What Is Socialism? Everything You Need to Know About Socialism

Surely each of you has heard the word socialism. Young people will shrug their shoulders indifferently, and representatives of the older generation will immediately recall the covenants of party leaders who promised to build a bright future, the basis of which was to become a socialist society.

Whether it is actually created and what the ambiguity of socialist ideas consists of, we will try to figure it out.



What is called socialism

Socialism (Socialis) is a certain social system based on the ideas of social justice, equality and freedom.

In Marxism, it is understood as the first phase of the communist formation, which has a similar basis - public property.

Simply put, in this system, every person working, contributes to the common good, which is subsequently distributed among all people.

Socialist ideas arose in the field of opposition to capitalism , in which the entrepreneur takes most of the surplus product . As a result, conditionally, workers from the earned will receive not all, and they will lose the rest.

Socialism offers other realities — the absence of private property , the relatively equal distribution and the complete exclusion of the exploitation of labor by capital.

Principles of socialism

Socialist dogmas are based on key principles , the implementation of which is subject to the activities of ideological supporters:
  • dominance of public ownership;
  • the idea of social justice;
  • political freedoms;
  • liquidation of the operation system;
  • collective priority;
  • Planned Economy;
  • social equality.

Socialist ideology

The ideology of socialism is based on the idea of equality , which applies to all members of society and concerns their socio-economic rights.

This approach is significantly different from liberalism (what is it?) , Which understands equality as the same legal situation, which becomes the starting point for the free activity of citizens.

Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels and other theorists of socialism actively promoted the priority of the collective principle over the individual. The first is understood as the highest good, for the achievement of which individual interests can be sacrificed.

They see freedom of speech as an opportunity to accept and obey the opinion of the majority, and not as a right to express their own position.

In social terms, the stake is placed on the proletariat , which must overthrow the shackles of capitalism through revolution. However, this method is considered as the last example of violence in history, after which the time will come for peace and harmony.

The ideas of humanism will form the basis of the worldview of new people , and the state will bring up a harmoniously developed personality.

These ideas were developed in the "Moral Code of the Builder of Communism", which in 1961 was included in the Charter of the CPSU. The document clearly outlines the features of the ideal representative of a new format society :
  • comradely mutual assistance;
  • the brotherhood of all the peoples of the country;
  • moral purity;
  • high awareness of public debt;
  • conscientious work for the good of society;
  • intransigence to careerism and other qualities.

Ocialism utopianism

Like any powerful ideological platform, socialism has many currents, among which socialism-utopianism stands out. Its name goes back to the work of T. Mora " Utopia ", and the word itself is translated into Russian as "a place that does not exist."

The ideologists of this trend R. Owen, S. Fourier, A. Saint-Simon denounced the bourgeois system that they hated and painted in their minds a new order in which there would be no inequality, poverty and oppression.

In their ideal classless society, people will begin to work on an equal footing with others, private property, property inequality and privileges will disappear, a new form of life will appear in the form of free settlements (for example, the Fourier phalanx).

To achieve these goals, strict asceticism was preached (how is this?) And patriarchal relations. Some of the theorists tried to put their ideas into practice, in particular, Owen in New Lanark conducted a social experiment related to the introduction of a patronage system over workers. However, this management model did not fit into the economic realities of the early 19th century and turned out to be unprofitable.

Developed socialism

What is socialism many understand, but when did he manage to move into the developed phase? The concept of developed socialism was created in the USSR during the reign of L. Brezhnev. She relied on the achievements of Soviet industry, which contributed to building the foundations of industrial society.

Also, this belief system included the following ideas:
  • homogeneity of society (devoid of dissent);
  • complete deliverance from interethnic confrontations;
  • permanent aggravation of the ideological struggle;
  • smoothing out contradictions within society.

In fact, the regime was mothballed, which was expressed in the strengthening of ideological control and the rapid reduction of the remnants of freedom. In reality, developed socialism helped logically substantiate the nature of Soviet society in the 70s and emphasized the inability of the authorities to build communism .

Nobody has yet succeeded in realizing pure socialist ideas. One of the reasons for this is due to the fundamental contradiction between the idea of universal equality and the natural difference between people with varying degrees of industriousness, intelligence, skills and other qualities.

The artificial equation robs the incentives of some and leads to the parasitism of others, and public property is often understood as a draw.

What does socialism mean in simple terms?

Socialism is an economic and social concept that seeks to protect the rights of the population in relation to the ownership of public property and natural resources. In a broader sense, this concept presupposes a government system in which all citizens will have equal opportunities and resources will be distributed according to the needs of each member of society.

In simple words, Socialism is an alternative to capitalism and communism model of economic development of the state, in which the production and distribution of resources is controlled directly by society or the government.

In other words, we can say this: socialism is an option in which all people work and contribute to the common cause, after which the benefits obtained are distributed among all citizens. It goes without saying that those whose labor is more complex and significant will receive more benefits, but this should not cause a class imbalance in economic terms.

It should be noted that pure socialism, or the so-called " Utopian socialism" does not exist in nature, since this concept, like communism, is based on the existence of a utopian ideal society. In modern realities, many socialist ideas really work effectively, but all this works in conjunction with a free market economy and other social and economic concepts.

The essence, ideas, concept and ideology of socialism.

