Capitalism vs. socialism

Since antiquity, socialist models and social ideas of equality have existed. The works of intellectuals like Charles Fourier and Robert Owen in the late 1700s have significantly contributed to the development of socialism. However, it wasn’t until the middle of the 19th century that socialism became prominent as a political and economic movement. Social issues such as growing inequality between the small group of wealthy business owners and the poor workers were caused by industrial capitalism. In response to these social issues, the economic and political model of socialism gained prominence. As a result, socialist parties formed in the 19th century in the United States and Europe.

During the 18th century, the period of revolutionary and Enlightenment movements, socialism originated. Modern socialism began in the 19th century in response to capitalism created by the Industrial Revolution. Socialism promoted collectivism rather than individualism (promoted by capitalism). It is crucial to understand that socialism was developed from the capitalist system. Socialism aimed to address societal issues such as unequal resource and opportunity distribution. This system also influenced public policies during that period and advocated equal distribution of resources. The government owned the means of production and controlled the prices of the services and goods.

In the 1820s and 1830s, socialist movements were developed by some groups, including Owenites and Fourierists. During this time, socialism developed social experiments and theories mostly connected to French and British intellectuals. The leading proponents of what was eventually called utopian socialism were Saint-Simon, Fourier, and Owens. The ideas for the reorganization of society along collectivist lines were outlined in their works. However, the opinions of the utopian socialist thinkers were different. Some favoured community property ownership and democracy; some did not want to embrace democratic ideals or abolish private property.

Saint-Simon aimed to transform society through a large-scale program that allowed industrialists and specialists to take charge, while Owen and Fourier aimed to establish small-scale, utopian communities as the cornerstones of socialism. Saint-Simon, a co-founder of positivism with his assistant Auguste Comte, aimed to bring political science up to the same standard of empiricism as the physical sciences. He abandoned economic liberalism and worked towards a system which would unite society and industry into a single and unified organization rather than the conventional state. All individuals would have equal resources and opportunities under a meritocratic system. In addition, this new society would ignore unequal resource and opportunity distribution and class distinctions based on wealth and nobility.

Moreover, Fourier, an earlier utopian socialist, believed that labour, capital, and talent were the factors that made economic output. According to him, all these factors are crucial for the production. Also, these factors need to be compensated for the general prosperity of the organized association. In addition, Robert Owen, another utopian socialist, presented the idea that society should break down into local collectives. Owen worked in the village of New Lanark and transformed its society by bringing opportunities and different ideas to the community. The community received free health care, inexpensive food, respectable housing, evening classes and schools. He also helped abolish child labour and physical punishment.

Other philosophers who advocated socialism and worked to abolish feudal property were Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Marx and Engels were inspired by German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and British political economics, including David Ricardo and Adam Smith, and their socialist or communist concepts that originated in the French Revolution. Both these philosophers created a body of ideas that is commonly called Marxism. This theory included a political and philosophical concept, a criticism of political economics, and a theory of history known as historical materialism.

The Communist Manifesto, published in 1848 and written by Engels and Marx, presented a criticism of capitalism. This pamphlet criticizes the bourgeoisie and advocates their upheaval by the working class, expecting to create societal equality. They predicted the class conflict that may arise from the capitalist. He believes that capitalism is alienating and exploitative by its very nature. He argued that there were uneven social ties between proletariat workers and bourgeoisie owners since workers were not paid the total value of their labour while owners gained profit. He predicted that class conflict would intensify due to contradictions and internal tensions of capitalism, leading to oppressed workers’ exploitation. The Communist Manifesto concludes by stating that the “working class has nothing to lose but their shackles.”

Through political parties, activist groups, labour unions, and worker cooperatives, socialist and Marxist ideologies were disseminated throughout the working classes. The establishment of child labour regulations, the freedom to create a partnership, eight-hour workdays, and other progressive changes were among the significant early victories. Outside of Europe, peasants and rural communities, people endured terrible inequality and poverty until socialist and even communist revolutions took place in nations like Cuba, China, and Russia.