Socialism in Europe

Introduction

The start of the 19th century brought many changes. With the end of the French revolution, the whole world saw the impact of modern ideas and a wave of modern thought spread over the world. Multiple inventions happened in the field of science and many modern ideas came flocking in. From this wave of modern ideas, two became the most famous. One was liberal and another one was Radical. These ideas were the outcome of the mechanization of production during the industrial revolution. The liberal idea was in support of the accumulation of property with the help of increased production. Liberals were in support of private property and through this, they sought to uplift their social status and challenge the existing old aristocracy. Radicals also were in support of challenging the old aristocracy but they didn't support private ownership. Radicals believed in collective ownership and opposed the idea of the concentration of vast wealth on a single hand.

Industrial Society and Social Change

The industrial revolution started with the invention of the steam engine and it completely transformed the manufacturing process. In the early 19th century when the industrial revolution was at its peak, it changed the old feudal societies into industrial societies. The early industries were set up in England and it was the first European country to transform into an industrial society.

It was the time when new cities were established, industries were set up and railways expanded. It brought men and women to factories and there was a migration from the countryside to the cities in search of work in factories. Due to the increasing number of workers, unemployment increased. The working hours were long and the wages were insufficient for better living conditions. The housing and sewage in cities became a problem and slums started to form. Instead of this, the workers saw this industrial revolution as an opportunity to change their social status because now they could convert their labour into capital.

The liberals and radicals sought to change the existing structure of government. In many countries, there was a revolt against the autocracies and in France, Germany, Russia and Italy, the revolution happened to overthrow the monarch.

Coming of Socialism in Europe

With the establishment of industrial societies in Europe, the social dynamic changed. People from villages left agriculture and came to cities in search of jobs. Socialism as an ideology spread in mid-nineteenth-century Europe. Socialists were against private ownership, though they were giving jobs to workers but were accumulating property for personal use not for welfare. Socialists believed in community control over the property.

Socialists had different views, some thought that through individual effort socialism could be achieved. Thinkers like Robert Owen and William Morris were the early socialists, who sought to introduce collective production and build a cooperative community. Others believed that it was the responsibility of the state to build cooperatives.

A major development in socialism was seen after the arrival of Karl Marx. he was a German sociologist who came to Britain and became one of the most important socialists in the world. He claimed that the modern industrial society is dominated by the owners of private property and big industrialists. He called that class the “capitalist” class and claim that there is an exploitation of workers by these big capitalists. He called the current industrial society a capitalist society. Karl Marx believed that the condition of the working class is deteriorating day by day and the capitalist class is gaining immense wealth through the exploitation of the working class. He suggested that, there was a need for radical change in the structure of society and that the working class should capture the power of the state in their hands and bring socialism. This could be only achieved through a bloody revolution. Marx’s ultimate aim for society was to achieve communism. communism is a form of a small primitive community and to achieve communism, one has to attain socialism first. That is why Marx urged the working class to capture the power of the state in their hands till the attainment of communism. According to Marx, socialism was the middle phase, between capitalism and communism.

What is socialism?

socialism as an ideology became famous in the 19th century, but its origin can be traced back to the times of ancient thinkers like Plato, as he talked about a collective society in his book ‘Republic’. Socialism can be defined as a doctrine which seeks collective ownership rather than private ownership. It is not individualistic, it sees the society as a whole and focuses on the collective goods, in socialism society as a whole has control over the property for the benefit of all its members. Earlier scholars like Saint Simon and Robert Owen talked about collective community but they never thoroughly discussed the idea of socialism as an ideology, it only became a dominant ideology after the arrival of Karl Marx and his book the critique of political economy. Karl Marx is one of the most famous proponents of socialism in the world, it was only after his major take against the existing capitalist society, that the idea of socialism became famous. Marx claimed capitalism to be both exploitative and progressive. Progressive because it changes the feudal society into an industrial society and exploitative because it doesn't share the profit earned and only pays a subsistence to the labourers.

Karl Marx (1818-1883)

photo by John Jabez Edwin Mayall, colored by Olga Shirnina, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

The core idea of Marx's theory is a class struggle between the capitalist class and the working class, and a revolution is inevitable. One important thing which differentiates socialism from capitalism is that it also talks about economic equality among social and political equality.

Spread of Socialism

Marx played an important role in popularising socialism. He founded International Working Men's Association or First International in 1864. It was a group of labour leaders who were neither revolutionary nor entirely committed to socialism. This shows that Marx was determined to popularise the idea of socialism.

By the 1870s, socialist ideas were everywhere in Europe. After the success of the first international, it was continued as the Second International on 14th July 1889. It was a group of socialist and labour parties, which continued the work of the first international.

Workers across Europe, especially in countries like England, Germany, France and Italy, started making worker unions and cooperatives. They started making associations and started fighting for their rights, better working conditions, better living conditions and deserving wages. In England, the labour party was formed in 1905 by merging the labour union and other labour associations. In Germany social democratic party came into power. The Socialist party of France was also formed in the year 1905. Gradually there were multiple new forms of socialism evolved, but their ultimate aim was to end the class conflict.

FAQs

Q1. How socialism is different from capitalism?

Ans. capitalism gives preference to the right to property, according to Capitalism, an individual is free to accumulate wealth as much as he wants and it would be under his control. Socialism is against private ownership it discarded the idea of the concentration of wealth under one hand. Socialism gives preference to the community instead of an individual.

Q2. What was the Paris commune?

Ans. It was a mass rebellion in march of 1871 in Paris. It was a time when the city council of Paris was taken over by the People’s government, which consisted of working-class and common people. The rebellion happened due to discontent with the French administration.

Q3. What kind of Government was supported by the socialists?

Ans. Socialists were in support of government which help in the formation of cooperatives and work for the welfare of the working class. Socialists supported public control over the resources.

Q4. what is Fabian socialism?

Ans. It is a form of socialism that evolved in Britain. It does not talk about the revolution to achieve socialism, instead, it focuses on political parties and tries to gain power with the influence of the political party.

Q5. why the labour party of the UK was formed?

Ans. The labour party was formed to meet the interests and needs of the urban working class. It advocated democratic socialism and social equality.