Socialism of the 21st century (Spanish: Socialismo del siglo XXI; Portuguese: Socialismo do século XXI; German: Sozialismus des 21. Jahrhunderts) is an interpretation of socialist principles first advocated by German sociologist and political analyst Heinz Dieterich and taken up by a number of Latin American leaders. Dieterich argued in 1996 that both free-marketindustrial capitalism and 20th-century socialism have failed to solve urgent problems of humanity such as poverty, hunger, exploitation of labour, economic oppression, sexism, racism, the destruction of natural resources and the absence of true democracy.[1] Socialism of the 21st century has democratic socialist elements, but it also resembles Marxist revisionism.[2]
Leaders who have advocated for this form of socialism include Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, Rafael Correa of Ecuador, Evo Morales of Bolivia, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil and Michelle Bachelet of Chile.[3] Because of the local unique historical conditions, socialism of the 21st century is often contrasted with previous applications of socialism in other countries, with a major difference being the effort towards a more effective economicplanning process.[2]
Historical foundations
After a series of structural adjustment loans and debt restructuring led by the International Monetary Fund in the late 20th century, Latin America experienced a significant increase in inequality. Between 1990 and 1999, the Gini coefficient, a measure of inequality in the income or wealth distribution, rose in almost every Latin American country.[4] Volatile prices and inflation led to dissatisfaction. In 2000, only 37% of Latin Americans were satisfied with their democracies (20 points less than Europeans and 10 points less than sub-Saharan Africans).[5] In this context, a wave of left-leaning socio-political movements, called the Pink tide, on behalf of indigenous rights, cocaleros, labor rights, women's rights, land rights and educational reform emerged to eventually provide momentum for the election of socialist leaders.[2]
According to Dieterich, this form of socialism is revolutionary in that the existing society is altered to be qualitatively different, but the process itself should be gradual and non-violent, instead utilising democracy to secure power, education, scientific knowledge about society and international cooperation. Dieterich suggests the construction of four basic institutions within the new reality of post-capitalist civilisation:[1]
The idea of post-neoliberalism arose during the pink tide of the 1990s and 2000s, in which left-wing Latin American critics of neoliberalism like Hugo Chávez and Evo Morales were thrust into power. According to researchers, the election of Chávez as the president of Venezuela in 1999 marked a definite start to the pink tide and post-neoliberal movement.[16][17] Following his election, Rafael Correa, Néstor Kirchner, Evo Morales, and numerous other leaders associated with the post-neoliberal movement were elected in Latin America during the 2000s and 2010s.[8] Into the 2020s, the Chilean president-elect Gabriel Boric, who emerged victorious in the 2021 Chilean general election, pledged to end the country's neoliberal economic model, stating: "If Chile was the cradle of neoliberalism, it will also be its grave."[18]
Post-neoliberalism seeks to fundamentally change the role of the state in countries where the Washington Consensus once prevailed.[21] To achieve this, post-neoliberal leaders in Latin America have advocated for the nationalization of several industries, notably the gas, mining, and oil industries.[8] Post-neoliberalism also advocates for the expansion of welfare benefits, greater governmental investment in poverty reduction, and increased state intervention in the economy.[22]
The model of socialism of the 21st century encourages economic and political integration among nations in Latin America and the Caribbean. This is often accompanied with opposition to North American influence. Regional organizations like ALBA and CELAC promote cooperation with Latin America and exclude North American countries. ALBA is most explicitly related to socialism of the 21st century while other organizations focus on economic integration, ALBA promotes social, political and economic integration among countries that subscribe to democratic socialism. Its creation was announced in direct opposition to George W. Bush's attempts to establish a Free Trade Area of the Americas that included the United States. In 2008, ALBA introduced a monetary union using the SUCRE as its regional currency.
