Citizendia

This article lists ideologies opposed to capitalism and describes them briefly. For arguments against capitalism, see criticisms of capitalism. Capitalism has been critiqued from many perspectives during its history
An anti-capitalist poster printed by the Industrial Workers of the World in 1911.
An anti-capitalist poster printed by the Industrial Workers of the World in 1911. The Industrial Workers of the World ( IWW or the Wobblies) is an international union currently headquartered in Cincinnati Ohio, USA Year 1911 ( MCMXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year

Anti-capitalism describes a wide variety of movements, ideas, and attitudes which oppose capitalism. Capitalism is the Economic system in which the Means of production are owned by private Persons and operated for Profit and where Some of these oppose each other more than they oppose capitalism. Anti-capitalists, in the strict sense of the word, are those who wish to completely replace capitalism with another system; however, there are also ideas which can be characterized as partially anti-capitalist in the sense that they only wish to replace or abolish certain aspects of capitalism rather than the entire system.

Contents

Notable anti-capitalist ideologies, viewpoints, and trends

Socialism

A Soviet anti-capitalist poster (1920).
A Soviet anti-capitalist poster (1920).

Socialism argues for collective/community or government control of the economy,[1] which may or may not be associated with democratic control by the people over the state (there are both democratic and undemocratic philosophies which call themselves socialist). Socialism refers to a broad set of economic theories of social organization advocating state or collective ownership and administration of the Means of production and distribution Collectivism is a term used to describe any moral political or social outlook that stresses human Interdependence and the importance of a Collective, rather than In addition, socialism advocates some degree (depending on the type of socialism) of economic equality and the eradication of poverty and unemployment. Economic egalitarianism is a state of economic affairs in which the participants of a society are of equal standing and equal access to all the economic resources in terms of economic power

Anarchism

Main article: Anarchism and capitalism

Anarchist philosophies argue for a total abolition of the state, with many anarchists opposing capitalism on the grounds that it entails social domination (through inequalities of wealth), involuntary relations and coercive hierarchy (through the perceived pressure on individuals to engage in wage labour). Though some Anarchists advocate free-market, Laissez-faire Capitalism, other anarchists oppose capitalism to varying degrees Anarchism is a Political philosophy encompassing theories and attitudes which support the elimination of all compulsory Government, i A state is a political association with effective Sovereignty over a geographic Area and representing a Population. Economic inequality refers to disparities in the distribution of Economic Assets and Income. @@@ main@@@ - title Hierarchy@@@ keywords structure; sociology; information@@@ review@@@ - Wage labour is the socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer in which the worker sells their labour under a Contract ( Employment Some forms of anarchism oppose capitalism as a whole while supporting some particular aspects of capitalism, such as markets (supported by some mutualists) and private property (supported by some individualist anarchists). Sao Paulo Stock Exchangejpg|thumb| Virtual market arena where buyer and seller are not present and trade via intemediates and electronical information Mutualism, is an Anarchist school of thought, can be traced to the writings of Pierre-Joseph Proudhon that envisioned a society where each person might possess a Property is any physical or virtual entity that is owned by an individual Individualist anarchism refers to any of several traditions that hold that "individual conscience and the pursuit of self-interest should not be constrained by any collective There is a current within anarchism, known as free market anarchism, which embraces radical laissez-faire capitalism; philosophies covered by this description include anarcho-capitalism, agorism and crypto-anarchism. Free-market anarchism (sometimes called market anarchism) refers to an Individualist anarchist Philosophy that harmonizes the abolition of the state with Anarcho-capitalism (also known as Free-market anarchism) is an individualist anarchist Political philosophy that advocates the elimination Agorism is an anarchist Political philosophy founded by Samuel Edward Konkin III that holds the ultimate goal as bringing about a society in which Crypto-anarchism is an Ideology that expounds the use of strong Public-key cryptography to enforce Privacy and individual freedom.