As the basis of socialism as a concept, the main mantra of the adherents of this socio-economic direction can act. It sounds like this: "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs." This means that the essence of socialism lies in the assumption that all people by their nature are tuned in to cooperative work, for which they will receive their share of the common good. It should also be noted that the ideology of socialism includes the care of those who are not able to work for any reason. These can be children, people with disabilities, senior citizens, and so on. The financial burden of providing these strata of the population is evenly distributed among all able-bodied citizens.

As a result, we can say that the idea of ​​socialism is the creation of a society in which class inequality will be absent, all segments of the population will be protected and provided with everything necessary. Ideally, almost all basic needs of citizens should be free or almost free. These are: education, medicine, transport, cultural recreation, etc.

Having familiarized with the essence of the concept, we can safely say that the very idea of ​​creating such a society is certainly very attractive, but alas, it cannot fully and effectively work together. The fact is that, as mentioned earlier, the calculation is made on the already existing ideal society in moral and social terms. In fact, this is not the case. People, by their nature, are not ready to be content with what they have, and always strive to have more. They need self-realization and recognition.

Another factor not in favor of pure socialism is competitiveness. The fact is that it is the competition inherent in the free market that spurs the development of scientific progress.

Nevertheless, despite the impossibility of building utopian socialism, many principles were adopted and successfully used in developed and developing countries. So, for example, in many countries you can get free of charge: first aid, primary education, social benefits for unemployment, and other services. It should be noted that some prosperous countries trading in natural resources introduce unconditional income systems for their citizens, which implies constant financial payments as a share of the sale of these resources.

Forms of socialism.

Since socialism is a fairly global, but unattainable in its entirety concept, it has many different branches or forms. Among the main ones, the following can be distinguished:
  • Democratic socialism;
  • Revolutionary socialism;
  • Market socialism;
  • Libertarian socialism;
  • Green socialism;
  • Christian socialism;
  • Utopian socialism.
Democratic socialism. This development model assumes that the main factors of production will be under the control of the government elected democratically . Power distributes common strategic goods and services, such as public transport, housing, and energy. In the free market, it is permitted to distribute consumer goods.
Revolutionary socialism. This form involves the complete destruction of any manifestations of capitalism. All industries are owned by workers (the state) and are managed through central planning.

Market socialism. In this case, the production belongs to workers who distribute profits among themselves. Products are sold on the free market.

Libertarian socialism. The essence of this concept lies in the belief that over time, capitalism evolves into socialism based on the desire of society for unity and concern for all.

Green socialism. It is a socialist economy that appreciates maintaining natural resources. In theory, this may be possible due to state ownership of large corporations. Production will focus on ensuring that everyone has enough of the truly necessary goods.

Christian socialism. This concept is based on the Christian faith in brotherhood and common values, which is somewhat similar to the idea of socialism.

Utopian socialism. It is more a dream of equality than a concrete plan. Similar ideas arose at the beginning of the 19th century before the era of industrialization. In theory, an ideal society should have been created through a series of social experiments, but alas, so far there are no comforting results.

The countries of socialism. Developed socialism.

As has been repeatedly mentioned above, an ideal functioning socialist society in the full understanding of this word does not exist. Nevertheless, there are countries in which many concepts have been successfully implemented and bring real benefits to people. So the most socialist countries include:
  • China;
  • Denmark;
  • Finland;
  • Netherlands;
  • Canada;
  • Sweden;
  • Norway;
  • Ireland;
  • New Zealand;
  • Belgium.

As you can see, this list contains economically developed states that can afford to introduce various programs for social protection of citizens. From this we can conclude that at the moment, the ideal option for society is the symbiosis of existing capitalism and soft socialism.

How is Communism different from socialism?

What is the difference between socialism and communism? To clearly understand the differences between the socialist and communist doctrine. Modern political doctrines can be divided into four types: fascism, liberalism, socialism and communism.

Liberalism.

The ideas of classical liberalism date back to the era of bourgeois revolutions. In the writings of the founders of this teaching, Locke, Smith, Bentham, Mill, Spencer, and others, the initial principles of liberalism were formulated. The liberal value system is based on ideas declaring the priority of personal interests over the interests of the state, etc. The core idea of a liberal ideology is freedom of private enterprise.

“Since the birth of liberalism and throughout its more than two centuries of history, the leading place in its arsenal has been occupied by the idea of giving full scope to private ownership initiative and freeing economic activity from the tutelage of the state”.

Liberalism was born and took shape as part of the ideology of the bourgeoisie, requiring the provision of rights and freedoms in the struggle against the monarchy. All ideas of liberalism stem from the core idea. For example, the idea of ​​separation of powers is based on the desire to weaken political power in order to strengthen economic power in the state. The principle of "divide and conquer" in action. The demand for media independence is, in fact, a requirement to put the media under capital control. The proclamation of elections as the basis of the political system is nothing but the transformation of politicians into hostages of capital.

Communism.

Communism as a teaching was developed by Marx, Engels and supplemented by Lenin. Communism and liberalism are united by economic centrism. According to the communist doctrine, the progress of mankind is determined by the development of material production. In a communist society, everything that, according to Marxists, should be measured out is determined only by the development of the economy: religion, classes, state, nation, family in the traditional sense of the word.

As we see, liberalism and communism have much in common; indeed, religion, the state, nations, the family in the traditional sense of the word as institutions of a liberal society are gradually dying. Only classes do not die. This difference between Marxism and liberalism is explained by the fact that liberalism is individualistic materialism, and Marxism is collectivist materialism. Liberal materialism postulates the sacredness of private property, while Marxist materialism, on the contrary, postulates the destruction of private property, i.e., we have a typical ideological confrontation between individualism and collectivism; in its materialism, communism and liberalism are similar.

