Explain how a society, according to socialists can operate without property? what would be the basis of socialist society in history class 9
Answers
Socialists had different visions of the future. Some such as Robert Owen, a leading English manufacturer, sought to build a co-operative community called New Harmony in Indiana (USA). Other socialists felt that co-operatives could not be built on a wide scale only through individual initiative. They wanted that governments must encourage co-operatives and replace capitalist enterprise. This was propagated by Louis Blanc in France. They said that cooperatives were to be associations of people who produced goods together and divided the profits according to the work done by members. More ideas were added to this body of arguments. These ideas were added by Karl Marx and Fredrich Engels. Marx argued that industrial society was capitalist. Capitalists owned the capital invested in factories. The profit which came to them through these factories was produced by the workers. The workers contributed to the profits but did not gain anything. Their condition could improve only if the workers freed themselves from capitalists exploitation. For this the workers needed to construct a radically socialist society where all property was socially controlled. This would be a communist society. The second International was the body termed to co-ordinate their efforts.