Today I am going to look at socialism through goggles of problem/solution/reward – looking firstly at – what is socialism? And then taking apart socialism to look at what the specific philosophy implies – and what the effects will be of implementing such a system – and how such an idea could be changed, molded, and directed to support what is best for all.
Firstly – what is socialism? Here is a definition taken from Wikipedia:
”Socialism is an economic system characterised by social ownership of the means of production and co-operative management of the economy.[1] “Social ownership” may refer to cooperative enterprises, common ownership, state ownership, or citizen ownership of equity.[2] There are many varieties of socialism and there is no single definition encapsulating all of them.[3] They differ in the type of social ownership they advocate, the degree to which they rely on markets or planning, how management is to be organised within productive institutions, and the role of the state in constructing socialism.[4]
A socialist economic system would consist of a system of production and distribution organized to directly satisfy economic demands and human needs, so that goods and services would be produced directly for use instead of for private profit[5] driven by the accumulation of capital. Accounting would be based on physical quantities, a common physical magnitude, or a direct measure of labour-time in place of financial calculation.[6][7] Distribution would be based on the principle to each according to his contribution.
As a political movement, socialism includes a diverse array of political philosophies, ranging from reformism to revolutionary socialism. Proponents of state socialism advocate the nationalisation of the means of production, distribution and exchange as a strategy for implementing socialism. In contrast, libertarian socialism proposes the traditional view of direct worker’s control of the means of production and opposes the use of state power to achieve such an arrangement, opposing both parliamentary politics and state ownership.[citation needed] Democratic socialism seeks to establish socialism through democratic processes and propagate its ideals within the context of a democratic political system.
Modern socialism originated from an 18th-century intellectual and working class political movement that criticized the effects of industrialisation and private property on society. In the early 19th-century, “socialism” referred to any concern for the social problems of capitalism irrespective of the solutions to those problems. However, by the late 19th-century, “socialism” had come to signify opposition to capitalism and advocacy for an alternative system based on some form of social ownership.[8] Marxists expanded further on this, attributing scientific assessment and democratic planning as critical elements of socialism.[9]”
In essence one is able to classify socialism as the sharing of property according to each one’s ability to work – wherein accumulation of capital is not allowed for the benefit of individuals – but capital is mostly owned by the state; capital being buildings, machines, cars, factories, etc.
Thus – what socialism aims to do is to level the playing field – and have each individual on equal terms be able to compete with each one’s time being valued equally – one hour of labor for a steel worker – giving the same salary as one hour of work for a lawyer.
Problem
The main problem with socialism is that it’s focus is at directing property – directing labor – and directing money – and within this the ruling principle is fairness – meaning that monies should be divided fairly by the sweat of one’s brow – and not by for example inheriting the money; the problem with this is that there is no underlying principles as to what the system is to achieve – it’s merely a band aid solution to quell the competitive nature of man and enforce fairness – but there is no consideration towards changing the nature of man – and not basing the system on fairness – but instead basing the system on what is best for all – wherein what is best for all is the objective – and the final goal.
In Sweden where I live we’ve have socialist political system – and what this means is that differences in class is equalized through taxation, and policies are enforced that aim at having all participants in the system earn the same monies – and when everyone earn the same amount of money – that is then apparently considered an achievement – but I mean – is this really all we can expect out of a political ideology? That monies are to be divided fairly between people? Shouldn’t there be MORE to a political dispensation? And obviously – the answer is YES – there should be more! There should be a goal – a clear objective – that dividing money between people is not a goal in itself – but that it’s a means of reaching a perfect society wherein EVERYONE live a life of perfection – and earth is taken care – and everyone is able to live life’s that are fulfilling and enjoyable.
Due to me living in a socialist country – I’ve had direct experience of the outcomes of a socialist system – and I am with certainty able to say that simply dividing monies between people – and equalizing wages – that does not produce humans with integrity – self-respect – and with the ability to CO-operate – what the equalizing of wages have created in Sweden is instead a country filled with complacent people that have everything they feel they need to live a comfortable life – yet there is not DRIVE to perfect society – and to perfect each and every individual in the country – not only by giving them the material they require to live – but also through perfecting the psyche – perfecting the motivation – perfecting the mental well-being of each and everyone – because that type of perfection is not something that arise simply by giving monies to everyone.
And that is why I say that the problem with socialism is that it stops at only considering property, and money – and how this should be divided between people – I mean – that is only one point that must be attended to and sorted – but when that point as achieved – and all have a basic materialistic foundation and welfare – then the process of establishing a society of perfection must continue until there really is perfection – perfection being that there is no crime – there is no mental retardation – there is no illness – there is no violence – there is no unemployment – there is no depression – there is no outcasts – there is no fear – then – when everyone in society are fulfilled – we can say that we’re getting somewhere – but simply dividing monies – that isn’t enough.
