SCIENTIFIC SOCIALISM
This was advocated by Karl Max (1818 – 1883) and his friend Fredrick Angles who was born in (1820 – 1895) who was aimed at destructing capitalism and establishing a dictatorship state of workers (proletarians) hence scientific socialism was the one which put socialism into practice in the world as the case study was in Russia after the Russian revolution of Oct. 1917. Scientific socialism contained scientific principles of building socialism and philosophical basis of the class struggle and revolution e.g. act (means). These founders of scientific socialism believed that socialism can be attained through class struggle and revolutionary means so there should be the struggle between the workers and the capitalist in which workers should struggle to take control of the state and the major means of production while the capitalist wanted to remain dominant.
Ultimately there should be the revolution by workers (proletariats) to take control of the state and major means of production, so Karl max, Fredrick Engels and Later Vladimir Lenin succeeded to make a revolution and build socialism in Russia in Oct. 1917 after the Bolshevik revolution. Following the Bolshevik revolution in Russia Oct. 1917 Socialism came into reality/existence through class struggle and revolution action in which the capitalist was overthrown in Russia.
Max and Angels wanted workers to make revolution and establish dictatorship state of workers in which worker could seize or get political power and establish socialism but later socialism should transform to its highest stage of communism , hence Max , Angels, Lenin and other socialist theorists saw socialism as a traditional stage so they wanted a society to establish communism in which a society would be classless, state less and would be no private ownership of the major means of production. Society under communion would be provided with all needs and each individual will contribute according to his talent or ability. Also under communism there should be ideal society whereby would be no exploitation of man by man, labor power of workers would stop to be a commodity because workers will be working for themselves and for their society as a whole. The private property under socialism after proletariat revolution must be nationalized by the state controlled by workers and the major means of production such as banks, miner, transport and communication, industries and plantations must be under the control of workers through state super vision.
Large scale of import – export should be also under the public control in a society for the benefit of all people especially poor people in the society, under socialism after scientific socialism, property must be divided into two i.e. personal property and public property in which the public property must include all nationalized properties from the capitalist like banks, factories etc while the other personal property must product and labour intended for personal consumption.
KARL MAX MAJOR IDEAS
In his analysis Max observed the followings:-
(i) Exploitation of man by man was a feature of capitalism.
(ii) It could not be possible to persuade the capitalist to stop its evils like exploitation, humiliation, oppression and segregation.
(iii) What was to be done to put an end of capitalism in which the major means of production was to be put under the control of workers for their benefits and was only through class struggle and revolutionary actions.
(iv) History has been a process of change through class struggle, so workers and other people in a society should struggle to end the system of capitalism and write a new history in a society.
(v) Capitalist are to be over threw by the exploited class who are oppressed, humiliated and exploited, in order to establish socialism.
(vi) All wealth and property in the society is created by labor of the working class who in capitalism own neither factory nor tools of production, hence workers should write together to own and control wealth and property created by labor power.
(vii) The personal greatly and selfishness at the people must be replaced by religion and other ideas of ideal society.
(viii) Workers own only their labor power which they do sell to the capitalist as a commodity so they live only by working to the capitalism hence they must unit together to fight capitalism and eliminate all like bank industries etc in order for workers to enjoy for their life. Max argued that capitalism was creating condition to socialism to exist because of the evils of capitalism in the society and also argued that once all capitalist class had been broken and overthrown then no longer any exploitative class in society rather socialism would have reduced in climax (peak) and dictatorship of proletariat would not be necessary in the society rather socialism had to transform to its highest stage known as communism in which the following characteristics, features or elements should be observed.
(i) Production is at the highest stage and according to his needs.
(ii) Classless society would come to existence.
(iii) Manual and intellectual labor would have no difference.
(iv) The difference between town and country (rural) would be eliminated.
(v) All other qualities produced by capitalism would be eliminated.
(vi) There must be high science and technology in society.
(vii) There would be no law, police, prison or army because under communalism there is no need of having state and instruments of force.
MAX AND PROLETARIATES (working class)
Socialism has propounded by Karl Max become attractive to working class more than other socialist in the world, hence the following were the suggestions of Max to the workers.
