21st Century Social Republicanism
Socialism Sunday #001
First, to provide a definition of terms. . .
What is a republican in the classical sense? To answer this question we must first delve into the Latin origins of the word, being comprised of publicus, meaning “of the people,” and re, which can be translated as something along the lines of “in reference to.” It then follows that a true republican can be defined as someone concerned with matters concerning the public interest.1
“Socialism,” as a term, can trace its roots to the Latin socialis, which refers to a conjugal living situation among human beings, or, in a more generalized sense, a communal and human focused state of life and thought.2
Both are clearly concerned with the same thing; public welfare. Now, to dive into things a bit further, we can, of course, deconstruct the many ways in which both terms have been historically manipulated to serve either tyrannical or majoritarian interests. However, I feel that both of those points are rather self-evident given the smallest amount of independent research on behalf of the reader and would instead provide a description outlining the characteristics that would embody a Socialist Republic.
What would a Socialist Republic look like?
In order to answer this question, we must first understand the role of government in both socialist and republican societies. The purpose of government in a socialist society is to provide for the welfare of the people through the provision of social services and regulation of the economy. The former being accomplished by means of education, healthcare, and provisions for the wellbeing of the elderly, and the latter by restricting potential economic exploitation from monopolies or cartels. In the face of socialism, the republican function within the government would then serve to safeguard individual liberties.
Such a system - a Socialist Republic - would operate under a system of collective ownership, where the means of production are owned and controlled by the people. This ensures that the benefits of production are distributed equally among the population and that no one individual or group can exploit others for their own gain. This also means that there is no private ownership of industry or natural resources, as these are seen as resources that belong to everyone.
It would be seen as a bare minimum obligation of such a government to ensure that every citizen, regardless of any qualitative characteristic, has access to educational opportunities, nutrition (that is not impeded by corporate interests wishing to cut costs through preservatives and over-processing), basic healthcare (excluding neoliberal for-profit healthcare scams such as transgenderism and other forms of sexual and reproductive “healthcare”), and shelter.
In terms of foreign relations, a Socialist Republic would prioritize cooperation and solidarity with other countries, placing the inherent value of human life over the competitive and exploitative nature of nationalist ideology. Rather than using barbaric economic sanctions and invasive military conquests, international disputes would be resolved through diplomatic means, placing rationality and respect above petty pride.
Can you imagine a world where nations are not at each other’s throats, but are instead working together to solve common problems? How absurd! —This is, of course, a general overview of a socialist republic. It is not meant to be a comprehensive description of such a system, but rather an outline of the basic principles that would make up such a system. I hope that this has given you some understanding of what a socialist republic would look like, and I hope that you will join me in the fight against capitalism.
Until next time, Comrades —3
-The Shultz Report by M. Shultz
Further reading on the subject is available. I recommend Sean O’Casey’s “The Plough and the Stars”, the history and works of Irish activist James Connelly, and similar research into the early Irish movement for Social Republicanism.