As with communism – the primary point that socialism miss is the self – the individual human-being and his experience of himself – as instead all focus is placed on money, property, capital, salary, and fairness – while instead focus should be placed on asking ourselves how it is that each individual human being is partly responsible for creating the world we live in – and how we’re within this able to re-educate each and every human being to only create that which is best for all.
Because – what must be understood is that an ideology – and a philosophy can only be implemented and truly become the very living flesh of each inhabitant of a country – if that point is lived, understood, and embraced by each and everyone – if that isn’t the case – then it’s merely empty words that have been written down in a policy but where there is no substance behind the words – because the country’s inhabitants merely follow the policy out of fear of punishment – that is then not change – that is simply coercing people to adapt to a particular idea instead of making everyone co-creators – co-responsible – seeing that a society can only be as effective as it’s individual citizen – because each citizen is a brick in a wall – and unless all bricks are effective in fulfilling their purpose – the wall will be unstable, and not be able to stand point and function effectively.
To conclude what the problem with socialism is – socialism doesn’t consider the inner workings of man – seeing that what must be changed is not merely how resources are own and distributed in this world – but what must be changed is each individual human being – and that sharing resources can’t be the final goal – but there must be a much more ambitious principle – else the political dispensation is simply a organized way of giving up into being less than what we’re capable of being; thus – socialism doesn’t strive towards true magnificence in every way – and does not consider that to reach such magnificence – each individual human being must be magnificent.
Solution
What is then the solution?
The solution is that we within developing our societies become more ambitious in how it is that we want life on earth to be – and how it is that we want life in society to be; I mean – simply saying that “I want to survive” – “I just want to have peace” – that’s not enough – if we’re to create a new world we’re we can truly be happy, and thrive as a race with the rest of existence – we require to dare to set high standards for ourselves – and in this we can’t stop at saying that resources should be divided equal among people to each his own contribution – we must state a living policy – a living ideology – and through our words create the foundation of a world of magnificence – wherein resources are not merely divided equal because that is fair – no – resources are divided equally to all to support each human being to become his utmost potential as a human-being – and education is given to everyone because we see, and understand that when some are more educated than others, this is more than often abused and from this slaves, and masters are born.
And we state that the point with dividing resources equally among everyone is so that each can be FREE to LIVE – free to develop and expand to our utmost ability – becoming perfection in every way – and within this we will achieve a world of individuals that do really care about creating a world that is magnificent – wherein we are able to expand our care to the animal kingdom, to nature, to the plant-life, and the insects – and make sure that not only humans are able to live a fulfilling life – but that each, and every form of life that enters this world is cared for, and considered as we’d like to be if we were in the same position as that life form.
Thus – as most ideologies that have been develop by humanity – socialism lack the ambition to create heaven on earth – it lacks to ambition to set a target for humanity as a whole that only absolute perfection will be satisfactory and anything less but absolute perfection is a compromise. I mean – how could socialism in anyway be a solution to the strife of mankind – when socialism allows gossip, allows fear, allows mistrust, allows violence, allows judgment, allows jealousy, allows competition, allows comparison – these are all parts of the current human psyche that must be corrected and removed in order for a world of true perfection to come forth – and because socialism doesn’t consider, or establish a solution for the condition of the human psyche – it’s a inefficient and unrealistic political ideology that only offers a band-aid solution – so at least most people don’t have to starve to death.
To conclude, and summarize – the solution as to how to perfect socialism, and create political ideology that is best for all – is to be ambitious and set high standards for ourselves – and demand nothing less but absolute perfection from ourselves, and our fellow neighbors – it’s to consider, and find solutions for the malfunctioned psyche of man – to make sure that there exist no hidden agendas as psychological disorders within people but that all are effective in caring for their inner, and outer well-being.
Reward
What is the reward for implementing such a political system?
The reward is that we will have a purpose in our life’s – for the first time a purpose that is of meaning, and value – the purpose being that we are here on this earth to manifest perfection, and to create heaven – and that we are here on this earth to make sure that when we leave – the earth is in a better condition than when we came here.
Within this what will develop between people in society is real friendship – because people share the same passion for life, living, and all strife for perfection – thus people will be able to trust each other and bond at a much deeper level than can ever be conceived in todays consumerism system – there will be no more fear – and within this each persons individual self-expression will slowly but surely emerge from the darkness of the physical – so that within this we’ll have a society, and a world that is organic, and filled with life as living, caring, and considerate human beings – all operating by the same principle – to give as they’d like to receive as what is best for all.
A system that holds these ambitions are already in development – check it out here – equal money.
Related articles
Socialism
Wikipedia: Socialism is an economic system characterised by social ownership of the means of production and co-operative management of the economy. →
A Dreamers Journey To Life 