(i) Max organized the first group of socialist from different countries which was known as International working class of the socialist formed on 1864 in London.
(ii) Max manifests become wide spread as the socialist document in the world, calling all workers of the world to unite together and fight capitalism with its evils until they win because labor (chains).
(iii) From 1848 there were a lot of revolutions in the world including France, China etc. where by the workers were demanding for their rights 15 years after the end of the first international , 2nd international workers must was found under Fredrick Engels because Max has died so in 1893 the 2nd international workers must was put into practice in Switzerland which was attended by socialist must of different countries who represented their countries e.g. in Russia there was the social democratic party which was under V.I Lenin. Later on VI Lenin carried out the first socialist revolution in Russia.
Generally Max interpretation of history indicated that socialist revolution could take place first in the most highly development countries like Britain and France however this did not happen due to many reasons such as;-
(i) Improvement of working condition of workers.
(ii) Introduction of collective bargaining.
(iii) Introduction of Western democracy etc.
With those factors the first socialism occurred in Russian in Oct. 1917 after the Bolshevik revolution.
THE THEORY OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIALISM
This was written as scientific socialism when the communist manifest was published by Karl Max and Fredrick Engels. The philosophical bases of scientific socialism is class struggle and revolutionary action as the most effective way of building socialism, according to Max and Engels in the absence of class struggle and revolutionary action if is impossible to build scientific socialism. From the analysis of Karl Max (1883 -1818) and Engels (1820 -1895) the following were observed.
(i) Destruction of capitalism can only be achieved by revolutionary actions and class struggle since exploitative class i.e. capitalist would not voluntarily surrender.
(ii) The working class is the only revolutionary force capable of overthrowing capitalism because workers has the majority in the society but there the one who are exploited, humiliated, oppressed and own nothing except their labor power until they win.
(iii) The working class will have to form a common front with its alliance with peasant and other progressive social groups must join together to over throw capitalism.
(iv) Overthrown of capitalist state will be replaced by dictatorship of the proletariat which must defend and protect the interest of masses.
(v) The government of workers must ensure the followings:-
(a) The major means of period and nglish-swahili/distribution” target=”_blank”>distribution of wealth and property are put in hands of workers and peasants.
(b) Labor is no longer treated as a commodity.
(c)The economic structure must dissolve the contradictions in the society because the socialist government of workers must plan the economy for all people in the society.
THE ORIGIN /GENESIS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIALISM
(i) German Ideology of dialectics.
(ii) The contribution of French revolution of 1789.
(iii) Utopian socialism with its ideal.
(iv) The English political economist.
(v) The contribution of Karl Max and Fredrick Engels.
1. Contribution of Germany Ideology of dialectics.
This Ideology was put forward philosopher known as Michael Hegel whereby Hegel with his Ideology of dialect insisted on changes in the society is inevitable and always this changes arise out of contradictions, Hegel used three concepts to verify the theory of dialects which are thesis – Antithesis thesis from the German Ideology Max borrowed. The concept of dialects – and used them to develop the concept of Historical and direction materialism which is called correct outlook of the world, the concept of historical materialism stated that matter is in a constant motion or change and people should understand the laws governing nature. Max Later concluded that the change from capitalism to socialism was inevitable even by revolution because the society as a matter keeps on a constant change.
2. Contribution of French revolution of 1789 in building socialism.
The French revolution which advocated for equality force for the rise of scientific socialism, this was because after French had made a revolution it managed to establish French socialism which stay for start time of only 72 days but it collapsed so Karl max fear its weaknesses involved in French socialism that the French socialism after the revolution of 1789 failed because it was led by idealistic way of thinking and not scientific approach. From this weakness Max disposed a scientific theory of building socialism which insisted workers to struggle not make revolution/ in order to remove the capitalist more scientifically and not by emotion or immorality.
