Socialism of The 21st Century - Theoretical Tenets

Theoretical Tenets

According to Dieterich “the program of the Socialism of the 21st Century is necessarily a revolutionary one” in that the existing society is replaced by a “qualitatively different system." This revolution, however, should be a gradual process that does not employ violent revolution but instead utilizes participative 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 civilization:

1. Equivalence economy, which should be based on Marxian labour theory of value and which is democratically determined by those who directly create value, instead of market-economical principles;
2. Majority democracy, which makes use of plebiscites to decide upon important questions that concern the whole society;
3. Basic democracy, based on democratic state institutions as legitimate representatives of the common interests of the majority of citizens, with a suitable protection of minority rights; and
4. The critical and responsible subject, the rationally, ethically and aesthetically self-determined citizen.”

Other characteristic emphases include a redefinition of development that rejects the pursuit of profit as the primary aim of an economic system. Instead, development is a "human" development that aims to satisfy communal needs. Socialism of the 21st Century measures efficiency not only in terms of this human development, but also with respect to nature and natural resources.