Introduction
Even though they sound almost similar, socialism and National Socialism are different political ideologies that first emerged in the 19th century. While aspects of National Socialism such as the importance of maintaining the Übermensch, or race of supermen, were first embraced by 18th and 19th German leaders, this political ideology only became the German state’s official ideology after World War One (Holian, 2011). Adolph Hitler, who was the leader of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, used National Socialism to bring Germans across the nation under his leadership. Socialist ideology, on the other hand, first gained prominence in Wales during the 19th century.
In the 1820s, the Welshman Robert Owen created a series of collectives in the American Midwest and in the UK (Holian, 2011). He rejected the notion that the wealthy have a right to own vast land and financial resources, and proposed that community wealth should be shared equally among all its members. In the 1840s and 50s, his ideas were embraced by German philosophers whose writings on the subject would be widely circulated (Holian, 2011).
Differences Between Socialism and National Socialism
There are numerous differences between socialism and National Socialism. National Socialism has its roots in 18th century Prussian tradition, when leaders like Fredrick the Great and Fredrick William I presented the militant spirit as the model for civic life (Loughlin, 2001). This political ideology would receive further reinforcement from scholars like Friedrich Nietzsche who proclaimed that Germans were a superior race, and the Comte de Gobineau who emphasized the cultural and racial purity of the Nordic peoples (Loughlin, 2001). Even though there are numerous parties that champion National Socialism in many European nations today, this political ideology was not originally created to meet the needs of people outside the German state. National Socialism was originally meant to build on the special identity of all ethnic German citizens.
In contrast, socialism emerged as a political ideology that would challenge capitalism by championing the distribution of national wealth to all classes of society. The German philosopher, Karl Marx, asserted that socialism would address the unequal distribution of wealth in all the nations where it was adopted (Holian, 2011). According to Eccleshall (1994), the word socialism actually means common ownership, and the aim of socialists is to equally distribute the world’s resources among all its peoples.
In nations that embrace socialism, workers are perceived as the real owners of production processes (Eccleshall, 1994). The aim of socialism is to prevent wage labor and production processes from being perceived as commodities. By giving workers the rights to national resources, socialism capitalizes on use value, rather than exchange value (Eccleshall, 1994). National Socialism permits the private ownership of national resources and production processes. In Nazi Germany, foreign corporations like IBM and Ford were not nationalized when Hitler became the Fuhrer. According to Bel (2006), Hitler’s government privatized four banks and several steelwork companies, and gained a lot of revenue by taxing these large corporations (Loughlin, 2001).
While socialism prevents class wars by asserting that no social class of people is more deserving than the other, National Socialism makes use of corporatism to bring together workers and entrepreneurs (Bel, 2006). In nations that embraced National Socialism and socialism, citizens were expected to contribute to state projects on a daily basis. However, this objective was accomplished in different ways.
In Nazi Germany which embraced National Socialism, the superior abilities of Aryan citizens were exalted in an effort to appeal to individual pride. Germans wanted to take part in nation-building projects because of the feeling of patriotism, and a sense of pride in being members of the fatherland. In contrast, socialism encourages public participation in national projects by stressing on the importance of belonging to a collective, rather than operating on individual strength.
Conclusion
National Socialism and socialism are two different political ideologies that first emerged in the 18th and 19th centuries respectively. Socialism advocates for the equal distribution of wealth across all social classes, while National Socialism is more focused on building pride in the special abilities of the Aryan race, rather than solving the long-standing problem of inequality.