Utopia
Utopia, officially Utopia: A Social Future, is a book written by Francesco Patrallez in 1678 AN. The book is a theoretical text about the philosophical ideals, critique of political economy, and politics of Patrallez. According to historians and political scientists, the book can be regarded as one of the most complete works about Socialism in world history. Patrallez worked at length to reveal the economic theory of Capitalism, the need for a Welfare State, and his theories about Socialist Government. Some of his work got critique from both industrial entrepreneurs and conservative party leaders in Alduria-Wechua, which caused him to publish the first print under the pseudonym of 'Tobias Arragez'. Patrallez published three volumes in total over the course of two years, and a fourth volume was published in 1688 AN to renewed acclaim.
The book has played a historical role in the shaping of the social democratic and socialist politics of Alduria-Wechua and Nouvelle Alexandrie. Since Patrallez's death in 1685 AN, it has received widespread support from Left-Wing parties across the world. According to the University of Cárdenas, it is the most cited book in the social sciences.
Themes
Utopia is devised as a purely theoretical text, but there are elements of subjective writing showing throughout, in the form of anecdotes, citations, and thought experiments. Patrallez opened his book by explaining the methods of Capitalism, and claiming its immoral system of exploitative labor. He coined several important terms for economics that are still in use today, and elaborated on the existing capitalist and free trade theories. His explanation of the capitalist method was rather elaborate, and was also intrinsic to the industrial movement at that time. It also followed closely the growing left-wing politics in Alduria, and the growing influence of Globalisation on the internal economy of nations. His theory was not only one of description: some of his last chapters encompassed his solutions from capitalism by developing a state economy and promoting protectionism, as opposed to free trade.
His second volume encompassed his extensive advocacy for the Welfare State. He explained the advantages of state pensions and unemployment benefits as a means of reducing poverty and the high death toll under the elderly and children alike. He then explained the need for national healthcare, national education, and national insurance. His work on the welfare state is widely regarded as one of the leading principles in the foundation of the new state of Alduria-Wechua. Since Patrallez was also a co-writer on the Essays on Liberty, his ideals of the welfare state gained much popularity under the new politicians. Some of his later chapters also encompassed the need for other fundamental things, like Minimum Wages, Trade Unions, and Maternal Leave, which were soon implemented in many countries as part of the welfare state. Like his first volume, his work on the second was also influenced in large part by the industrial development at the time.
His third volume is perhaps the least known. More radical than the previous ones, his third book focused entirely on the make-up and functioning of the State under Socialism. Regarded by some historians as more Social Democrat than Socialist in its nature, the third volume is also the smallest one. Elaborating on the previous two volumes, Patrallez postulates that a state economy and welfare state are only possible under a social democratic government, which works to balance the economic growth with the social needs of the nation. Since Patrallez was a known member of the Coalition for Federal Progress at the time, the volume also encompassed a lot of the manifesto ideals of that party. Subsequent re-issues of the book saw several changes to this as the CFP was replaced by the Progressive Federalist Party and eventually the Social Democratic & Liberal Alliance.
The fourth volume, published after Patrallez's death, was a much shorter manuscript than the other volumes, dealing almost exclusively with the production of capital, as a supplement to volume 1. Historians are still uncertain whether to include it into the completed works of Utopia, or if it is deserving of its own separate publication.
Synopsis
Utopia, Volume I
Utopia Volume I, subtitled 'A Complete Analysis of the Capitalist Economy', meant to reveal and elaborate Patrallez's views and theory about the existing 'free trade economy', how it could bring about the socialist state economy, and how it created the class struggle rooted in society at that time. It was published the first on 12.IV.1678 AN, and was dedicated to Juan Bielsa, an Aldurian political activist at the time.
Utopia, Volume II
Utopia Volume II, subtitled 'A Plea for the Welfare State', is meant as a plea for the creation of a true welfare state, with pensions, healthcare, education, and worker safety cared for by the government. It was published secondly on 18.VI.1678 AN, and was dedicated to Maria Patrallez, Francesco's wife.
Utopia, Volume III
Utopia Volume III, subtitled 'The Methods and Functioning of a Socialist State', meant to explain and elaborate Patrallez's ideas about a nation ruled by socialism. Historians claim, however, that his ideas are more closely related to social democracy, as Patrallez opposed the radical overthrow of government and instead used Gradualist politics. In his last chapters, he also opposed the socialist revolution prevalent under contemporary left-wing leaders. It was published last on 22.IX.1678 AN, and was also dedicated to Maria Patrallez.
Utopia, Volume IV
Utopia Volume IV, subtitled 'The Surplus-value Economy', is a shorter manuscript that elaborated some of the theory in volume I, especially in regards to what Patrallez coined as the 'surplus value economy'. It is also in large part a critique and response to the existing economic theories at that time. It was published on 05.II.1688 AN, and was again dedicated to Maria, who was now a widower. Historians are convinced the volume was largely completed by Francesco's son Sebastian.
| Volume | Part | Chapter |
|---|---|---|
| I | I: Money and Goods | 1: Goods |
| 2: Exchange | ||
| 3: Money, or the Circulation of Goods | ||
| II: Transformation of Money into Capital | 4: General Formula for Capital | |
| 5: Contradictions in the General Formula of Capital | ||
| 6: Buying and Selling of Labour-Power | ||
| III: Production of Absolute Surplus-Value | 7: The Labour Process and the Process of Producing Surplus-Value | |
| 8: Constant Capital and Variable Capital | ||
| 9: The Rate of Surplus Value | ||
| 10: The Working Day | ||
| 11: Rate and Mass of Surplus-Value | ||
| IV: Production of Relative Surplus-Value | 12: The Concept of Relative Surplus-Value | |
| 13: Co-operation | ||
| 14: Division of Labour and Manufacture | ||
| 15: Machinery and Modern Industry | ||
| V: The Production of Absolute and of Relative Surplus-Value | 16: Absolute and Relative Surplus-Value | |
| 17: Changes of Magnitude in the Price of Labour-Power and in Surplus-Value | ||
| 18: Various Formula for the Rate of Surplus-Value | ||
| VI: Wages | 19: The Transformation of the Value (and Respective Price) of Labour-Power into Wages | |
| 20: Time-Wages | ||
| 21: Piece-Wages | ||
| 22: National Differences of Wages | ||
| VII: Accumulation of Capital | 23: Simple Reproduction | |
| 24: Conversion of Surplus-Value into Capital | ||
| 25: The General Law of Capitalist Accumulation | ||
| VIII: Primitive Accumulation | 26: Secrets of Primitive Accumulation | |
| 27: The oppression of Capitalism on the Old Agricultural Population | ||
| 28: The Political History of Wages | ||
| 29: Genesis of the Capitalist Farmer | ||
| 30: Creation of the Home Market for Industrial Capital | ||
| 31: Genesis of the Industrial Capitalist | ||
| 32: Historical Tendency of Capitalist Accumulation | ||
| 33: The Modern Theory of Imperialism | ||
| II | I: Introduction to the Welfare State | 1: The Five Big Evils |
| 2: The Three Answers to Hardship | ||
| 3: The Historical development of the People's Welfare and the State | ||
| II: A case against Poverty and Disease | 4: National Healthcare | |
| 5: National Insurance and Worker Safety | ||
| 6: Pensions and the Elderly | ||
| 7: Children, Motherhood, and the Welfare State | ||
| III: A Case against Squalor and Ignorance | 8: National Education | |
| 9: Culture and the Welfare State | ||
| 10: International Relations and the Welfare State | ||
| IV: A Case against Idleness and Want | 11: The State's Care for the Labour Force | |
| 12: The State's Care for the Science Community | ||
| 13: The State's Care for Housing, Travel, and Leisure | ||
| V: The Fundamental Tools of a Welfare State | 14: Minimum Wages | |
| 15: The Trade Unions | ||