It is no accident that fascism, which will be discussed later, has consistently fought both against Marxism and against liberalism.

Fascism.

Today, the accusation of fascism is one of the most derogatory and, at the same time, vague. However, fascism has a clear ideological outline. For example, anti-Semitism, racism, cruel treatment of other nations are not mandatory attributes of fascist ideology. This is a German (western), in particular, German approach towards non-Western peoples. And the concentration camps are no worse than the nuclear bombing of peaceful Japanese cities or the burning of Vietnamese villages by napalm. The myth of German fascism was invented by the Stalinist leadership for obvious reasons: in order not to explain to Soviet citizens that they are at war with socialists, even national ones. Fascism as such did not exist in Germany; in Germany, national socialism was the official ideology. We can only talk about the German form of fascism,

Fascism arose in Italy at the beginning of the 20th century, and then spread among the peoples of the Romanesque race: Spain (Franco), Portugal (Salazar) and several other countries. The greatest stability of the fascist regimes was observed in Spain and Portugal, where fascism persisted until the 70s of the 20th century. There were no concentration camps and anti-Semitism in these countries, and the distinctive axiotypical features of fascism are: firstly, the preaching of heroism, leaderism, elitism, courage of loners, which are opposed to the crowd. By the way, it is precisely these postulates that attract some adolescents in fascism, albeit unconsciously. In adolescence, you want to be a hero.

On the other hand, the features of fascism are also conservatism, traditionalism, nationalism, religiosity (for example, the leaders of the fascist regime of Spain and Portugal, Franco and Salazar, graduated from religious colleges).

Fascism ideologically has always been very close to religious movements, one might say, fascism is the inquisition of the 20th century. Despite the fact that altruistic truths are one of the main ideas preached by world religions, religious doctrines are based more on individualism. And, as we remember, altruism can be combined with individualism.

Religion preaches honesty in relations with other members of society and even sacrifice for the sake of others. But religion does not preach collectivism. First of all, one should hope in God; he is the arbiter of destinies. The collectivist seeks to receive approval of his actions from the side of the collective, he has a high motivation for approval, and for a believer it is important, first of all, to evaluate his actions by God. Collectivism is characterized by a desire to fulfill a duty to society, for a religious person to fulfill a duty to God.

Socialism.

One of the first forms of socialism, which combined not only theory, but also the practice of building a new society, was early Christian socialism. A distinctive feature of this form of socialism was that, imbued with the promise of compensation for social injustice in the other world.

Then pre-classical socialism was formed - a form of socialist concept, within the framework of which an abstract social ideal is substantiated. A distinctive feature of this form of socialism is that in their works, More and Campanella took a major step forward from a religious idea to a rationally meaningful socialist ideal based on public ownership, the universality of labor, shortened working hours and justice.

Preclassical socialism was focused on the search for the ideal in the past, and not the future, in a certain “golden age”. There is completely no call for revolution, for a struggle for a newer society.

In the eighteenth century, classical socialism emerged - a form of socialist concept, within the framework of which the ideal of society, the opposite of capitalism, was theoretically comprehended for the first time.

A distinctive feature of this stage in the development of socialist doctrine was the fact of not only reasoning, but action to establish a new society. Prominent representatives of this stage of development of the socialist idea were Mellier, Mably, Morelli, Russo, Babeuf and others.

The most important stage in the development of classical socialist thought was the work of socialists of the 19th century. (Saint-Simon, Fourier, Owen), who opposed capitalism and private property, for the establishment of a just social society.

They revealed the anarchy of production under capitalism, the opposite of private interests to the interests of society, the predominance of parasitic elements over the productive ones, the falsity of ranting about “human rights” without securing the right to work, the moral decomposition of the ruling classes and the corrupting influence of capitalism on the individual.

Which countries are socialist?

Countries of socialist orientation (sometimes states of socialist orientation ) is a term adopted in Soviet journalism and historiography to refer to states with which the USSR maintained close bilateral ties in the field of political, economic, military, scientific, educational, cultural and other forms of interstate cooperation.

The term began to be used from the late 1960s  . The introduction of this term into circulation was intended to fill the gap that has arisen with the intensification of the decolonization process in the definitions of subjects of international legal relationswhich, due to various circumstances, did not meet the definition of “socialist countries”, and the recognition of them as “ capitalist ” contradicted the doctrinal principles and principles of Marxist-Leninist philosophy and made it impossible to pursue a course of cooperation with them to the extent necessary, discredited the USSR both in the international arena and and within the country (the theme of countries of socialist orientation was repeatedly played out in the work of anti-Soviet-mindedfigures of culture and art).

At the same time, to call them “pro-Soviet regimes” (as was done in the journalism and scientific literature of the capitalist countries), on the one hand, recognized those as pro-Soviet, which in essence many of them were, and on the other hand to question the legitimacy of finding these political regimes in power in these countries, which was unthinkable in terms of maintaining further cooperation with them.

Moreover, the very use of this term, both in scientific and in journalistic works, made it possible to circumvent the problematic issues of building socialism in individual countries, while some successes in this field in other countries were presented as a general trend.

After the counter-revolution in the USSR and the Warsaw Pact countries, reactionaries around the world believed that in a short time, North Korea and Cuba, followed by Vietnam, Laos and China, would also fall under the pressure of their subversive activities. They clearly underestimated the power of socialist ideas and overestimated their abilities and capabilities.

