Abstract
Despite positive discussions about democracy, various scholars underscored its disadvantages. According to scholars and critics of democracy, this political system has developed the limited majority’s power and influence instead of the majority, and has perpetuated social divisions and gaps in the United States. Divisions and gaps are palpable in the social classes, gender inequality, racial discrimination and prejudice, and the unequal distribution of welfare services to the public. Health care services alone reveal social disparity since the poor do not have access to affordable health care. A proposed solution to these problems is the transformation of the government to a socialist state. The socialist state will diminish all divisions and gaps in society through the government’s control of production and distribution of resources. Moreover, the socialist state would perpetuate welfare equality in the US. The discussion focuses on the ways that the US government may facilitate revolutionary transformation to take advantage of the benefits and advantages of socialism.
Introduction
Despite United States being one of the most powerful countries in the world, a closer analysis of democracy in the country illustrates some problems, issues, and flaws that other political structures may improve. People laud democracy because it empowers people as evident in the influence of the majority rule, and upholds freedom and liberty in society. Nonetheless, the class structure in the US creates a division between the rich and the poor, and only some benefit from the privileges and opportunities in American society. Democracy is supposed to promote the best interests of the majority but over time, it has a created a gap between groups and classes and turned over power to the limited majority of influential people in American society. For this reason, the US could benefit from a revolutionary transformation that would cure the detrimental outcomes of socio-economic divide in the country.
Socialism as a Proposal
The socialist party in the US aims for a revolutionary transformation that would give way to radical democracy. The party believes that American society would thrive better in a classless, feminist, and non-racist state where every individual is involved in labor. Furthermore, the socialist party aims for the empowerment of the working class and the equal distribution of welfare services to all (Socialist Party USA).
Effects of Socialism on Groups and Classes
Socialism would significantly affect the upper class in American society. Furthermore, capitalists and entrepreneurs would also be affected by socialism. Nonetheless, socialism would affect all classes in that the abolition of the social structure would eliminate the classes and the gaps between them. Following these changes, capitalists and entrepreneurs would lose ownership of their ventures and properties. For this reason, these groups would naturally oppose socialism.
Since socialism perpetuates equality, it would eliminate socio-economic gaps but also divisions between various groups in society. Equal distribution of labor would eliminate gender inequality in the workplace, for instance. Men and women would exert the same amount of effort and time in labor, which eliminates the gender gap inherent in male dominance in the workforce. Furthermore, socialism will also eliminate racial or ethnic discrimination, and the differences of lifestyle in urban and rural communities (Cannon). People of color would gain the same opportunities, which would eliminate unjust reasons for them to be discriminated.
Socialism would also greatly benefit the poor deprived from welfare services in a democratic society. Since socialism promotes welfare equality, poor people in America’s democratic state would gain the means to access welfare in the same was as everybody else through their contributions to labor and production.
Achieving Revolutionary Transformation to a Socialist State
Aside from educating the youth about the positive outcomes, benefits, and advantages of socialism, changes in labor patterns and activity would facilitate revolutionary transformation to a socialist state. In a socialist state, the entire population is expected to wield the same amount of time and effort in labor. In addition, the socialist state focuses on the improvement in productivity. To facilitate the requisite changes in labor, the state would have to refocus production by determining the needs of the state. Basic needs include food supply, shelter, clothing, and education. Other needs would include technological devices among others. After identifying the people’s needs, the state would then determine the amount of time that all individuals would have to contribute in labor. The state would expect its labor pool to follow policies in labor and employment. Furthermore, since a socialist state focuses on increasing productivity, it would prioritize the production of technologies that would boost the rate of productivity.
Part of the US government’s revolutionary transformation is its ownership of private entities. Hence, achieving a socialist state would also significantly depend on the government’s ownership and control. The socialist party will be in charge of implementing policies to empower the state to gain control of production and distribution. The socialist party will also make decisions in terms of the allocation of labor resources.
Equality of Opportunity and Condition
I imagine that socialism would bring about a sense of satisfaction and contentment. I personally believe that the transition from democratic to socialist would eliminate existing social issues in the US, particularly those that relate to socio-economic divide. Most of us are aware about the concept of the “American dream”. The “American dream” is essentially an upshot of capitalism, which similarly breeds materialism and sets a standard that each individual must achieve in order to become successful. Achieving the “American dream” means obtaining a degree to establish a career that would allow one to own a house and a car, and support one’s family. Therefore, the “American dream” creates a singular and narrow view not only of success and life.
The problem with the “American dream” perpetuated in democratic and capitalist America is that creates mass anxiety among the people. Some argue that mental illnesses are prevalent in the US due to the stresses and pressures of life in the country. Americans believe that as long as they work hard, they will achieve the all elusive “American dream” and become successful. Nonetheless, as growth and development occurs and the definition of the “American dreams” evolves to include other life goals, it becomes more difficult for people to work towards this dream. Consequently, people become frustrated out of fear for their future. People would then feel insecure about their family’s future believing that their children would be deprived of their needs if they do not amass enough wealth.
One of the best examples to promote socialism is its expected impact on healthcare. Access to healthcare is one of America’s biggest problems. Unequal access to healthcare affects the poor and until today, the government is unable to provide affordable healthcare that covers all benefits to people. Through socialism, the government would amass adequate resources to distribute them and ascertain equal access to healthcare for all.
One of the disadvantages of socialism in the US, however, is the elimination of opportunities for people to pursue their personal interests. Since the socialist state would primarily focus on labor and production, this would eliminate time and resources for people to pursue personal interests such as art and literature and traveling among others. Furthermore, expected outcomes of socialism in the US could backfire depending on the ideals of the ruling socialist party. We may use North Korea as an example to illustrate the detrimental outcomes of poor leadership in a socialist state. Adverse possibilities include widespread propaganda, slave labor, and the abuse of power. Nonetheless, with safeguards enacted alongside socialist policies and good leadership, which should be prioritized by the socialist party, the US could benefit greatly from the advantages and contributions of a socialist state.
Works Cited
Bowman, John. 2005. Socialism in America. iUNiverse.
Cannon, James P. 1953. What socialist America will look like. <https://www.marxists.org/archive/cannon/works/1953/socialistamer.htm>.
Carling, Alan H. 1991. Social division. Verso.
Goodman, Amy & Moyers, Bill. 2009. Breaking the sound barrier. Chicago, IL: Haymarket Books.
Lukacs, Gyorgy. 1991. The process of democratization. SUNY Press.
Miroff, Bruce, Siedelman, Raymond, Swanstrom, Todd, & De Luca, Tom. 2014. The democratic debate: American politics in an age of change, 6th Ed. Florence, KY: Cengage Learning.
Socialist Party USA. 2014. Socialist Party USA: America’s voice for democratic socialism. <http://socialistparty-usa.net/>.
