Neosocialism
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Neosocialism (also hyphenated as neo-socialism) is a term used to describe any one of a wide variety of left-wing political movements that are considered socialist and have developed recently. The term has been in use since at least the 1930s, though its definition is always in a state of flux. Since "neosocialism" refers simply to the forms of socialism that have emerged most recently, its meaning changes as new kinds of socialism are developed. At the present time, the political movements and ideologies considered "neosocialist" are those forms of socialism that have arisen since the 1980s. This mainly includes three tendencies: The centrist "Third Way" embraced by some European social democrats, the new revolutionary socialism developing in Latin America, and the proposals for technologically-assisted socialism put forward by some Marxists. Some right-wing commentators use "neosocialism" as a pejorative against people or organizations which do not consider themselves socialist, but which are seen as socialistic by their opponents.
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[edit] Third Way
Italian Defense Minister Antonio Martino gave a lecture in 1998 describing the evolution of socialism from its roots through changes in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s leading up to the emergence of the Socialist International, modern social democracy, and ultimately the Third Way philosophy as embodied by the British Labour Party under Tony Blair. He argued that these latest developments in the reformist socialist movement should be called neosocialism, because they depart significantly from traditional socialist positions - so much so that they come to agree with the premises of liberalism rather than classical socialist principles. According to Antonio Martino, "while all [Third Way] socialists and most liberals agree that some amount of regulation may be necessary, the difference between the two is given by the socialists' high propensity to give government the power to control the economy through regulation. In this, as in other areas (like taxation, environmental protection, public spending, etc.), the difference between socialists and liberals is quantitative." [1]
In 2006, Swiss Federal Councillor Christoph Blocher, commemorated the fortieth anniversary of the death of Third Way founder Wilhelm Röpke in a speech asserting that Röpke's Third Way is both neoliberal and "neosocialist". In his words, "it is the neoliberals who are the true socialists, for no other school of thought has made a greater contribution to full employment, welfare and against poverty than that of neoliberalism." [2]
There are a number of political parties worldwide that share common roots in the socialist movement but have come to adopt views more typical of liberalism than socialism. This has led to efforts from within and without these political parties to adopt "neosocialism" as a label for them. [3] [4] The uniting similiarities of these movements are various levels of support for a regulated market economy, liberal democracy, redistribution of wealth through taxation, and liberal social policies.
[edit] Latin American revolutionary movements
Economic and political events in Latin America during the late 1990s and 2000s have brought new radical socialist movements to power in several countries, notably Venezuela and Bolivia. Venezuela's president Hugo Chávez has advocated an ideology that he calls "socialism of the 21st century" and Bolivia's Evo Morales was elected on the MAS (Movement Toward Socialism) ticket. Some have used the term "neosocialism" to describe these movements. [5]
This use of "neosocialism" refers to a new wave of radical socialism, rather than the centrist "Third Way" socialism described above. Several political organizations supporting a radical socialist platform - based on classical socialist principles and goals but advocating new means to achieve those goals - have begun calling themselves "neosocialist". Thus, for example, the United Socialist Front describes itself as supporting a neo-socialist platform. The USF defines neo-socialism as a form of democratic socialism that replaces capitalism with economic socialism while rejecting Maoist or Stalinist dictatorships in favor of democracy.[6]
[edit] Technologically-assisted socialism
In the 1990s, a number of Marxists began to see the exponential development of information technology as the key to the creation of a better, more efficient kind of socialist planned economy than had existed in the past. They argued that the growing processing power of computers could be used to resolve the economic calculation problem and create a non-market economic system based on a detailed central plan for the allocation of factors of production, and they believed that the use of technology rather than human bureaucracy would also help avoid the problems usually associated with centralized decision-making. This new type of technologically-assisted socialism was described in most detail in the book Towards a New Socialism, by W. Paul Cockshott and Allin Cottrell.
[edit] French Neosocialism in the 1930s
The term neo-socialism was used in France during the 1930s to describe several tendencies in the SFIO (the French Socialists Party). After years of internal feuds the reformist (or right) wing of the party, lead by Marcel Déat and Pierre Renaudel, split from the SFIO in November 1933. The neos supported greater participation by socialists in the French political system and favored making compromising with center-left parties to enact the SFIO's program one issue at a time. Marcel Déat and his followers evolved toward a form of participatory socialism which eventually led them to join with the reactionary right and support the collaborationist Vichy Regime during the Second World War. By 1940 there was little or no difference between Déat's socialism and fascism.
Although Déat became a fascist, Pierre Renaudel remain a follower of the father of the French socialist party, Jean Jaurès. Like Jaurès, Renaudel never accepted Marxism as the soul of socialism and looked to the French Republican tradition to define class struggle instead of German or Russian Marxism. Renaudel's brand of neo-socialism sought to cooperate with other republican parties to protect French democracy from its domestic enemies (the fascists and the communists) and to organize French defenses against its foreign enemy (Nazi Germany). His willingness to make ideological compromises in order to defend the Republic angered many Marxists within the SFIO and eventually led Léon Blum to expel him and his followers from the SFIO. [7]
[edit] Use by the political Right
Rupert Murdoch and other conservatives have defined neosocialism as the pursuit of the classical ideals of socialism or Marxism through high taxation of wealth and heavy regulation of industry. Murdoch, the conservative owner of News Corporation, wrote that a "new class" of neosocialists was using government regulation as a tool for personal gain. This class includes career politicians and union members, according to Murdoch. [8]
In traditional media, the word "neosocialism" has not been used widely outside of a few opinion articles, unlike the similar term "neoconservatism". A LexisNexis search conducted March 20, 2005, reveals 20 other uses of the terms "neosocialism" or "neosocialist" in newspapers, most of which agree with Murdoch's definition. In contrast, a search for the term "neoconservative" returns over 1,000 results. The Oxford English Dictionary does not include the term "neosocialism".
[edit] External links
- Towards a New Socialism, by W. Paul Cockshott and Allin Cottrell
- "The Modern Mask of Socialism," Italian Minister of Defence Antonio Martino, the 15th Annual John Bonython Lecture, Melbourne, October 21, 1998.
- "Neosocialism versus Neoliberalism?" Speech by Swiss Federal Councillor Christoph Blocher at the 36th St. Gallen Symposium on 18 May 2006 at the University of St. Gallen
- "Capitalism and Statism in Latin America," Manuel F. Ayau, Town Hall, a speech to The Philadelphia Society, October 4, 1997.
- "Fascism and the Planned Economy: 'Neo-Socialism' and 'Planisme' in France and Belgium in the 1930s", Richard Griffiths, Science and Society, October, 2005. pp. 580-593.
- "Reinventing socialism: the triumph of neosocialism is the defining characteristic of politics today," Rupert Murdoch, National Review, September 1, 1997, from an earlier speech at a Forbes CEO conference.
- "Regulation and Litigation: The New Socialism in America," Ralph R. Reiland, Human Events, April 7, 1998. Previously in Austin Review, May 9, 1998, and Nation's Restaurant News, September 29, 1997.
- "Racism at work? - racism in mortgage loans," Peter Brimelow, National Review, April 12, 1993.
- The United Socialist Front, an American multi-national group supporting a form of neo-socialism.