Today, the five countries that have established the power of the working class and are building a socialist society are home to almost 1.5 billion people, that is, a quarter of the world's population. Because of the counter-revolution in Russia, the 1990s were extremely difficult for them. However, all of them survived, repelled the onslaught of imperialism and continued their socio-economic development.

Obviously, the memories of the bloody crimes of American aggressors are too fresh in the memory of the peoples of these countries to succumb to false spells about the charms of bourgeois democracy and the free market.

The tragic fate of Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and Iraq only strengthened their determination to fully uphold their freedom and independence. The role of the avant-garde, which previously belonged to the Soviet Union, was assumed by the People’s Republic of China.

People's Republic of China

The history of the development of modern China can be divided into 2 periods: Mao Zedunovsky (1949-1978) and Densiopinovsky (1979 - present).

Relying on the assistance of the USSR in the construction of socialism, the PRC successfully completed the first five-year plan (1953-1957). Grain production increased from 105 to 185 million tons, and the economic growth rate was 12% annually. The share of industrial production in GDP rose from 17% to 40%. The Eighth Congress of the CCP in 1956, in its resolution, wrote that in China "the socialist revolution had triumphed in the main." The second five-year plan was to build on the successes achieved. However, an attempt to make a “big leap” led to a 48.6% decline in production over 3 years.

The healthy forces in the leadership of the CCP (which for some reason we still call the right) have condemned the "left excesses" and agreed to the course of Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping: "first create, and then destroy." Mao Zedong, after criticism, was forced to go into the second line of leadership, to study theory. To reasonable measures in the spirit of Lenin's new economic policy, stimulating everyone's interest in the results of their labor, the economy again responded with rapid growth. For four years, industrial production grew by 61.3%, and agricultural - by 42.3%.

Unfortunately, since 1966, during the period of the so-called "cultural revolution", the country again plunged into economic chaos for 12 years, experiencing acute social upheaval. The way out of the crisis was facilitated by Deng Xiaoping, who deeply studied the works of the classics of Marxism-Leninism and worked out the Chinese way of building socialism. Its essence: the development, in accordance with the Leninist concept of the NEP, of Stalin's centralized planning and management. Since China, unlike the USSR, could not be afraid of external aggression, the transition period was declared 50 years long. The Third Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the CPC of the 11th convocation (December 1978) proclaimed a course towards the socialist economy with a combination of two systems: planning and distribution and market with massive attraction of foreign investment, greater economic independence of enterprises,

And again, only the emerging socialist system has shown its undeniable advantage. The Chinese “economic miracle” far surpassed similar “miracles” in post-war Germany and Japan and came close to the Soviet one in the Stalin era. To limit the series of figures characterizing the successes of the People’s Republic of China at the stage of socialist construction, we will cite only some of them, the most generalized ones.

1. The big leap (now without quotes) in the development of agriculture has allowed to feed 1 billion people.

2. Industrial output doubled every 10 years.

3. In 2005, China's GDP was 6.5 trillion dollars and second only to the United States.

4. The average annual per capita income in the PRC is 1740 US dollars (data from the World Bank). The average life expectancy of men is 70 years, and that of women is 73 years.

5. In 2005, China again surpassed the United States in mutual trade by $ 200 billion. And this despite the fact that the minions of "free trade" from Washington have repeatedly imposed restrictions on Chinese goods. The structure of China's foreign trade is like that of an economically developed country: up to 80% of exports are textiles, shoes, toys, machine tools, machines, devices and electronics.

6. China's gold and foreign exchange reserves surpassed the Japanese and became the largest in the world - 900 billion dollars.

In order not to give the impression that in China, which is in a transition from capitalism to socialism, there is peace, quietness and God's grace, we will name the main problems that the new leader of the country Hu Jintao aimed at solving the eleventh five-year plan. The strategic goal of this five-year plan is "building a harmonious society", mitigating the already inequitable social inequality. To this end, significant funds were used to improve health care and education in rural areas (in 2006 - $ 48 billion) with an increase in the military budget (in 2006 - an increase of 14%, to $ 35.5 billion). Upon assuming office, Hu declared war on corruption as his priority in 2004 and declared that the future of socialism was at stake. He rejected Western-style political reforms. Fearing the epidemic "

The experience of China's socialist development has attracted the attention of many in the modern world and, above all, its closest neighbors.

Socialist Republic of Vietnam

The cooling of relations between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam) and the USSR began during the time of Gorbachev's perestroika. The winding up of mutually beneficial cooperation by Moscow was regarded as joining the US economic sanctions against Vietnam. The CPV condemned the departure of the CPSU from the fundamental principles of socialism and refused to copy the Soviet experience, taking a step towards taking Chinese into account, in particular, in the field of agricultural production. The return to reasonable incentives for highly productive labor, while maintaining state control over large enterprises and infrastructure, quickly gave a positive result. Five years later, Vietnam not only refused to buy rice abroad, but also sold two million tons of its surplus.

Today, Vietnam is one of the most dynamically developing countries in Southeast Asia. Some experts in the near future prophesied to him the role of the next Asian "tiger". The spectacular successes of the SRV are directly reflected in relations with the United States. Step by step, the Americans were forced to fully restore normal relations:

1994 - Vietnam lifted economic sanctions;

1996 - the US Embassy in Hanoi was opened;

2000 - a trade agreement was signed.

In the autumn of the same year, former US President B. Clinton arrived in Vietnam for the first time after the shameful flight of American aggressors from South Vietnam on April 30, 1975.

