Knowledge Management English Debating Society Universitas Indonesia Internal Division IDEOLOGY

Communism (from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs)

The major proponent is Karl Marx, ergo this ideology is sometimes referred to as Marxism. It initially appeared in the 19 century in Russia (Bolshevik Revolution) and serves as the major adversary of capitalism. Communism identified as the political and economic doctrine that aims to replace private property and a profit-based economy with public ownership and communal control of at least the major means of production (e.g., mines, mills, and factories) and the natural resources of a society, with exploitation of workers being its main source of concern; therefore, communism is often casts spotlight on the working class (proletariat). Marx believed that they are the agents of social changes which must undergo 3 phases: - they conduct a revolution aimed to topple down their government as well as the wealthy upper-class society, resulting into absolute destruction of the current social system - a leader rises and exerts control over the proletariat, including their private rights (marriage, religion, ownership, employment) in order to collectivize property and wealth for the sake of the common good - utopia is reached: a state where each member of society is equally happy and prosper (they have food and shelter); they are free from the restrictions that the class-based system imposes (free from oppression, sexism, racism), in other words, they live in a one-class system. Therefore, Marx believed that in order to reach a desired state of society (utopia), the society must be classless and stateless. That is why, communism highlights the importance of resources and every means of

production to only be owned by government, because it is the only entity who is capable and thus responsible to ensure that this one-class system remains constant and intact, with no possibility of social mobility (i.e. the poor becomes rich, the middle class become poor). They also impose wealth distribution in order to ensure a balanced economic capability amongst the society. As a consequence, personal preferences and rights are sometimes disregarded by the government. Communism does not acknowledge private property, religion (because the basis of communism is materialism), and difference of classes in society (thus there are no discrimination, due to the fact that these people are deemed equal). This is evident in the 10 essential tenets of communism which Marx proposes, which are as follows: central banking system, government-controlled education, government-controlled labor, government ownership of transportation and communication vehicles, government ownership of agricultural means and factories, total abolition of private property, property rights confiscation, heavy income tax on everyone, elimination of rights of inheritance, and regional planning. Some critism toward communism stated that the system has distorted or absent price signals, slow or stagnant technological advance, reduced incentives, and reduced prosperity, as well as on the grounds of its feasibility and its social and political effects. Part of this criticism extends to the policies adopted by one-party states ruled by communist parties (known as "communist states"). Some scholars are specially focused on their human rights records which are claimed to be responsible for famines, purges and warfare resulting in deaths far in excess of previous empires, capitalist or other regimes. Nowadays, in the political platform, communism usually works under oneruling party. Up until 2005, China, Vietnam, Laos, and North Korea are countries who still adhere to this ideology. Liberalism

Liberalism This ideology found fertile grounds in the USA. It mainly highlights the prominence of individual liberty and rights, as well as equality amongst men. It advocates for the full exertion of authority and self-ownership by each individual, therefore government should only be formed with the purpose of protecting these rights from being depraved by other entities, and nothing else (this purpose is derived from the social contract that was made between society and government; the power of the government to begin with comes from the consent of the governed). The early liberal thinker John Locke is often credited with founding liberalism as a distinct philosophical tradition. Locke argued that each man has a natural right to life, liberty and propertyand according to the social contract, governments must not violate these rights. Liberals opposed traditional conservatism and sought to replace absolutism in government with democracy and/or republicanism and the rule of law. Even the most extreme spectrum of liberalism claimed that government is the enemy of the society, because they enact policies which forces individuals not to act on their own private behalf (i.e. paternalist legislations, moral legislations). Therefore it is evident that the proponents of liberalism devotes themselves to the idea that individuals own themselves and thus they must be free to determine/choose what they wish to do to themselves. Examples of individual rights that are revered by this ideology are as follows: right to live, private ownership, freedom to associate, freedom of belief. And issues of equality is sometimes evident in terms of giving equal platform or access, such as: equal access to education through universal education systems, equal treatment in the eyes of the law, equal freedom to express thoughts. Countries which highly revere this ideology are developed nations, i.e. USA and European countries. Those are countries which are already aware and highly promote the importance of human rights preservation, specifically the right of life and choice, the foundation of liberalism to begin with. Socialism (from each according to his ability, to each according to his deeds)

Socialism puts more emphasis and demands more respect for working class (people who are and capable of creating fruits of labor). Thus, the most conspicuous characterization of this ideology is the fact that every means of production is controlled by workers, although they still allow room for government regulations to be enacted upon the market. This system works for the sake of equal share of societal welfare, but what differentiates it from communism is that socialism still allows room for individuals to gain and even enlarge benefits from private property. But it is important to know the definition of private property according to socialism, which is divided into: 1) consumers goods, products that are used for private enjoyment: food, clothes, movie tickets, furniture. 2) means of production, products that can be used to generate consumer goods: factory, land. Socialists will only take over the 2nd type of products, because it can be used to create more private benefits. This is in line with the objective of socialism in itself, to generate more happiness which is manifested in the increased number of consumer goods that one can derive pleasure from. The 2nd type of goods will be taken over by the government, yet the ones who are going to exert control over its usage will be the workers (working class). Furthermore, socialism still acknowledges privacy in terms of allowing freedom of marriage, religion etc. But even further, this ideology claims that it is okay if a person gains more than the other, as long as he put as much extra effort for it compared to what the others have done. Cuba is an example of a socialist country, whereas we can see that even when the economic capacity of its citizens is not as high, the country provides free universal healthcare for their citizens. This proves that the financial benefits of labor of the citizens are piled-up well and it is channeled for the sake of the societal welfare.