Former Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez initiated a process of social reforms in Venezuela known as the Bolivarian Revolution. This approach was more heavily influenced by the theories of István Mészáros, Michael Lebowitz and Marta Harnecker (who was Chávez's adviser between 2004 and 2011) than by those of Heinz Dieterich. The process draws its name from Latin American liberator Simón Bolívar and is a contemporary example of Bolivarianism.[citation needed]
Often translated to good living or living well, the concept of buen vivir is related to the movement for indigenous rights and rights of nature. It focuses on the living sustainably as the member of a community that includes both human beings and Nature.[23]Buen vivir is enshrined in 2008 Constitution of Ecuador as an alternative to neoliberal development. The constitution outlines a set of rights, one of which is the rights of nature.[24] In line with the assertion of these rights, buen vivir seeks to change the relationship between nature and humans to a more bio-pluralistic view, eliminating the separation between nature and society.[24][25] This approach has been applied to the Yasuní-ITT Initiative. Buen vivir is sometimes conceptualised as collaborative consumption in a sharing economy and the term is used to look at the world in way sharply differentiated from natural, social or human capital.[26]
Criticism
Authoritarianism
Critics claim that socialism of the 21st century in Latin America acts as a façade for authoritarianism. The charisma of figures like Hugo Chávez and mottoes like "Country, Socialism, or Death!" have drawn comparisons to the Latin American dictators and caudillos of the past.[27] According to Steven Levitsky of Harvard University: "Only under the dictatorships of the past [...] were presidents reelected for life", with Levitsky further stating that while Latin America experienced democracy, citizens opposed "indefinite reelection, because of the dictatorships of the past".[28] Levitsky then noted: "In Nicaragua, Venezuela and Ecuador, reelection is associated with the same problems of 100 years ago".[28]The Washington Post also stated in 2014 that "Bolivia's Evo Morales, Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua and the late Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez [...] used the ballot box to weaken or eliminate term limits".[29]
In 2015, The Economist stated that the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela—now under Nicolás Maduro after Chávez's death in 2013—was devolving from authoritarianism to dictatorship as opposition politicians were jailed for plotting to undermine the government, violence was widespread and opposition media shut down.[30] Western media coverage of Chávez and other Latin American leaders from the 21st-century socialist movement has been criticised as unfair by their supporters and leftist media critics.[31][32]
Economics
The sustainability and stability of economic reforms associated with governments adhering to socialism of the 21st century have been questioned. Latin American countries have primarily financed their social programs with extractive exports like petroleum, natural gas and minerals, creating a dependency that some economists claim has caused inflation and slowed growth.[33] For the Bolivarian government of Venezuela, their economic policies led to shortages in Venezuela, a high inflation rate and a dysfunctional economy.[34] However, the economic policy of the Hugo Chávez administration and Maduro governments have attributed Venezuela's economic problems to the decline in oil prices, sanctions imposed by the United States and economic sabotage by the opposition.[35]
Although democratic socialist intellectuals have welcomed a socialism of the 21st century, they have been skeptical of Latin America's examples. While citing their progressive role, they argue that the appropriate label for these governments is populist rather than socialist.[37][38] Similarly, some of the left-wing pink tide governments were criticised for turning from socialism to authoritarianism and populism.[39][40]
List of anti-neoliberal or post-neoliberal political parties
"If Chile was the cradle of neoliberalism, it will also be its grave."[18]
^ abHeinz Dieterich: Der Sozialismus des 21. Jahrhunderts – Wirtschaft, Gesellschaft und Demokratie nach dem globalen Kapitalismus, Einleitung Socialism of the 21st Century – Economy, Society, and Democracy in the era of global Capitalism, Introduction.
^ abcdMacdonald, Laura; Proulx, Kristina R.; Ruckert, Arne (2017). "Post-Neoliberalism in Latin America: A Conceptual Review". Third World Quarterly. 38 (7): 1583–1602. doi:10.1080/01436597.2016.1259558. S2CID157767263.
^ abcdMerino, Roger (4 October 2011). "What is 'Post' in Post-Neoliberal Economic Policy? Extractive Industry Dependence and Indigenous Land Rights in Bolivia and Ecuador". University of Bath - Department of Social & Policy Sciences. Rochester, New York. SSRN1938677.