According to the strategic partnership declaration signed by the Russian Federation and Vietnam, Russia began supplying modern weapons and spare parts for old Soviet equipment. However, the main sections of this document deal with economics. Although almost all world famous oil companies are present in Vietnam and invest in offshore oil and gas production, it is believed that the most effective cooperation in this area is with Russia, within the framework of the joint (50:50) Vietsovpetro enterprise. It produces 80% of Vietnamese oil (over one hundred million tons per year) and annually the Russian budget receives more than $ 0.5 billion from the joint venture. An agreement was reached to modernize and expand the activities of this enterprise. The second largest project is an agreement on the joint creation of the first oil refinery in Vietnam with a registered capital of $ 800 million and a capacity of 6.5 million tons per year. Thus, a closed national cycle will be created from oil exploration to its full processing.

Democratic People's Republic of Korea

The bumpy road to socialism fell on the Korean people. Under the leadership of the Labor Party of Korea, he passed it most successfully and confidently. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, Japan has occupied the country and for 40 years has established a brutal regime of robbery and violence. The guerrilla war led by the Communists went on for 12 years, ending in 1945 with the complete victory and liberation of Korea from the Japanese colonialists. However, the new, American occupiers seized the south of the country, foiled the unification agreement and split it. In 1950, when normal life began to improve in the DPRK, the United States unleashed a new war. For 3 years, the fire wall rolled twice across the territory of North Korea - first from south to north, then back, and the front froze at 38 parallel. Thousands of the best sons and daughters of the Korean people died on the battlefields, Millions of civilians died at the hands of American punishers. North Korea lay in ruins. In an effort to slow down its restoration, Washington maintained the state of war and constantly organized armed incidents, imposed economic, political and diplomatic sanctions.

And again the advantages of socialism, multiplied by the strength of the spirit of the Korean people, were manifested. The economy destroyed by the war was restored as soon as possible. By 1958, socialist transformations in the city and the village were completed. DPRK has become a modern state with developed industry and agriculture, a high level of culture. Further development led to the complete solution of the social problems of employment, food and housing. Free healthcare and education are available to everyone. There is practically no crime and drug addiction, homeless old people and street children, no beggars and no super-rich.

Thus, the DPRK is a country of victorious socialism, which causes fierce hatred of the American imperialists, the desire by any means to deal with the rebellious people.

The need to confront an aggressor equipped with nuclear missile weapons, the treacherous betrayal of the Kremlin in the early 90s forced the DPRK to create missile weapons on its own. Launching her artificial Earth satellite, she entered the club of space powers. And last year, a successful test of a nuclear device brought North Korea closer to creating containment weapons that were insurmountable to the aggressor. Only a free people, confident in the correctness of their cause, is capable of accomplishing this.

Socialist cuba

If it were customary to award Stars with entire countries, the Republic of Cuba would today be Twice Hero. The first time is for the swift defeat of American mercenaries in Cochinos Bay. The second is for courage and perseverance in the “special period” in the early 90s, when it seemed that a break in economic ties on the part of the former USSR and the countries of the socialist community (80% of Cuban trade) would bring Liberty Island to the Evil Empire. Great difficulties arose: a decline in production, unemployment, and food shortages. The Cuban Communists had to take advantage of the Chinese experience and compromise, retreat in the fields of tourism, foreign trade and finance. But they did not give up the main thing - the gains of socialism. And when a miserable bunch of renegades, the so-called dissidents, having received money from the USA,

Significant help in overcoming the crisis was rendered to China by Cuba, where a part of the commodity flows of traditional Cuban exports, as well as some Latin American countries, were reoriented. Since 1995, economic growth has resumed (an average of 4% annually) and by 2000, the pre-crisis 1989 GDP level was surpassed by more than 10%. Unemployment decreased by 2 times (up to 4%), public consumption funds increased, and food distribution to the population increased by 10%. Inflation was kept at 0.5%.

There are three areas of society, the achievements in which socialist Cuba is proud and which are at the level of highly developed countries.

1. Education - free universal secondary education. Of the seven working people, one has a higher education diploma. 7.3% of GDP is spent on education.

2. Health care is free, at a high level. Key indicators: infant mortality -7.2 per 1000 births; average life expectancy is 75.5 years; highly developed medical science, the production of drugs and vaccines that are not found anywhere in the world. 6.3% of GDP is spent on health.

3. Cuba is a world sports nation that confidently enters the top ten at the Olympic Games in the team event.

No, the haters of socialism in Washington rubbed their hands in vain, intensifying the blockade of Liberty Island. The people of Cuba survived and went forward again, captivating the countries of Latin America with their example.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who considers himself a friend and follower of F. Castro, has already taken a number of steps in the economic and political fields, giving him reason to pose to the people the task of building "21st century socialism." For its implementation, it is planned to create the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela and is preparing to amend the Constitution. Of course, Washington will not surrender its Latin American patrimony without a fight, but it should be borne in mind that its capabilities are now very limited. A third of the armed forces are bogged down in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, moreover, Iran and the DPRK challenge the military dictatorship. Economic sanctions also have to be careful, as the new centers of power are willingly breaking holes in the American blockade. So, 2 years ago, the Chinese prime minister took with him a checkbook worth hundreds of billions of dollars and traveled to several countries in Latin America. Offering fairer terms of trade, he outbid resources that previously went to the United States. So try to stop the purchase of Venezuelan oil, which gives Hugo Chavez the economic basis for building socialism. World prices will soar, the US economy will sag, and China will receive Venezuelan oil at reasonable prices and will make a new leap in its development. Russia is increasingly selling modern weapons to countries in the region. Profitable, market. So gentlemen in Washington are nervous. giving Hugo Chavez the economic basis for building socialism. World prices will soar, the US economy will sag, and China will receive Venezuelan oil at reasonable prices and will make a new leap in its development. Russia is increasingly selling modern weapons to countries in the region. Profitable, market. So gentlemen in Washington are nervous. giving Hugo Chavez the economic basis for building socialism. World prices will soar, the US economy will sag, and China will receive Venezuelan oil at reasonable prices and will make a new leap in its development. Russia is increasingly selling modern weapons to countries in the region. Profitable, market. So gentlemen in Washington are nervous.

