Foundational Political and Economic Theories

Understanding Key Political and Economic Ideologies

Darwinism: Evolution by Natural Selection

Darwinism refers to a set of ideas described by Charles Darwin in On the Origin of Species (1859), based on the theory of evolution by natural selection. While evolutionary theories existed before, Darwin's concept of natural selection was entirely new at the time. Another key point of Darwinism is the "tree of life," the idea that different species of living organisms descended from common ancestors.

Evolutionism: Species Adaptation Over Time

Evolutionism is a school of thought based on the premise that species change and adapt to their environment over time. It has roots in antiquity, drawing from the ideas of the Greeks, Romans, Chinese, and Muslims.

Liberalism and Capitalism: Individual Freedom and Free Markets

Liberalism and Capitalism represent a group of political, social, and economic ideologies that advocate the freedom of the individual and the supremacy of the individual over the collective. This implies that government structures should reduce their intervention to the minimum necessary to ensure coexistence. These ideologies defend the private ownership of the means of production, the division of labor, and free competition among firms in the market.

Adam Smith: The Father of Modern Economics

The Scottish economist Adam Smith is considered one of the most important thinkers in the history of economics, the founder of modern economics, and the father of market economy theory. His major work, The Wealth of Nations (1776), established three core economic principles:

• The division of labor in a production process can significantly increase productivity because workers specialize in particular tasks.
• Free competition among companies in the market serves as a means for prosperity.
• The private ownership of the means of production is fundamental.

Marxism and Socialism: Class Struggle and Egalitarian Society

Marxism is a set of political, economic, and philosophical doctrines coined by German thinkers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Their most emblematic work is Das Kapital. Socialism, as advocated by Marx, stressed the necessity of creating a revolutionary workers' party to participate in the political struggle. According to Marx, the workers had to appropriate the state and establish an egalitarian society.

Class Struggle: Proletariat vs. Bourgeoisie

A central concept in Marxism is the Class Struggle: the confrontation between the proletariat (working class) and the bourgeoisie (capitalist class) to establish socialism.

Anarchism: Rejection of State and Authority

Anarchism is a set of philosophical and political ideas established by Mikhail Bakunin, notably in works like Politics (1873) and God and the State (1882). Anarchist thought shares the rejection of the state and any form of authority, a belief in the supremacy of the individual, and advocates the abolition of private property, valuing the principle of collective ownership and social solidarity. Anarchists pursued two forms of action: Direct Action and Anarcho-syndicalism.

Communism: Socialization of Production

Communism is a set of ideologies and systems of social, economic, and political organization. Its proposed policies are characterized by criticism of private ownership and a commitment to the socialization of the means of production, exchange, transportation, and consumption. It is this last point that distinguishes it from socialism, as articulated by Marx and Engels.