^Macdonald, Laura; Proulx, Kristina R.; Ruckert, Arne (2017). "Post-Neoliberalism in Latin America: A Conceptual Review". Third World Quarterly. 38 (7). Routledge: 1583–1602. doi:10.1080/01436597.2016.1259558. S2CID157767263. The main objective of this article is to perform a critical conceptual review of post-neoliberalism to find consensus and discord in the existing literature. ... Although our search was not limited to literature on any specific region, the overwhelming amount of research we encountered was focused on Latin America, with little material identified through the search on post-neoliberalism in Africa or Asia.
^Kaltwasser, Cristóbal Rovira (2011). "Toward Post-Neoliberalism in Latin America?". Latin American Research Review. 46 (2). Latin America Research Commons on behalf of Latin American Studies Association: 225–234. doi:10.1353/lar.2011.0029. ISSN1542-4278. S2CID144279718.
^Cochrane, Regine (Summer 2014). "Climate Change, Buen Vivir, and the Dialectic of Enlightenment: Toward a Feminist Critical Philosophy of Climate Justice". Hypatia. 29 (3): 576–598. doi:10.1111/hypa.12099. S2CID143724316.
^ abGudynas, Eduardo. 2011. Buen Vivir: Today's Tomorrow Development 54(4):441-447.
^Munck, Ronaldo (2012). Contemporary Latin America. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 119. In a broad historical sense Chávez has undoubtedly played a progressive role but he is clearly not a democratic socialist [...].
^Iber, Patrick (Spring 2016). "The Path to Democratic Socialism: Lessons from Latin America". Dissent. Retrieved 20 August 2020. Most of the world's democratic socialist intellectuals have been skeptical of Latin America's examples, citing their authoritarian qualities and occasional cults of personality. To critics, the appropriate label for these governments is not socialism but populism.
^Lopes, Arthur (Spring 2016). "¿Viva la Contrarrevolución? South America's Left Begins to Wave Goodbye". Harvard International Review. 37 (3): 12–14. JSTORi26445824-. South America, a historical bastion of populism, has always had a penchant for the left, but the continent's predilection for unsustainable welfarism might be approaching a dramatic end. [...] This "pink tide" also included the rise of populist ideologies in some of these countries, such as Kirchnerismo in Argentina, Chavismo in Venezuela, and Lulopetismo in Brazil.
^"Gabriel Boric: From student protest leader to Chile's president". BBC. 20 December 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2022. When Mr Boric won the candidacy of his leftist bloc to run for president, he made a bold pledge. 'If Chile was the cradle of neoliberalism, it will also be its grave,' he said. 'Do not be afraid of the youth changing this country.'
^"Un frente antineoliberal" [An anti-neoliberal front]. Página/12 (in Spanish). 27 October 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
^"Zhèngcè" 政策 [Policy]. Social Democratic Party. 22 January 2008. Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
^"Bagnojaui hangug, angwa bakk nolaeleul bulleossdaga 'joein'i doeneun nala, daehanmingug" 박노자의 한국, 안과 밖 노래를 불렀다가 '죄인'이 되는 나라, 대한민국 [Pak Noja's South Korea, inside and outside. A country where you sing song and then become a 'sinner'. That's the Republic of Korea.]. The Hankyoreh. 26 May 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2022. 민중당은 조직 노동자, 비정규직 노동자들의 지지를 받으며 좌파민족주의적 입장에서 신자유주의를 비판하는 정당이다. [Minjungdang-eun jojig nodongja, bijeong-gyujig nodongjadeul-ui jijileul bad-eumyeo jwapaminjogjuuijeog ibjang-eseo sinjayujuuileul bipanhaneun jeongdang-ida.] [Minjung Party is a political party that is supported by organizational and non-regular workers and criticizes neoliberalism from a left-wing nationalist standpoint.]
^Duvar, Gazete (24 September 2022). "Emek ve Özgürlük İttifakı deklarasyonu açıklandı". www.gazeteduvar.com.tr/emek-ve-ozgurluk-ittifaki-deklarasyonu-aciklandi-haber-1582368 (in Turkish). Retrieved 25 September 2022.