Socialism will save the world!

In conclusion, we turn to the authoritative forecast for the XXI century, which was made by the World Forum of Scientists, assembled by the UN at the end of the last century in Rio de Janeiro. Its participants came to the conclusion that two global problems threaten the catastrophe of human civilization:

- Resource - the rapid depletion of proven natural resources;

- ecological - environmental pollution has reached such a level when the Earth’s biosphere does not have time to clear itself of waste.

The forum condemned the capitalist system as not being able to cope with the solution of these problems, since the pursuit of maximum profit requires huge resources and gives a lot of waste and, in addition, instills spirituality, moral and physical degradation of a person.

The forum unambiguously determined the way out of this dangerous perspective in the resolution - the socialization of all aspects of human life. Obviously, this means:

1. Science and technology should organize the circulation of substances and materials in the artificial environment created by man;

2. Limit material consumption to scientifically based standards;

3. To reveal the human principle in a person - the limitless consumption of spiritual values that do not wear out of this, and the active participation of the person himself in the creative process, in the creation of new spiritual values.

And this is socialism.

What is modern socialism?

The crisis state of the most important political and economic institutions is a convincing argument in favor of changing the model of further development. Such an alternative model exists, it has a deep theoretical study and long experience of successful practical application. This is a socialist model. Among its supporters are influential parties.

Modern socialism stands infinitely higher, already due to its philosophical origin. Theoretically unanimous, firm and united, this school is opposed to the limitless fragmentation of its political opponents, which are full of endless shades from left to right.

In its content, modern socialism is primarily the result of the observation, on the one hand, of the class opposites that prevail in modern society between the haves and have-nots, wage workers and the bourgeois, and on the other, anarchy reigning in production. Like any new theory, socialism had to proceed primarily from the ideological material accumulated before it, although its roots lay deep in economic facts.

In its content, modern socialism is primarily the result of the observation, on the one hand, of the class opposites that prevail in modern society between the haves and have-nots, wage workers and the bourgeois, and on the other, anarchy reigning in production. But in its theoretical form, it appears at first only as a further and as if more consistent development of the principles put forward by the great French enlighteners of the eighteenth century. Like any new theory, socialism had to proceed primarily from the ideological material accumulated before it, although its roots lay deep in economic facts.

In its content, modern socialism is primarily the result of the observation, on the one hand, of the class opposites prevailing in modern society between the haves and have-nots, capitalists and wage workers, and on the other, anarchy reigning in production. But in its theoretical form, it appears at first only as a further and as if more consistent development of the principles put forward by the great French enlighteners of the eighteenth century. Like any new theory, socialism had to proceed primarily from the ideological material accumulated before it, although its roots lay deep in material economic facts.

Modern socialism , although it essentially arose from the observation of class opposites between the haves and have-nots, workers and exploiters existing in a given society, in its theoretical form it appears at first as a more consistent, further development of the principles put forward by the great French enlighteners of the eighteenth century - after all the first representatives of this socialism, Morelli and Mably, also belonged to the enlightenment. Like any new theory, modern socialism had to proceed primarily from the available ideological material, although its roots lay in material facts.

In his works Modern socialism in its historical development, In search of a new world, Socialism as a positive doctrine and some others contains a deep analysis of various socialist and communist teachings, their classification is given. Indeed, at present, many of these teachings have their supporters who want to put them into practice.

Armed with the invincible weapon of modern socialism , this social-democratic faction of all left-wing factions was the most revolutionary, the most consistent and the most imbued with class consciousness.

This accusation of one direction of modern socialism , namely social patriotism, is, of course, correct. Greylich, if not the fact that he also blindly trusts the bourgeois government of Switzerland. He even forgets that the bourgeois government of Switzerland, thanks to the numerous connections of Swiss banking capital, is not only a bourgeois government, but also an imperialist bourgeois government.

Following the history of the emergence of modern socialism , we can easily see how the proletariat processed the economic and political struggle, social ideals and philosophical worldview of democracy of the early 19th century into the corresponding elements of the modern socialist movement.

The upheaval that modern socialism seeks is, in short, the victory of the proletariat over the bourgeoisie and the creation of a new organization of society by eliminating all class differences. For this, it is necessary to have not only the proletariat, which will carry out this revolution, but also the bourgeoisie, in whose hands the social productive forces achieve such a development, when it becomes possible to completely destroy class differences. Savages and semi-savages often also have no class differences, and every nation has gone through this state. It cannot even come to our mind to restore it again for the mere fact that from this state, with the development of social productive forces, class distinctions must arise.

Grothusen (Younger Hegelians and the origins of modern socialism in Germany.

