I always wanted to learn on the idea of Socialist state.
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Socialism 2008 is an annual international gathering of socialists from different currents to discuss and debate issues which concerns the left, socialists and social movement in the world today. It was initiated by Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) in 2005 and since then it has been rotated among Socialist Party in South East Asia.
socialism provides for the community to regulate wealth distribution… just a bit different from communism where the state has control over everything…
in theory, wouldn’t socialism still allow a society be differentiated by different social classes, i.e. the workers and the capitalists?
basically, im still not aware of PSM’s ideology…. whether are they promoting socialism as the means to govern a nation, or just economic socialism…
Great job, have added ya to my blogroll
Feel free to add me to yours if you are cool with it.
Cheers
socialism is really bout regulating the wealth of the country to the people who created the wealth at first. In a simple way, giving back the country’s earning to the people (rakyat).
The control over nation’s commodity by certain group of people creates capitalism, people with money(capital) will keep on controlling and making decision on their own because in the world of capitalism, money is power. Those who have no or limited source of capital will never have a share of the wealth since they have no money which translate into no power.
For a time a combination of factors seemed to have undermined the idea of socialism. There was disillusion caused by sharp right turn, often accompanied by massive corruption, in Labour, Social Democratic or ‘Socialist’ parties in government.
The collapse of USSR and reintroduction of capitalism there and in central and eastern Europe seemed to show the failure of ‘real existing socialism’, although those regimes were not either democratic or socialist. While not having a market economy they were ruled by a totalitarian elite. This elite in the end stifled the continued development of society.
But now it is clear that the overthrow of the old bureaucratic elites in the former USSR and eastern Europe has not opened the way to heaven. Parts of some of these countries have been destroyed as competing elites, each backed by different world powers, encouraged and exploited divisions among the different nationalities. Generally in these countries a new capitalist elite has become very rich while the mass struggle to survive.
In Russia, while the gangster elite moved US $ 60 billion out of the country between 1991 and 1996, average male life expectancy dropped from 64 in 1990 to 58 in 1994. Even where new investment has raised productivity to Western levels workers are not paid Western rates, this is even true in east Germany. As time goes on more and more will ask who has really gained from the market economy?
In all countries the effects of capitalism in crisis is preparing the way for a revival of socialist ideas and movements. Socialism fundamentally means a world where there is genuine democratic control, no elites and where all the world’s resources are used to satisfy needs not profit.
On the most basic level there is absolutely no reason today why hundreds of millions still do not even have permanent clean water, proper sanitation or electricity. The technology is there the question is that profit and domination of the world’s economy by the imperialist countries blocks the development of much of neo-colonial world. The satisfaction of these kind of basic needs would start to transform the lives of millions. For strategic reasons the USA sponsored the rapid development of South Korea, with a plan the rest of the planet could be transformed as well.
Opponents say that this is utopian and impossible. They say it is impossible to plan the economy. Yet if you look at any multi-national you see that within its own structure it has an economic plan, even though it cannot plan the market outside. If giant corporations, often richer than many countries, can plan the use of their own resources then the world’s economy can be planned. The question is who would plan it and in whose interest?
Currently 37,000 companies, 70% of them based in either the USA, European Union or Japan, control one-third of the world’s private assets. Just placing these companies under democratic public ownership would mean that a start could be made to plan a real rise in living standards and the creation of a socialist society.
thank you people for the insight
learning alot
My great salute for PSM in organising Socialism 2008. PSM seems to be the only party in Malaysian politics which are clear in promoting socialism in a practical away. They do lots of massive grassroots work. Their leaders too often get arrested for being in the frontline in many community struggles. I used to be in Britain before where there were socialist parties who are so small and isolated and they spend most of time debating about small issues rather than doing work which matters to the people. It is great that PSM does not play such sectarian politics in Malaysia