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- Democratic
Socialism
1.
DEMOCRATIC
SOCIALISM advocates Socialism as an economic principle (the
means of production should be in the hands of ordinary working people), and
democracy as a governing principle (political power should be
in the hands of the people democratically through a co-operative commonwealth
or republic).
2.
It
attempts to bring about Socialism through peaceful democratic means as
opposed to violent insurrection, and represents the reformist tradition
of Socialism.
3.
It
is similar, but not necessarily identical (although the two terms
are sometimes used interchangeably), to Social Democracy. This
refers to an ideology that is more centrist and supports a
broadly Capitalist system, with some social reforms (such
as the welfare state), intended to make it more equitable and humane.
4.
Democratic
Socialism, by contrast, implies an ideology that is more left-wing and
supportive of a fully socialist system, established either by gradually
reforming.
5.
Capitalism from within, or by some form of revolutionary transformation.
- Revolutionary
Socialism
1.
REVOLUTIONARY
SOCIALISM advocates the need for fundamental social change through revolution or insurrection(rather
than gradual refom) as a strategy to achieve a socialist society.
2.
The Third
International, which was founded following the Russian Revolution of
1917, defined itself in terms of Revolutionary Socialism but also became widely
identified with Communism.
3.
Trotskyism is the theory of Revolutionary
Socialism as advocated by Leon Trotsky (1879 - 1940), declaring the need for an international
proletarian revolution (rather than Stalin's "socialism in one
country") and unwavering support for a true dictatorship of the
proletariat based on democratic principles.
4.
Luxemburgism is another Revolutionary Socialist
tradition, based on the writings of Rosa Luxemburg (1970 -
1919). It is similar to Trotskyism in its opposition to
the Totalitarianism of Stalin, while simultaneously avoiding
the reformist politics of modern Social Democracy.
- Utopian Socialism
1.
UTOPIAN
SOCIALISM is a term used to define the first currents ofmodern
socialist thought in the first quarter of the 19th Century.
2.
In
general, it was used by later socialist thinkers to
describe early socialist, or quasi-socialist,
intellectuals who created hypothetical visions of
perfect egalitarian and communalist societies without actually concerning themselves with
the manner in which these societies could be created or
sustained.
3.
They
rejected all political (and especially all
revolutionary) action, and wished to attain their ends by peaceful
means and small experiments, which more practical
socialists like Karl
Marx saw as necessarily doomed to
failure.
4.
But the
early theoretical work of people like Robert Owen (1771-1858), Charles
Fourier (1772-1837) and Étienne Cabet (1788–1856) gave much of
the impetus to later socialist movements.
- Libertarian
Socialism
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1.
LIBERTARIAN
SOCIALISM aims to create a society without political, economic or social hierarchies,
in which every person would have free, equal access to tools
of information and production.
2.
This
would be achieved through the abolition of authoritarian institutions and private
property, so that direct control of the means of production and
resources will be gained by the working class and society as a
whole.
3.
Most
Libertarian Socialists advocate abolishing the state altogether,
in much the same way as Utopian Socialists and many varieties of Anarchism (including
Social Anarchism, Anarcho-Communism, Anarcho-Collectivism and Anarcho-Syndicalism).
- Market Socialism
1.
MARKET
SOCIALISM is a term used to define an economic system in which there is a market
economy directed and guided by socialist planners, and where prices would be set through trial and
error (making adjustments as shortages and surpluses occur) rather than
relying on a free price mechanism.
2.
By
contrast, a Socialist Market Economy, such as that practiced in the
People's Republic of China, in one where major industries are owned by state
entities, but compete with each other within a pricing system set
by the market and the state does not routinely intervene in
the setting of prices.
- Eco-Socialism (or Green Socialism or Socialist
Ecology)
1.
ECO-SOCIALISM
is an ideology merging aspects of Marxism,
Socialism,Green politics, ecology and the anti-globalization
movement.
2.
They
advocate the non-violent dismantling of Capitalism and the State, focusing on collective ownership of
the means of production, in order to mitigate the social exclusion, poverty
and environmental degradation brought about (as they see it)
by the capitalist system,globalization and imperialism.
- Christian Socialism
1.
CHRISTIAN
SOCIALISM generally refers to those on the Christian left whose
politics are both Christian and socialist, and who
see these two things as being interconnected.
2.
Christian
socialists draw parallels between what some have characterized
as the egalitarian and anti-establishment message
of Jesus, and the messages of modern Socialism.