Question

What was a major difference between social reformers and socialists in the 18th & 19th centuries

Answer 1

Socialists were in many ways looking for a radical change in the way society was structured. Their main goal was to re-build economic, political, philosophical and religious systems from scratch, neglecting everything related to the capitalist society they wanted to overcome. Because of this idea of re-installation, of decosntruction of all known models, socialists were utopian in their way of thinking and developing.

Social reformers on the other hand, understood the principles of socialist and communist societies but also the fact that their idea of democracy required winning state power. By slowly adapting the established system to their social reforms they could remain in power for long periods of time that could then be used to further transform and fix the issues presented by capitalism like lack of education, low wages and inequity.