Ecofeminism

Ecofeminists criticise capitalism for defining the natural world as simply a body of resources to be exploited and reshaped to serve human purposes and interests. Ecofeminism is a social and political movement which attempts to unite Environmentalism and Feminism, with some currents linking Deep ecology and They also see it as inherently snapping the relationship between humans to one another and to the natural world. Ecofeminists see capitalism as a patriarchal construction "based on the colonization of women, nature, and other peoples. "[4]

Religious aspects

Some religions criticize or outright reject capitalism:

Christianity traditionally forbade usury but modern groups of Christianity has over time abandoned identifying every form of lending at interest as usury. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings Usury (ˈjuːʒəri comes from the Medieval Latin usuria, "interest" or "excessive interest" from the Latin usura "interest" Many denominations of modern origins have dropped the prohibition altogether. More recently, Christianity has been the source of many other criticisms of capitalism, particularly its materialist aspects. This article addresses materialism in the economic sense of the word The first socialists drew many of their principles from Christian values (see Christian socialism and the Social Gospel movement), against the "bourgeois values" of profiteering, greed, selfishness and hoarding. Christian socialism generally refers to those on the Christian left whose politics are both Christian and Socialist and who see these two philosophies as The Social Gospel movement is a Protestant Christian intellectual movement that was most prominent in the late 19th century and early 20th century Many Christians do not oppose capitalism entirely but support a mixed economy in order to ensure "decent" labour standards and relations, as well as economic justice, anarchism and capitalism Nevertheless, there are also many Protestant denominations (particularly in the United States) who are reconciled or ardently in favour of capitalism, particularly in opposition to secular socialism. A mixed economy is an Economic system that incorporates aspects of more than one economic system Though some Anarchists advocate free-market, Laissez-faire Capitalism, other anarchists oppose capitalism to varying degrees Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the

Fascism

According to Stanley Payne, one of the world's leading experts on Fascism[5], the common aim of all fascist movements is elimination of the autonomy or in some cases complete existence of large-scale capitalism. Stanley George Payne (born 1934 in Denton Texas) is a Historian of modern Spain and European Fascism at the University [6] This view is supported by right-wing libertarians who argue that fascism is a form of anti-capitalism because fascist governments made private corporations and other private individuals who owned the means of production to work to serve national interests, thus undermining property rights, and to employ more labor on the workers than is profitable for the employer. Libertarianism is a term used by a broad spectrum of political philosophies which prioritize individual Liberty and seek to minimize or even abolish the Italian Fascism is marked for anti-capitalism the law of "socialization". [7] Fascism protected the land owning elites and is regarded as a reaction against the rising power of the working class. [8] The Nazis, due to a belief in a Jewish conspiracy, were particularly vocal in their opposition to finance capitalism, interest charging, and "profiteering. Nazism, which was a short name for National Socialism (Nationalsozialismus refers primarily to the Ideology and practices of the National Socialist German A Conspiracy is defined by law as an agreement by two or more persons to commit a crime fraud or other wrongful act Finance capitalism is a term in Marxian Political economics defined as the subordination of processes of Production to the accumulation of Money "[9] Some writers argue that fascism represented a "third way" between Marxian socialism and capitalism. Marxism is the political philosophy and practice derived from the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. [10] Fascists upheld the ownership aspect of private property - including private property over productive capital and the means of production[11] - but said that property was to be regulated to ensure that "benefit to the community precedes benefit to the individual. "[12] Hitler stated in Mein Kampf that "the attitude of the State towards capital would be comparatively simple and clear. Its only object would be to make sure that capital remained subservient to the State" and also made a clear distinction between "capital which is purely the product of creative labour and . . . capital which is exclusively the result of financial speculation" [13].

Marxists argued that fascism is a form of government control instituted to protect capitalism during a period of crisis or revolution. [14] Fascism operated from a Social Darwinist view of human relations. Social Darwinism is a theory that competition among all individuals groups nations or ideas drives Social evolution in human societies Their aim was to promote "superior" individuals and weed out the weak. [15] In terms of economic practice, this meant promoting the interests of successful businessmen while destroying trade unions and other organizations of the working class. A trade union or labour union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas such as wages hours and working conditions forming Working class is a term used in academic Sociology and in ordinary conversation to describe depending on context and speaker those employed in specific fields or types [16] Lawrence Britt suggests that protection of corporate power is an essential part of fascism. [17] Historian Gaetano Salvemini argued in 1936 that fascism makes taxpayers responsible to private enterprise, because "the State pays for the blunders of private enterprise. Gaetano Salvemini ( November 8, 1873 - September 6, 1957) was an Italian anti-fascist politician historian and writer . . Profit is private and individual. Loss is public and social. "[18] Economic liberals, such as Ludwig von Mises, contend that fascism, an offshoot of socialism, was collectivist and anti-capitalistic. Ludwig Heinrich Edler von Mises (ˈluːtvɪç fɔn ˈmiːzəs ( September 29, 1881 – October 10, 1973) was an Austrian Collectivism is a term used to describe any moral political or social outlook that stresses human Interdependence and the importance of a Collective, rather than According to Mises, fascism maintained an illusion of respecting private property, since individuals could not use their property how the wished because the government frequently enacted regulations (on behalf of government allies in the business sector) that were not in line with the functioning of a free market. A free market is a Market in which property rights are voluntarily exchanged at a price arranged completely by the mutual consent of sellers and buyers [19]