3. Contribution of Utopian socialism.
This intended to build socialism through moral approach / discussion / persuasion to the capitalist. Karl Max criticized their wrong way/ approach that it was practically impossible to ask the exploiters to stop exploitation and oppression since they were the one who benefited of the capitalist system and usually capitalism operated through exploitation from this weakness Karl Max and Engels depend the method of class struggle and revolutionary action as the scientific way of building socialism in the world.
4. The contribution of the English political economist
The contribution of the English political economic from the English political economist Karl Max criticized them because of their weakness and because they were emphasizing capitalism in the society, there were like Adam Smith, David Ricardo and Robert Malthus because their theory justified capitalist exploitation in the society.
(a)
Adam Smith
In his book of the “wealth of the nations” published in 1776 said that all business and economic activities are regulated by the natural Laws which are the Law of supply and demand & the Law of competition that is in any business price will be fixed by the supply and demand; so Smith argued that every man should be free to do what he thought to be the best for himself e.g. to involve in business or to involve in capitalism.
(b)
Robert Malthus.
He was an Anglican clergyman who become a professor of economics in his book titled as “An essay on the principle of population” published in 1798 he wrote that the greatest obstacle to human progress was the increase of population, therefore he argued that population was increasing geometrically while production and food supply was increasing arithmetically e.g.
Population Production and food supply
2x x
4x 2x
9x 3x
16x 4x etc
Then he comes out with the possible solutions to the problems.
(i) He advocated wars, famine and hunger, diseases especially epidemic diseases etc. all these aimed to reduce population size.
(c) David Ricardo.
He advocated the theory of comparative advantages where in his book titled as “principle of political economy and taxation” of 1870 he recommended that each region as to dwell/continue on producing what is suitable for each region i.e. Agrarian societies should remain agrarian and industrial societies should remain industrial.
Therefore Karl Max come out with the theory of scientific which aspired for building a socialist state under exploitation of man by man, oppression, and segregation of people in a society should not exist.
5. The contribution of Karl max and Fredrick Engels.
These thinkers were the initiatives of scientific socialism who advocated their time to write and expand the idea of building socialism through the principle of scientific socialism hence the ideas of Max and Engels were taken and put into practice by people who aimed and volunteered to build socialism in the world history e.g. Lenin, who built socialism in Russia after the Bolshevik revolution of Oct. 1917.
PRINCIPLES OF BUILDING SCIENTIFIC SOCIALISM
According to Karl Marx, construction of scientific socialism must be led by scientific principles these are economic base, mode of production, class conflict and class struggle, revolution strategy, agent of revolution.
1. Economic base
The contribution of scientific socialism depended on economic base of particularly society according to Max if the economic is weak do not dream to build scientific socialism but if the economic base of a particular society is strong the scientific socialism will be constructed base in a society were economy, therefore the poor struggle to achieve better economic situation but if the economic base is weak no struggle of the society.
2. Mode of production.
This is one of the determinant factor for building scientific socialism because mode of production determines human nature at a particular stage & conflict tend to exist in such mode of production e.g. in capitalism exploitation, humiliation and segregation are very high this led to antagonistic class struggle between the capitalists and the workers so the class conflict in capitalism become sharper and sharp created a conducive environment for socialism revolution. Max concluded that scientific socialism is possible to be launched successful under capitalism because of its evils in the society.
3.
Class conflict and class struggle.
According to Max the production process determined the existence of class and class conflict which these two led to the rise of class struggle in the society and according to him the class difference and conflict is the result of economic factor or reasons therefore the class conflict. Class struggle and class are related to the questions like who produce what and who has got what. This resulted to scientific socialism in order to end the class conflict and class struggle which the result of capitalism and its evils in the society.
4. Revolution strategy.
By revolution we means the total overthrow of the rulling class from power and those who were rolled by that ruling class, so Max wanted workers to have a clear strategy like what time should the revolution take place and where to start the revolution and who should take power after the revolution.
5. Agents of the revolution.
According to Max scientific socialism must be led by most exploited and oppressed people who are the proletariat class because this class is the once which feels the pains of the capitalist like humiliations, segregation, oppression and exploitation. This class where they get tired of capitalism they must decide to overthrow the capitalism and thus why for Max the exploited class is the correct agent for the socialist revolution.