State socialism: Difference between revisions

Aside from [[anarchists]] and other [[libertarian socialists]], there was, in the past, confidence amongst socialists in the concept of state socialism as being the most effective form of socialism. Some early [[social democrats]] in the late 19th century and early 20th century, such as the [[Fabians]], claimed that British society was already mostly socialist and that the economy was significantly socialist through government-run enterprises created by conservative and liberal governments which could be run for the interests of the people through their representatives' influence, an argument reinvoked by some socialists in post-war BritainUnited Kingdom.<ref>Eatwell, Roger; Wright, Anthony (1999). ''Contemporary Political Ideologies'' (2nd ed.). London: Continuum. pp. 87–88 {{ISBN|9781855676053}}.</ref> State socialism declined starting in the 1970s, with [[stagflation]] during the [[1970s energy crisis]],<ref>Gey, Peter; Kosta, H. G. Jiří; Quaisser, Wolfgang (1987). ''Crisis and Reform in Socialist Economies''. Avalon Publishing. {{ISBN|9780813373324}}.</ref><ref>Miller, Toby (2008). ''A Companion to Cultural Studies''. Wiley. {{ISBN|9780470998793}}.</ref><ref>Ehns, Dirk H. (2016). ''Modern Monetary Theory and European Macroeconomics''. Routledge. pp. 4–5. {{ISBN|9781138654778}}.</ref> the rise of [[neoliberalism]] and later with the fall of state socialist nations in the [[Eastern Bloc]] during the [[Revolutions of 1989]] and the [[fall of the Soviet Union]].<ref>Eatwell, Roger; Wright, Anthony (1999). ''Contemporary Political Ideologies'' (2nd ed.). London: Continuum. pp. 93–95. {{ISBN|9781855676053}}.</ref>

Libertarian socialists often treat ''state socialism'' as synonymous with ''[[state capitalism]]'', arguing that the [[Soviet-type economic planning|economic systems]] of [[Marxist–Leninist state]]s such as the [[Soviet Union]] were not genuinely socialist due to their autocratic nature.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ellman|first=Michael|author-link=Michael Ellman|url=http://www.cambridge.org/US/academic/subjects/economics/economics-general-interest/socialist-planning-3rd-edition|title=Socialist Planning, Third Edition|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2014|isbn=978-1107427327|page=11|quote=Accordingly, after World War II the Soviet model was adopted throughout the state-socialist world.}}</ref> [[Democratic socialism|Democratic]] and [[libertarian]] socialists claim that these states had only a limited number of socialist characteristics.<ref>Howard, M. C.; King, J. E. (2001). [http://www.hetsa.org.au/pdf/34-A-08.pdf "'State Capitalism' in the Soviet Union"]. Retrieved 27 December 2019.</ref><ref>Chomsky, Noam (1986). [http://chomsky.info/1986____/ "The Soviet Union Versus Socialism"]. ''Our Generation''. Chomsky.info. Retrieved 20 October 2015.</ref><ref>Wolff, Richard D. (27 June 2015). [http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/31567-socialism-means-abolishing-the-distinction-between-bosses-and-employees "Socialism Means Abolishing the Distinction Between Bosses and Employees"]. ''[[Truthout]]''. Retrieved 9 July 2015.</ref> However, others maintain that workers in the Soviet Union and other Marxist–Leninist states had genuine control over the means of production through institutions such as [[Trade unions in the Soviet Union|trade unions]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Soviet Communism: A New Civilisation?|last1=Webb|first1=Sidney|last2=Webb|first2=Beatrice|year=1935|location=London|publisher=Longmans}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Soviet democracy|last=Sloan|first=Pat|year=1937|location=London|publisher=Left Book Club; Victor Gollancz Ltd}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/WorkersParticipationInTheSovietUnion|title=Workers' Participation in the Soviet Union|last=Costello|first=Mick|year=1977|publisher=Novosti Press Agency Publishing House}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Before Stalinism: The Rise and Fall of Soviet Democracy|last=Farber|first=Samuel|year=1992|journal=Studies in Soviet Thought|volume=44|issue=3|pages=229–230}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Kronstadt 1917-1921: The Fate of a Soviet Democracy|last=Getzler|first=Israel|year=2002|orig-year=1982|location=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0521894425}}</ref> Academics, political commentators and other scholars tend to distinguish between authoritarian state socialism and democratic state socialism, with the first representing the [[Soviet Bloc]] and the latter representing [[Western Bloc]] countries which have been democratically governed by socialist parties such as Britainthe United Kingdom, France, Sweden and Western social-democracies in general, among others.<ref name="Barrett 1978">Barrett, William, ed. (1 April 1978). [https://www.commentarymagazine.com/articles/capitalism-socialism-and-democracy/ "Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy: A Symposium"]. ''Commentary''. Retrieved 14 June 2020. "If we were to extend the definition of socialism to include Labor Britain or socialist Sweden, there would be no difficulty in refuting the connection between capitalism and democracy."</ref><ref name="Dissident 1991">Heilbroner, Robert L. (Winter 1991). [https://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/from-sweden-to-socialism-social-democracy-symposium "From Sweden to Socialism: A Small Symposium on Big Questions"]. ''Dissident''. Barkan, Joanne; Brand, Horst; Cohen, Mitchell; Coser, Lewis; Denitch, Bogdan; Fehèr, Ferenc; Heller, Agnès; Horvat, Branko; Tyler, Gus. pp. 96–110. Retrieved 17 April 2020.</ref><ref name="Kendall 2011">Kendall, Diana (2011). ''Sociology in Our Time: The Essentials''. Cengage Learning. pp. 125–127. {{ISBN|9781111305505}}. "Sweden, Great Britain, and France have mixed economies, sometimes referred to as democratic socialism—an economic and political system that combines private ownership of some of the means of production, governmental distribution of some essential goods and services, and free elections. For example, government ownership in Sweden is limited primarily to railroads, mineral resources, a public bank, and liquor and tobacco operations."</ref><ref name="Li 2015">Li, He (2015). ''Political Thought and China's Transformation: Ideas Shaping Reform in Post-Mao China''. Springer. pp. 60–69. {{ISBN|9781137427816}}. "The scholars in camp of democratic socialism believe that China should draw on the Sweden experience, which is suitable not only for the West but also for China. In the post-Mao China, the Chinese intellectuals are confronted with a variety of models. The liberals favor the American model and share the view that the Soviet model has become archaic and should be totally abandoned. Meanwhile, democratic socialism in Sweden provided an alternative model. Its sustained economic development and extensive welfare programs fascinated many. Numerous scholars within the democratic socialist camp argue that China should model itself politically and economically on Sweden, which is viewed as more genuinely socialist than China. There is a growing consensus among them that in the Nordic countries the welfare state has been extraordinarily successful in eliminating poverty."</ref>