Other aspects

There are also strands of conservatism that are uncomfortable with liberal capitalism. Conservatism is a term used to describe political philosophies that favour Tradition, where tradition refers to various religious cultural or nationally defined Particularly in continental Europe, many conservatives have been uncomfortable with the impact of capitalism on culture and traditions. The conservative opposition to the French revolution, the Enlightenment, and the development of individualistic liberalism as a political theory and as institutionalized social practices sought to retain traditional social hierarchies, practices and institutions. There is also a conservative protectionist opposition to certain types of international capitalism. For the protectionist Australian political party from the 1880s to 1909 see Protectionist Party

See also

External links

References

  1. ^ "Socialism" Encyclopædia Britannica. The Encyclopædia Britannica is a general English-language encyclopaedia published by Encyclopædia Britannica Inc 2006. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
  2. ^ Friedrich Pollock, "State Capitalism: Its Possibilities and Limitations," Studies in Philosophy and Social Science, IX, 2 (1941), 200-255.
  3. ^ Tony Cliff, State Capitalism in Russia (1955).
  4. ^ Mies, Maria; Maria Mies and Vandana Shiva (1993). Maria Mies (born 1931 is a professor of Sociology and Author of several influential Feminist books including Indian Women and Patriarchy (1980 Ecofeminism, 298. ISBN 1-85649-156-0.  
  5. ^ Roger Griffin. The Nature of Fascism. Routledge. 1993. p. 6
  6. ^ Payne, Stanley (1996). A History of Fascism. Routledge. ISBN 1857285956 p. 10
  7. ^ Calvin B. Hoover, The Paths of Economic Change: Contrasting Tendencies in the Modern World, The American Economic Review, Vol. 25, No. 1, Supplement, Papers and Proceedings of the Forty-seventh Annual Meeting of the American Economic Association. (Mar. , 1935), pp. 13-20.
  8. ^ Fascism Encyclopedia Britannica
  9. ^ Frank Bealey & others. Elements of Political Science. Edinburgh University Press, 1999, p. 202
  10. ^ Peter Davies and Dereck Lynch. Routledge Companion to Fascism and the Far Right. Routledge 2003, p. 101
  11. ^ A private statement made by Hitler on March 24, 1942. Cited in Hitler's Secret Conversations. Translated by Norman Cameron and R. H. Stevens. Farrar, Straus and Young, Inc. 1953. p. 294
  12. ^ Richard Allen Epstein, Principles for a Free Society: Reconciling Individual Liberty With the Common Good, De Capo Press 2002, p. 168
  13. ^ Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf, Murphy translation
  14. ^ Daniel Guerin, Fascism and Big Business, excerpted at http://www.marxists.org/history/etol/writers/guerin/1938/10/fascism.htm
  15. ^ Alexander J. Daniel Guérin ( May 19, 1904 - April 14, 1988) was a French anarchist and author best known for his work Anarchism De Grand, Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany, Routledge, 1995. pp. 47
  16. ^ Alexander J. De Grand, Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany, Routledge, 1995. pp. 48-51
  17. ^ Britt, Lawrence, 'The 14 characteristics of fascism', Free Inquiry, Spring 2003, p. 20.
  18. ^ Salvemini, Gaetano. Under the Axe of Fascism 1936.
  19. ^ von Mises, Ludwig. Socialism 1951.
© 2009 citizendia.org; parts available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, from http://en.wikipedia.org
 Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic