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rather than depend on the government (Shannon and Young 2004). Social
problems are understood in liberal/neoliberal theory to result from both
personal failure to succeed or make the right choices and a failure of market
mechanisms to ensure that riches and resources are shared out fairly to all
members of society (Russell, Harris, and Gockel 2008).
Socialist Theory
Socialist theory uses a class analysis, linked to ownership and nonownership
of wealth, as its starting point. Socialist thinking views society not as the
aggregate of free individuals but as a structure, based on class, in which the
government acts to promote the interests of capital against those of workers
(Shannon and Young 2004). Genuine freedom and equality will come only
when workers possess themselves of the government’s power, sometimes
through revolutionary processes that abolish private ownership of the means
of production (Shannon and Young 2004). Nzira and Williams (2008, 47)
argued, “Socialism advocates state involvement to create, promote and protect
the rights of citizens. The interventions are thought to be necessary so as to off-
set the inequalities brought about by capitalism and free markets,” suggesting
that governments can act to overcome the tendency of the market to promote
the interests of the wealthy, by treating all citizens equally. To achieve well-
being for all, a socialist approach, in contrast to a liberal approach, would
therefore favor abolishment of private ownership of wealth to allow for
collective and cooperative ownership of resources.
Socialist theory views social problems as organized around class: the upper
classes possess wealth and experience few social problems, whereas people
belonging to the working classes have little wealth or ownership of the means
of gaining wealth, and they are therefore more likely to be poor and oppressed
(Freire 2000). Socialist theory does not blame individuals for their predica-
ments; it advocates a redistribution of resources toward a more egalitarian
society as a way of solving social problems.
Alternative Theory
Alternative theory, also known as communitarian theory, has as its starting
point the belief that social problems result from the breakdown of communi-
ties, networks, and relationships and that the resolution of such problems only
occurs when communities work together inclusively, from a grassroots level,
to advocate for action (Shannon and Young 2004). Alternative theory uses a
community construction of reality as its starting point; this can include indig-
enous and other groups’ constructions of community. The theory challenges