To the extent that modern socialism, regardless of direction, it proceeds from bourgeois political economy; it almost without exception adjoins Ricardo's theory of value. Of both the provisions that Ricardo proclaimed in 1817 on the very first pages of his Principles 60: 1) that the value of every commodity is determined solely and exclusively by the amount of labor necessary for its production, and 2) that the product of all social labor is divided between three classes: landowners (rent), capitalists (profit) and workers (wages) - from both of these positions in England, socialist conclusions were already drawn from 1821 on, b1 and, moreover, sometimes with such sharpness and decisiveness that this literature, at present Honor completely forgotten, and in large part reopened only by Marx, remained unsurpassed until the Capital.

Thus, in relation to the most burning issue of modern socialism in general and the Swiss Socialist Party in particular, there seems to be a necessary unity. But if we take a closer look, we will inevitably conclude that this unity is only appearance.

In view of this, the Emancipation of Labor group is set for the purpose of promoting modern socialism in Russia and preparing the working class for a conscious socio-political movement; She devotes all her strength to this goal, calling on our revolutionary youth to help and assist.

Of utmost importance was the comprehensive consideration at the Conference of the problems of modern socialism , which is a bulwark, the main force of the anti-imperialist struggle.

Marx and Engels are rightly put together, as the names of the founders of modern socialism.

The names of Marx and Engels rightly put side by side as the names of the founders of modern socialism.

For the first time in Russian literature, the concepts of scientific socialism, modern socialism were precisely defined . Plekhanov’s merit lies in the fact that he showed the fundamental difference between Marxism and all other socialist theories, revealed to the Russian revolutionaries the essence of scientific socialism.

He finds expression there in such a way that the basic views of modern socialism and the requirement of turning all means of production into public property are recognized as correct, but this can only be realized in the distant, almost uncertain future.

In a draft outline of the Introduction, this place was given in the following edition: Modern socialism , although it essentially arose from observing the class antagonisms existing in society between the haves and have-nots, workers and exploiters, but in its theoretical form it appears first as a more consistent, further development of the principles put forward by the great French Enlightenment XVII.

In a draft outline of the Introduction, this place was given in the following edition: Modern socialism , although it is essentially a matter of observation from observing the class opposites existing in society between the empire and the poor, working-class exploiters, but in its theoretical form it appears first as a more consistent, further the development of the principles advanced by the great French enlighteners of the eighteenth century — the first representatives of this socialism, Morelli and Mably, also belonged to the number of enlighteners.

So, how, in this connection, is the situation with modern socialism.

Lafargue added the following phrase: The communist manifesto is one of the most valuable documents of modern socialism ; even now he remains one of the most powerful and clear expositions of the development of bourgeois society and the formation of the proletariat, which must put an end to capitalist society; in it, as in the Poverty of Marx's philosophy, published a year earlier, the theory of the struggle of classes was clearly formulated for the first time.

Could it remain unknown to Grimm that the Zimmerwald right or center is opposed in modern socialism to an immediate break with the SME, the International Socialist Bureau in The Hague, and the bureau of social patriots. The Kienthal International — and Liebknecht belongs to it — fought against the convocation of SMEs and for breaking with it.

The possibility of gaining power over people through the power over things is the source of the exploitation of labor (Tugan-Baranovsky MI Modern socialism in its historical development.

In September 1883, G.V. Plekhanov and former members of the Black Redistribution who were in exile (in Geneva) published an announcement about the publication of the Library of Modern Socialism they had undertaken . That was the beginning of the first Russian Marxist group Emancipation of Labor, led by Plekhanov.

Of great theoretical and practical importance was the work of Engels published in the volume The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State, which V. I. Lenin considered as one of the main works of modern socialism.

So, history gives us the right to say: firstly, all modern socialism is a product of the working class, although the materials for it were made by bourgeois democracy; secondly, in the development of modern socialism, the layers of the working class of various degrees of consciousness reached almost gropingly to the individual tasks and solutions that their ideologists had discovered, synthesized and justified theoretically. These provisions are of great fundamental importance.

The proletariat is now assimilating to itself, amid the horrors of imperialist war, the very great truth that all revolutions teach, the truth that their best teachers, the founders of modern socialism , bequeathed to the workers . This truth is that there cannot be a successful revolution without suppressing the resistance of the exploiters.

Then comes Wilhelm Liebknecht, who salutes the deceased as a person of duty, as a hero of the pen and sword, as a comrade-in-arms of Marx, as a man who, along with Marx, laid the foundations of modern socialism.

He develops such ideas in a number of his works, including those on cooperation, such as the Social Foundations of Cooperation, On the cooperative ideal, believing that free cooperation is much closer to the universal ideal than the socialism of our day, that modern socialism has a narrow-class character and does not exclude class enmity, as well as class solidarity. Cooperation, however, is superior to any class interests, and its ideal is a non-class ideal.

Finally, my wording cannot also serve as a cover for federalism and local handicraft. If modern socialism synthesizes various forms of the movement of the proletariat and reflects only its general historical tendency, then it is obvious that from this point of view the organization of the Social Democratic party should be sufficiently centralistic to ensure that the general interests of the social democratic movement as a whole prevail over its local interests.

Over the past five years, the Library of Modern Socialism has published 15 works by Marx and Engels, as well as Plekhanov and other workers of the labor movement. At the end of 1884, the Working Library, designed for working intelligentsia, began to be published.

