Compare and Contrast Socialists and Populists - Essay Example

Compare and Contrast Socialists and Populists This study seeks to compare and contrast socialists and populists. Primarily,the study will compare and contrast two documents from the first half of the US history work book. The documents to be analyzed include Populist Party platform (1892) and Socialist Party Platform (1912). The study will provide the similarities and differences in the perspectives and arguments of those who created the documents. In addition, the study will mention whether their perspectives seem similar or different.

America faces a political, social, economic and democratic crisis because of the inappropriate policies of capitalism. Capitalism is an economic arrangement that encourages exploitation of the public for profits. It divides the society into two groups that are always fighting. The first group consists of the rich and the opulent people who own and have power over the ways of creation. This group does not have many people but their resources make them influential in all segments of the government, the church and the economy (Harris and Tichenor 116).

People who form the second group in the American society are the working class. They are the majority but the weakest because they do not own the means of production but have to work long hours in the industries that belong to wealthy people. The workers lack unity and, therefore, their numbers do not help them to negotiate for friendly working terms and conditions. They work in hazardous, conditions, but they do not benefit fully from the wealth hat they create (Harris and Tichenor 116). These capitalist conditions were unfavorable to the common man and people developed the populists and the socialist ideologies that aimed at bringing the wealth back to the people.

This paper will compare and contrast the populist and the socialism platforms and continue to analyze the degree of their similarities or differences. The socialist party expresses the economic welfare of the employees, and the victories of socialism belong to the people as well as the defeats. Social development laws and science are the key pillars of socialism. Therefore, as far as the social necessities are produced socially, their means of creation and distribution be democratically controlled and socially owned.

The Populist Party platform carries a similar ideology that aims to stop public oppression by the controllers of budgets and means of production. Similarities Both the populist platform and the socialism platform discredit the capitalism setting by bringing out the ills caused by capitalism. The two platforms are based on the anti-capitalism ideology (Kipnis 98). They oppose the heavy burden placed on the tax payers and the local industries by the owners of the means of production due to high levels of debts by the country.

Further, the two platforms seek to bring every citizen in America to an agreement that they have to be prepared to sacrifice their own interests and forfeit the common benefit of all (Kipnis 98). This can be achieved by speeding the spirit of humanity that will convince the rich to compromise their own quest for wealth and support social development that will benefit the entire nation, without oppressing anyone. In the long run the wealth will repatriate back to the people who create it at the same rate and ratio at which they create it (Harris and Tichenor 116).

Furthermore, the two platforms strive to redistribute wealth and empower the workers to rise and fight for their rights collectively. This will help them to streamline the welfare system and, thus, reap the benefits of their labor even after retirement. These two platforms recognize that their objectives cannot be realized, if the control of basic social and economic amenities remains in the hands of private individuals. Therefore, they propose that these sectors should be nationalized, and the government should take total control of their operations.

Differences The socialist party platform of 1912 puts a lot of emphasis on the strategies that workers will need to apply to bring capitalism, which is the utilization of their political power and economic organization (Kipnis 100). The party urges significant workers to workers to organize for political and economic action that will help everyone to achieve economic justice for their effort. Therefore, it is a current revolution that facilitates the transition from income slavery to free collaboration, economic selfishness to socialism and from entrepreneurial oligarchy to industrial classlessness (Kipnis 111).

On the other hand, the populist platform of 1912 focuses on the restoration of the initial objectives of the American government, whose primary objective is to protect and serve the interests of her citizens. Further, the party sought to restore the republic government back to her origin and to the owners, who are the ordinary people (Harris and Tichenor 116). The ideologies of this party are reinforced by the objectives of the national constitution, which strive to form a perfect union, general welfare promotion and secure the sanctions of peoples’ posterity and liberty.

Furthermore, this platform party is also concerned with saving the strength of the local currency and free flow of trade (Harris and Tichenor 117). The chief aim of this party is to reorient legislation processes to correct the evils of corruption and oppression in the government. This will ensure elimination of that poverty, injustice, oppression in the land. The two platforms are more similar to each other because the two strive to put an end to all social evils that cripple economic, political and social development.

Works Cited Kipnis, Ira. The American Socialist Movement 1897-1912. Chicago: Haymarket books. 2005. Print. Harris, Richard, and Daniel Tichenor. History of the United States Political System. New York: ABC-CLIO. 2009. Print.