Scientific Socialism was a social project that sought ways to overcome the social difficulties that worsened in Europe, resulting from the Industrial Revolution. Scientific Socialism definition
Scientific Socialism, created by Karl Marx (1818-1883) and Friedrich Engels (1820-1895), was so named due to the scientific basis with which they formulated their doctrines, starting from analyzes on the evolution of man, history and the mechanisms of capitalist exploitation.
The basic ideas of scientific socialism revolutionized socialist conceptions of the 19th and 20th century and can be found in some of Marx’s main works, such as the Communist Manifesto, Capital and the Critique of Political Economy.
utopian socialism
Utopian Socialism, so called by Marx and Engels, conceived a social equality without taking into account the difficulties and without pointing out the viable ways to conquer them. Scientific Socialism definition
Utopian socialists, including Saint-Simon, Charles Fourier, Robert Ower, and Joseph Proudhon, criticized capitalist society, but they had a superficial view of the real causes of social conflicts. They just wanted a non-capitalist society, where men and women would live in harmony, without competing with each other.
Socialism and Capitalism
Socialism preached the creation of a new economic and social system, where the means of production belonged to the workers. This system would be born with the disintegration of capitalism, which, according to Marx and Engels, would not last forever.
While in capitalism society was divided into two social classes, that of the dominant (owners of the means of production) and the dominated (those who had no possession and were subject to the exploiters), in socialist society, the State would continue to exist no longer as instrument of defense of the ruling class, but as guardian and defender of collective interests. Scientific Socialism definition
With the end of social inequalities and consequently of class conflicts, there would no longer be a need for the State. This means that, for Marx, socialism was a transitional stage to reach the communist system. In this new system, the community would be responsible for the production and administration of goods.
