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Ethical socialism is a political philosophy that appeals to socialism on ethical and moral grounds as opposed to consumeristic, economic, and egoistic grounds.[1] It emphasizes the need for a morally conscious economy based upon the principles of altruism, cooperation, and social justice while opposing possessive individualism.[2]
In contrast to socialism inspired by historical materialism, Marxist theory, and neoclassical economics which base their appeals for socialism on grounds of economic efficiency, or historical inevitability, ethical socialism focuses on the moral and ethical reasons for advocating socialism.[1] It became the official philosophy of several socialist parties.[3]
Ethical socialism has some significant overlap with Christian socialism,[1] Fabianism,[4] guild socialism,[5] liberal socialism,[6] social-democratic reformism,[7] and utopian socialism.[8] Under the influence of politicians like Carlo Rosselli in Italy, social democrats began disassociating themselves from orthodox Marxism altogether as represented by Marxism–Leninism,[9] embracing an ethical liberal socialism,[6] Keynesianism,[9] and appealing to morality rather than any consistent systematic, scientific or materialist worldview.[10][11]
Social democracy made appeals to communitarian, corporatist, and sometimes nationalist sentiments while rejecting the economic and technological determinism generally characteristic of both economic liberalism and orthodox Marxism.[12]
- ^ a b c Thompson 2006, p. 52.
- ^ Thompson 2006, pp. 58–59.
- ^ Orlow 2000, p. 190; Tansey & Jackson 2008, p. 97.
- ^ Thompson 2006, p. 58.
- ^ Thompson 2006, p. 60.
- ^ a b Bronner 1999, pp. 103–104.
- ^ Dearlove & Saunders 2000, p. 427; Thompson 2006, p. 52.
- ^ Draper 1990, pp. 1–21.
- ^ a b Bronner 1999, p. 103.
- ^ Wright 1999, p. 86: "This was an ideology which, at bottom, was grounded not in materialism but in morals. Thus Bernstein summoned up Kant to point the way towards a politics of ethical choices."
- ^ Heywood 2012, p. 128: "The theoretical basis for social democracy has been provided more by moral or religious beliefs, rather than by scientific analysis. Social democrats have not accepted the materialist and highly systematic ideas of Marx and Engels, but rather advanced an essentially moral critique of capitalism."
- ^ Berman 2008, pp. 12–13: "Regardless of the specific policies they advocated, one thing that joined all budding interwar social democrats was a rejection of the passivity and economic determinism of orthodox Marxism [...] so they often embraced communitarian, corporatist, and even nationalist appeals and urged their parties to make the transition from workers' to 'people's' parties."