Socialism
Throughout the history of the Western world various ideologies have proven so influential as to give rise to assorted "isms" that change society. Namely, the rise and support of socialism has been a major component to the make up of Western history in the 19th and 20th centuries. An investigation into the development of socialism will prove that its popularity, support and even criticism came as a result of certain milestones. These milestones serve as turning points in the ideology's history, and without them it could easily be presumed that the philosophy would never have produced such influential results. In addition, such an investigation will prove these milestones were joined with various interactions between the philosophers and the political reality of assorted nations. This interaction proved to be the roots that allowed socialism to bloom into its entirety. There were various events in Western history that inspired discontent with the current government structure. This discontent dated all the way back to the late 1700's when political theorists like Edmund Burke tried to promote the monarchies in the Restoration era: "In Reflections on the Revolution in France, Burke said that...the belief in human equality unde
Furthermore, this revolution was more than a tie between socialist theory and political reality: through Lenin's interpretation of communist goals, the era marked the arrival of incorporating imperialism into the socialist doctrine. This rise of industrialization in the beginning of the 19th century marked the arrival of the first milestone. They worked on understanding the new wave of industrialization, and then designing ideal structures to end the resulting injustices. This was manifest in political reality when entire government bodies began adapting this view. By proclaiming his brand of socialism as scientific, Marx gave it the aura it needed to become the faith for millions of people" (Western Civilization, 805). Burke's application of conservatism, the challenger of socialism, promoted the survival of monarchies. This was revolutionary to socialism as it tied the theory into science and history: he argued that "the laws of history dictated that capitalism would collapse, having created with itself the means of its own destruction-namely, the rising proletariat. Stalin focused the government on collective industrialization, controlling prices, distributions, and living standards. The result was that these leaders were forced to form secret societies and thus "between 1835 and 1840 the French republican movement underwent a theoretical radicalization in a socialist direction" (European Political Thought, 77). This fueled the philosophers of socialism to take tangible actions in politics against the government: to protest, to start movements and societies, and to evolve their beliefs into a true ideology. This first wave of socialists wanted to alter society by promoting ideal communities in the early 1800's. Basically these actions paved the path for the upcoming response to the rise of industrialization. The specific artisan uprisings of 1831 and 1834 marked the milestone that united these theories with actual political action: these revolts against the government caused the monarchy to tighten censorship and ultimately dissolve the republican organizations.
Common topics in this essay:
,
Western Civilization,
Robert Owen,
European Political,
Siberia Stalin,
Furthermore Marx,
Communist Manifesto,
Union Furthermore,
French Revolution,
France Burke,
western history,
political reality,
rise industrialization,
development socialism,
western civilization,
marked arrival,
european political,
proletarian class,
throughout history,
|