Here is your essay on the basic tendencies of socialism !
In the west where capitalism has prevailed, this takes the form of accommodation of progressive dilution of the socialist principle. We all know what socialism is. In company with other ideological concepts, socialism has a double reference.
On one hand, it refers to the ideals, values, properties of what is often called the socialist vision. On the other hand, it refers to empirical features of social and political institutions which embody the vision.
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At the level of values, the important ones are those of freedom, equality, community, brotherhood, social justice, a classless society, co-operation, progress, peace, prosperity, abundance and happiness. Sometimes, the value components are stated negatively: socialists are opposed to oppression, exploitation, inequality, strife, war, injustice, poverty, misery and dehumanization.
At the level of institutions, the adherents and opponents alike would say that socialism is opposed to capitalist private enterprise system, which it seeks to replace by a system of control over wealth and property and the social supervision of organization of economic activity; this is summarized in the formula, the common or public ownership of means of production.
Basic tendencies of socialism:
The basic tendencies of Socialism are as follows:
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Egalitarianism is the first tendency, which is the classical principle of socialism. The dominant notion of equality culminates in a conception of community. Politically, egalitarianism obviously demands complete democracy, but democracy in its simple, classical, unitary sense, without enduring party divisions.
Moralism, the next tendency, constitutes the Christian principle of socialism; that is, it stresses on high ideals which seek to bring justice by replacing enmity with mutual help, and fostering feelings of brotherly love and understandings among human beings.
The political form most harmonious with moralist values is, again democracy, perhaps tempered by mild notions of paternalism and certainly presupposing a sense of moderation and responsibility on the part of individual principles. Small and large communities governed by a majoritarian system are fitting vehicles for the realization of the moralist ideal.
Rationalism is the third tendency, in representing the principle of enlightenment.
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Here, the chief values are individual happiness, reason, knowledge, efficiency in production and the rational purposeful organization of human society in the interest of progress. The political form that rationalism leads towards is also democracy, since this tendency tends to acknowledge the fundamental equality of human beings and believes in self sufficiency of individual human reason. It believes, however, that democracy should be tempered with meritocracy, constant guidance by experts, scientists, technicians, and intellectual people who are to be trusted with the promotion of general happiness.
Libertarianism, which could be termed the romantic principle of socialism, is the last of the basic tendencies in the sense that it is extreme and radical among socialist principles. It centers on the ideal freedom, in the sense of total absence of restraint, internal and external. Here, it would be difficult to talk in terms of a favored political arrangement, since this tendency would repudiate politics in tote.
Anarchy is what comes nearest to its ideal; but again libertarianism too goes with the acceptance of equality in a fundamental sense. Libertarianism is the gentlest and the most tolerant of socialist tendencies. These are the four tendencies of socialism, which reflect the essence of socialist democracy. The relative weight of each tendency, however, varies from case to case.
In other words, we find that one or another tendency assumes predominance over others in the case of a given country, doctrine, movement or historical period. This is why the predominance of libertarianism in the Western New left is in a large part due to the increasing moderation and integration of social democracy.