Introduction
Socialism is an economic and political theory that places the ownership of the production means on the public and advocates for collective rights to workers. It is a system that promotes cooperative economic planning through state intervention to promote social equality in wealth. One can argue if this endeavor is worthwhile”. Socialism has been around for quite some time now, as such is hardly a new idea that it pushes for co-operation between individuals and groups to make society better. It does this by creating decent working conditions for the workers. Socialism releases workers to freely sell their labor through the use of public ownership, and state regulation of the economy as such can be considered a worthwhile endeavor.
Socialism and Capitalism
Socialism is a political and economic theory where public ownership of the means of production is practiced and provides collective bargaining rights to workers. Socialists believe that socialist ownership in an economy will lead to more equality, guarantee more jobs, and promote social justice (Crossman, 2021). It is anchored on the principle of co-operation in contrast to the free competition principle on which capitalism is based. Overall, socialism has a strong emphasis on the welfare of society,
On the contrary, capitalism is an economic and social system where private ownership of capital goods, capital itself, and land is practiced. Capitalists believe that this system will lead to more wealth being made for the people and will promote individual freedom of choice. They are anchored on the principle of the existence of natural economic laws that control economic activities (Kolodko, 2018). These two systems have been compared so as to help understand both systems. While capitalism has a strong emphasis on the welfare of individual shareholders and is more focused on the owners. Socialism is focused more on the employee’s wellbeing as such can be more advantageous to the workers.
Why Workers are forced to sell their labor
Workers are forced to sell their labor because of poverty and the deficit of goods in the economy. They sell their labor in order to meet the needs of the economy henceforth. Marx argues that this forces people to sell their labor as they have no other choice besides selling themselves into slavery (Barnet, 2020). In a capitalist system, when a worker sells his labor, he is able to get paid for his service that then allows them to meet their needs. However, these workers are paid just enough to keep them engaged and barely able to meet their immediate needs. As a result, the worker will be trapped in this system as long as he needs food and shelter. Because of this then, socialism comes in to release them from this cycle and allow them to sell their labor freely
Transformation to socialism allows the workers to freely sell their labor by having the means of production and the management of the economy at their disposal. This would allow them to be able to exchange their labor with the society at large with no barriers. Further, as opposed to the moral compliance of capitalism that rewards workers who meet the needs of their employer, it can be said to be more humane because it will provide an equal standard of living for the workers. This will create opportunities that will allow the workers to develop themselves and become more. It also means that workers will be able to promote a new radicalism among them by making them more understanding of their rights and increasing their awareness of the world around them. Thus, because it allows workers to freely sell their labor, socialism can be considered the ideal economic approach.
Transformation of society toward socialism is a necessity to resolve injustice in society, as many Marxist believe because the capitalist system has been identified to create a gap between the rich and poor, leading to unequal wealth distribution, unfair working conditions for workers, and exploitation of poor in developing countries by the rich in developed countries. Accordingly, transformation to socialism will allow for equality and fairness to be established as it will provide decent working conditions for workers. In addition, it will also guarantee that people receive a fair share of wealth no matter where they come from in society. More importantly, however, it will show that there can be justice in society even if the wealth today is owned by the rich. Thus, this transformation of society toward socialism will allow the workers to freely sell their labor with no barriers, accruing significant economic and social benefits.
Conclusion
Indeed the transformation of society towards socialism can be considered a worthwhile endeavor as it will allow the workers to freely sell their labor and achieve maximum benefits from the transaction. Furthermore, this transformation will promote growth in the economy, improved standard of living for the workers, and other significant economic and social benefits. However, it is relevant to note that this transformation should be done gradually so as to allow society to adjust. This is because it can be a radical change in society that can result in conflicts that may prove detrimental rather than beneficial, as some people may not be comfortable with this change.
References
Barnett, V. (2020). Marx. Routledge.
Crossman, R. H. (2021). Towards a philosophy of socialism. In Democratic Socialism in Britain (pp. 1-32). Routledge.
Kolodko, G. W. (2018). Socialism, capitalism, or Chinism?. Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 51(4), 285-298.
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