The Rise and Fall of Socialism

Yet, the influence of the socialism is crucial in the current politics, for instance, the Third Way has been adopted in numerous countries, such as the UK and Germany, various parties demands the Third Way policy, which takes the neutral position between communism and capitalism to maximize the economic growth as well as the welfare of the people (Saergent: 96-97). The democratic socialism is “Less ambiguous than social democracy, which has had, historically, the opposite meanings of (1) factions of Marxism, and (2) groupings on the right of socialist parties (McLean and McMillan: 2003)”.

The use of socialism by democratic meanings can be found in various countries, include Canada. Allen Mills asserts, “The New Democratic Party today is properly described as a social-democratic party, although it still includes a few democratic socialists in the tradition of Woodsworth. The Parti Québécois is a Quebec-based, nationalist version of social democracy” (2004).

The democratic socialist policies can be identified one of the systems which will benefit on each citizen’s basic demands on their living: welfare system, such as the medical care service, free education for children, public financial assistance, and pension system. This is also the important characteristic feature of the liberal democracy as balancing the individual interests and the democratic interests. On the contrary to the socialism, the economic interpretation by classical liberalism emphasizes on individualism and the self-regulated market to deliver general prosperity and opportunities for all (Heywood: 45).

Thus, there is a counter argument for the modern use of the socialism that it cannot control the capitalistic market and keep the centralization of the power. For example, the fall of the communist states by the last decades shows how the states could not achieve the regulation over the economic sectors and distribute the wealth. At the same time, the financial aspect of the public welfare system has been one of the most important topics on the state system, along with the discussion of the taxation. In other words, the cost of the social welfare system for all takes enormous budget, thus this system of redistribution of wealth can be realized first time, when the state has the appropriate national income for the redistribution.

p> For example, the social democratic states have the higher taxation system than the “small-government” state. The school of liberalism also argues on the “big-government” as the contribution to build insufficient bureaucratic organization. Sargent points out the problem of bureaucracy as “it is difficult for a bureaucracy to be as well informed or as responsive to the needs of the people or industry it serves as would be ideal… Since bureaucracies are not directly responsible to the people, many argue that the democratic socialist is trying to preserve”. (93)

Thus, the centralization of power and the destruction of the free market have been claimed against the democratic socialism. Furthermore, the democratic socialist regimes / parties, such as in Sweden and Labor party of Britain, which had been focused on the maximizing the benefits of the “welfare state”, faced on the increasing economic pressure However, It should not be forgotten that various democratic socialist parties took the power of presidency/ cabinets and there are countries ruled more on its principles rather than the liberal capitalistic principles. Furthermore, the welfare system has been one of the demands by the people and important public service by the government in most of the countries.

In this sense, the democratic socialism, on the contrary to the fall of communism and weak use of the classic socialism nowadays, has been practically contributed on the governing even under the dominance of global capitalistic market and liberal democracy.

Conclusion

To conclude, even though the classic socialism and Marxism-communism had failed in governing the nation states, the element of the socialism has been always one of the most important aspect of the governing a country. The centralization of the policy making and the economic planning, such as the nationalization of the industries and the abolishment of the private property, did not succeed in the classic theories and practices. Also, the failures of the economic policies have been counter-argued by the other schools of thoughts, such as the liberalists and capitalists which put emphasis on the free market and individualism.

However, the socialism has been developed, as most ideologies do so. The democratic socialism is still used in the current era, emphasizes on the welfare services. Again, the counter argument for the democratic socialism is the economic factors, however, the welfare services, such as the medical care and financial assistance for the citizens, are essential for the most countries. The sense of “community” as one of the elements of the socialism is the crucial idea under the free market system, where not everyone can be succeeded financially which may create the gap in the quality of life between the rich and the poor.

This is why; the classical socialism has the back ground in the Christianity. Yet, some claims that social democracy now is indistinguishable with welfare part of liberal democracy, but still the impact of the socialism cannot be forgotten. The Third Way, in the numbers of countries, by various parties, has been adopted into policies in last few decades as the neutral ideology stands between capitalism and communism, in order to maintain the economic initiatives.
Thus, even though some practices had failed, the contribution of the socialism into the today’s politics is as valuable as the other major political ideologies.