone is rich and lives in serenity, safety and cheer. Anxiety does not exist. And Francis Bacon's vision is a society of perfect harmony and peace, devoted to learning science and nature. There is division of labor, such as that in a modern research institute. Like other versions, it is also founded on reason (Blunden).

Comte Claude Saint-Simon suggests that reputable mathematicians and scientists should be assigned to responsible positions in government (Blunden 2011). Charles Fourier conceives of an ideal society as one where individualism completely gives in to overall collectivism. His idea became the most applicable of all the versions. The French Revolution is said to have applied Utopian beliefs. It issued a decree, establishing a Republican Calendar. Jean Jacques Rousseau's writings, "The Origin of Inequality among Men" and "The Social Contract," laid out the principles of Reason as the basis of a Utopian constitution. William Morris sees the ideal society as reverting into one with an agricultural and handicraft base in attaining genuine workers democracy (Blunden).

Other Experiments and Events of Utopian Socialism

Robert Owen attempted the use of Utopian principles in building a model township, called New Lanark, in his own mills (Blunden 2011). He encouraged a group of people traveling to America to instead work in his mill. The working and living conditions in his mill were a century ahead of that time. He founded a cooperative, called New Harmony, in1825 as another experiment. This cooperative sponsored the first kindergarten, the first trade school, the first free library, and the first community-sponsored public school in the United States (Blunden).

The followers of Charles Fournier set up about 28 colonies between 1841 and 1859 within the Utopian framework (Blunden 2011). The followers of Itienne Cabet, the Icarians, did the same in Illinois, Missouri, Iowa and California. This zeal for Utopian experiments, however, cooled off after the American Civil War. A group of 500 American socialists, led by William Lane, built a commune, according to socialist principles, in the Paraguayan jungle in the 1890s. They called it "New Australia." Their descendants live in this commune to this day. Other settlements rose in the 1890s, inspired by Laurence Gonlund's "The Cooperative Commonwealth" in 1884 and Bellamy's "Looking Backward." The Second International rapidly expanded in the late 1880s. Utopian religious communities continue to exist at present but only briefly and usually centered on a strong leader and his disciples. The communities usually decline after the death of the leader (Blunden).

20 th-Century Communes

The Great Depression of the 30s drove millions of workers out of job (Blunden 2011). Many of these unemployed became vagrants and turned to petty crimes. But a number of them also chose a healthy alternative. In Australia and other countries where there were no lands, communes were established according to Communist ideals and a subsistence economy. Many of these communes succeeded despite clashes among leaders. Rowdy elements were handled by the police when economic forces could not. The start of the Second World War put an end to the movement (Blunden).

Hippy communes or "intentional communities" were established in many parts of the world in the 60s and the 70s (Blunden 2011). Many of these were not serious applications of the Utopian ideal and so collapsed after petty clashes or extreme dependence on a particular leader. Fortunately, some of these succeeded and have survived to the present time. The new generation has been molded into the new social movements with modern strategies at solving problems, decision-making and proper operations. Many of the existing intentional communities are derivatives of the concept of Pierre-Joseph Proudhon on political economy. The layout of these communities varies from villages bound by gates and barter systems to worker cooperatives. They differ from communist projects in their preference for solving problems in modern society instead of challenging the power of multi-national capitalism. Successful ones present an equivalent to capitalist society (Blunden).

Christian Socialism

This theory or system shares most of the basic tenets or principles of utopian socialism (Wienk 2011). It promotes a responsible government, an equally responsive economy, a regular and sensible public discourse, active participation of artists and writers, improved social relations, and greater civility and decency in every sector of society. Its fixed principle rests on a completely identical vision as Utopian socialism. It seeks to own the means of production and use it cooperatively for the good of all the members of society. It operates by specific assumptions. A creative God is the author and behind everything seen or unseen. All human beings are bound together in common as brothers and sisters. God identifies with humanity in Jesus Christ. The society's ultimate objective is the kingdom of God. It is a Jesus community or church, which is indwelt by the Holy Spirit and taught by the saints as the instrument of the kingdom. The divine purpose is not only to save every individual but also to redeem the social order. It sees and treats individual redemption as connected to that of his environment from sinful and inhuman conditions (Wienk).

It seeks to balance individual freedom and initiative and the authority of the community over his civil, industrial and church lives; personal and common ownership; national independence and international interdependence; and pacifism as far as possible and violence as a last option (Wienk 2011). Christian socialism provides as much space for the arts and sports as social justice. It greatly honors tradition and the respectability of mature age while making prompt and apt decisions for the present. It is rooted in the Hebrew… READ MORE

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