Socialism, Anarchism, and Communism: Political Theories

Understanding Socialism and Social Movements

Socialism is a social movement, both theoretical and practical, aimed at combating economic inequalities faced as a result of economic liberalism. It consists of three main streams:

The Three Main Streams of Socialism

• Anarchism: Characterized not only by struggling against economic inequalities but also against the state and all forms of centralized power. There are two large currents:
  • Individualist Anarchism: Its objective is to seek maximum individual freedom against any type of restriction, whether political, religious, or moral.
  • Collective Anarchism: Considers man an eminently social being, whose release cannot come except through collective struggle.
• Utopian Socialism: This stream is featured by its aim to reform the social system based on goodwill. Its most influential representatives include:
  • Charles Fourier: The creator of a new model of social organization called phalansteries, in which workers are involved as partners and work should be conducted in harmony by eliminating the competitive system.
  • Robert Owen: Launched an egalitarian community in the state of Indiana and was president of the first major British trade union movement.
  • Louis Blanc: Intended to launch cooperative societies (national workshops) that would gradually displace capitalist firms.
• Communism: Characterized by a strict defense of economic equality. Friedrich Engels was the one who coined the term "utopian socialism" to describe proactive social diversity, calling the theories developed by Marx and himself "scientific socialism."

Marxist Ideology and the Proletariat

The followers of Marx advocated for:

• The takeover of the state so that a vanguard works to establish a dictatorship of the proletariat.
• Socializing the means of production.
• Eliminating private property, which is seen as the cause of social inequality and exploitation.
• The destruction of the state itself.

Democracy and Constitutional Governance

In democratic systems where social equality is not given, Communists used to call them formal or bourgeois democracies. Political democracy occurs when these abstract characteristics are true and a state must have them to be considered a democratic state; that is, when there is compliance with the rules of the democratic game.

Social-Democracy and the State

Social-democracy: This is when there is a certain equality in terms of material and economic power among citizens.

Constitution: It is a set of fundamental rules by which the operation of a sovereign state is governed. No other rule or law may conflict with those established in the constitution.