Don_T_Usar

Michael D'Amico Period 1 FRQ The rise of socialism in France and Russia from 1916-1938 had a great effect on the two countries and changed the way the country was maintained/controlled. The rise in socialism in Russia and France can be attributed to powerful individuals, the suffering working class and also played a major role in the Russian Revolution. These countries were exposed to socialism and both had major changes after the introduction of socialism. An important figure that attributed to the rise of socialism was Louis Blanc who was an important socialist thinker (France) and he came up with the idea to set up a system of social workshops for the the people/workers of France where the workingmen would control business and the government would support it. His plans though, were sabotaged by other members of the government. Blanc's ideas, which Marx labeled “utopian socialism,” influenced the thought of later political thinkers. Another powerful individual that attributed to the rise of socialism was When Russia was in a stage of anarchy and turmoil, the Bolshevik Party of Lenin emerged as the dominant political force. They were all Marxists and socialist revolutionaries that had been studying science, economics, sociology, history, etc. from a Marxist perspective. The opponents of the Bolsheviks were the Mensheviks. The Bolshevik's plan from the beginning was to develop Russia in such a way as to spread social revolution throughout Europe and eventually the world. The Marxist theory of socialism stated that socialism would not be possible to support in a single country, but that socialism required a global revolution so that all countries could work together through the use of shared resources and shared labor in order to provide enough goods to satisfy the demands of all people. The revolutionaries were genuine in their desire to attempt to bring about this condition, which is why they made certain that Russia was to have a strong policy against imperialism. The Bolsheviks felt that in order for a true social revolution to take place it would have to be won through education of the people not through the force of war. The Russia Revolution was successful for the Bolsheviks and resulted in an establishment of a socialist government for Russia and it also helped to spread communism around the world. Russia had also dropped out of WWI and the emergence of Russia as a world power. All due to the ideas of socialism and people making a cause out of the idea of it.