| 16: The State's Relation to the Trade Unions | ||
| 17: The Solidarity Principle | ||
| 18: Benefits and Allowances as the State's Devices for the Welfare State | ||
| 19: Social Democracy as the Vanguard of the Welfare State | ||
| VI: The People's Budget | 20: The State's Financial Methods for the Welfare State | |
| 21: The Necessary Domestic Funds for the Welfare State | ||
| VII: A Case against Degradation | 22: The Constant Vigilance Needed for the Welfare State | |
| 23: A Defence against the Amalgamation of Welfare as a tool for Capital | ||
| 24: The Labour Force as the Defence against Degradation | ||
| 25: Co-operation as a Deterrence against Degradation | ||
| VIII: Socialism and the Welfare State | 26: The Welfare State as the Means for Gradual Adaptation to Socialism | |
| 27: The Welfare State as the Only Means to create a Socialist Government | ||
| 28: The Welfare State as a Vanguard for National Cohesion | ||
| III | I: The Executive | 1: Central Committee of the State |
| 2: Trade Union's Relation to the Committee | ||
| 3: The Methods of Electing the Committee | ||
| 4: The Prevention of Amalgamation of Power into the Committee | ||
| II: The National Legislative | 5: The Social Constitution | |
| 6: A Socialist Congress | ||
| 7: The Regional Governments as Extension of the National Legislature | ||
| 8: The Body of Laws in a Socialist State | ||
| III: Justice and the Police | 9: Socialism and the Justice System | |
| 10: Socialism and the Police | ||
| 11: Socialism in the Military | ||
| 12: Culture as the Means to Social Democracy | ||
| IV: Socialism and International Affairs | 13: Socialism in One Nation | |
| 14: Socialism as a Diplomatic Tool | ||
| 15: The International Community as a Social Community | ||
| V: The Advantages of Socialism over Other Forms of Government | 16: Socialism as an Evolution of Liberal Democracy | |
| 17: Socialism as Defence against Tyranny | ||
| 18: Socialism and Religion | ||
| 19: Socialism as the Means to National Cohesion | ||
| 20: Social Democracy as an Alternative to Communism | ||
| VI: Opposition to the Socialist Philosophers | 21: Opposition to the Communist Philosophy | |
| 22: Opposition to Radical Socialism | ||
| 23: In Defence of Social Democracy | ||
| 24: In Defence of Gradualist Socialism | ||
| 25: Opposition to the Vanguard Party and Dictatorship of the Proletariat | ||
| 26: The Fallacies of the Socialist Revolution | ||
| IV | I: General Observations | 1: Distinction between 'Profit upon Alienation' and the Positive Increase of Wealth |
| 2: The Physiocrats | ||
| 3: The Classical Capitalist Theory | ||
| 4: Theories of Productive and Unproductive Labour | ||
| 5: An Attempt to Present the Antagonism of Classes in Capitalism as the Antithesis between Poverty and Wealth | ||
| 6: Classical Economic Tables | ||
| 7: Early Critique of the Bourgeois-Liberal View of the “Freedom” of the Labourer | ||
| II: Theories of Rent | 8: Classical Theory of Rent | |
| 9: History of the Discovery of the Laws of Rent | ||
| 10: Classical Theory of Cost-Price | ||
| 11: Modern Theory of Rent | ||
| 12: Tables of Differential Rent, and Comment | ||
| 13: Modern Theory of Rent, Conclusion | ||
| 14: Contradictions in the Classical Theory of Rent | ||
| 15: New Theory of Surplus-Value | ||
| 16: New Theory of Profit | ||
| 17: New Theory of Accumulation and a Critique of it | ||
| 18: Miscellanea | ||
| III: Opposition to the Economic Schools | 19: Opposition to the Classical School of Economics | |
| 20: Disintegration of the Modern School of Economics | ||
| 21: Opposition to the Economists (Based on the Modern Theory of Economics) | ||
| 22: Opposition to Asquierta | ||
| 23: Opposition to MacFillan | ||
| 24: Opposition to Diego de Pardanne |