She does not open the door to worship of spontaneity. Claiming that modern socialismit is only the most complete and conscious expression of the spontaneous tendency of the class struggle of the proletariat, we not only do not detract from the active role of consciousness and theory in our movement, we, on the contrary, bring it to maximum a. It is thanks to our confidence that the development of the proletariat proceeds with the elemental force of the laws of nature towards the implementation of our theoretical principles, we can firmly and unshakably uphold these principles and reject all theoretical compromises from fleeting practical considerations. It is strange to me to prove to the editors of Iskra what Beltov proved to us; it is strange to me to prove that maximum freedom, activity and personal initiative where maximum is necessary. In order to prevent the movement from worshiping the temporary moods of various strata of the proletariat or intelligentsia.

The Library of Modern Socialism and the Working Library, published by the group in many copies, were secretly transported to Russia and distributed among the revolutionary intelligentsia and advanced workers. Together with the works of Marx and Engels illegally published in Russia, the editions of the Emancipation of Labor group were read and studied in the first Marxist groups and circles, and were stored in their illegal libraries.

Modern socialism, although it essentially arose from observing the class opposites existing in a given society between the haves and have-nots, workers and exploiters, but in its theoretical form it first appears as a more consistent, further development of the principles put forward by the great French enlighteners of the eighteenth century - after all the first representatives of this socialism, Morelli and Mably, also belonged to the enlightenment. Like any new theory, modern socialism had to proceed primarily from the available ideological material, although its roots lay in material facts.

This is one of the main works of modern socialism , in which you can trust each phrase with confidence that each phrase is not spoken at random, but is written on the basis of enormous historical and political material. There is no doubt that in this composition not all parts are equally accessible, clearly stated: some suggest a reader with already known historical and economic knowledge. But again I will say: one should not be embarrassed if this work, after reading it, is not immediately understood. This is almost never the case with any person.

This is one of the main works of modern socialism , in which you can trust each phrase with confidence that each phrase is not spoken at random, but is written on the basis of enormous historical and political material.

Kautsky began to argue that with Utopia Mora modern socialism begins , which grew out of capitalism. But just as the initial accumulation of capital is only the prehistory of the capitalist mode of production, so does Utopia Mora relate to the prehistory of socialism. Manual labor, the regulation associated with it, and asceticism in Utopia cannot be the ideal of modern socialism.

I would like to emphasize that we attach great importance to cooperation between the UCC and the CPSU. The existing differences and features reflect differences in the ways of development of modern socialism and its practice, as well as features of the international situation of our countries. They are naturally, objectively, historically and socially determined, and therefore, in no case should they serve as an obstacle to the further comprehensive development of our relations. This approach is natural and meets mutual interests.

He added to this: and just as the human embryo at the very early stages of its development reproduces the branchial arches of our ancestors - fish, so in this book everywhere you can find traces of the origin of modern socialism from one of its ancestors - German classical philosophy. This, however, is true only with the limitation that these traces are even less noticeable in the Provision of the working class than in the articles published by Engels in the Deutsch-Franzosische Jahrbiicher. There is no more talk of either Bruno Bauer or Feuerbach, and Engels only mentions Stirner's friend a few times to tease him a little. The essential influence of German philosophy on this book can be spoken of not in the sense of backwardness, but only in the undeniably progressive sense.

Secondly, Proudhon played too significant a role in the history of the European labor movement so that it could be so easily forgotten. Disproved in theory, pushed aside in practice, he continues to retain historical interest. Anyone thoroughly studying contemporary socialism should also study the overlooked points of view in the labor movement. The work of Marx The poverty of philosophy 134 appeared several years earlier than Proudhon proposed his practical projects for the reform of society; Marx could then only detect the germ of the Proudhon exchange bank and criticize it. Thus, in this regard, the work of Marx is supplemented by this pamphlet, unfortunately, completely insufficient.

And if, on this occasion, I conclude that it is necessary to break with the philistine-socialist ideas, with the ideas of the old Russian peasant socialism in general, then this is because the real campaign against the Marxists of the representatives of old ideas, frightened by the growth of Marxism, prompted them to depict philistine ideas. Comparing these ideas with modern socialism, with modern data on Russian reality, we see with astonishing visibility to what extent these ideas have run out of steam, how they have lost any solid theoretical foundation, having descended to miserable eclecticism, to the most dozen cultural-oshyurtunist program. They may say that this is not the fault of the old ideas of socialism in general, but only the data of gentlemen, whom no one even ranks as socialists; but such an objection seems completely untenable to me. Everywhere I tried to show the need for such a degeneration of the old theories, everywhere I tried to devote as much space as possible to criticism of these gentlemen in particular and as much as possible - to the general and basic principles of the old Russian socialism. And if the socialists would have found that these provisions were set forth by me incorrectly or inaccurately or not.

Lenin failed to illuminate the experience of all countries from the point of view of Marx. The experience of all countries tells me that modern socialism arose as a product of the movement of the proletariat and that the spontaneous labor movement is not subordinating to bourgeois ideology, but to modern scientific socialism. In order to find confirmation for this view in history, one should not, first of all, give it a naive interpretation, one should not imagine that the proletariat develops its ideology only on the basis of the experience of its inner life, regardless of the traditions inherited by it and from the modern social environment surrounding it, one should not imagine that he is developing his ideology just as a spider draws its web from its own back.

Many are now interested again in the Stockholm Conference. This question is inextricably linked with an assessment of the very foundations of all modern socialism , in its relation to the imperialist war in particular. That is why the Stockholm Conference should dwell in more detail.