Arab socialism
[2][3][4] A main innovation of Aflaq's thought was the transformation of Arab unity from an intellectual ideal into a real-world political pursuit of rights alongside a new set of socio-economic conditions.
[2] Gamal Abdel Nasser's Egypt in particular served as a potent vehicle for Aflaq's thought, and would have to grapple with crises in the intellectual and military spheres.
[2] His line of thinking is best understood not as a linear evolution over time, but as a set of ideas all interlinked by what he called the "Arab Mission".
[2] The three main branches of the Arab Mission include "unity", "liberty" and "socialism", all backed by Islam as a spiritual driver and nationalism as a binding force.
[3][4] Furthermore, the super-powered tension between the Cold War blocs served to unify the fragmented Arab political landscape under a policy of neutrality.
[3] The socialism envisaged in the party's constitution of 1947 and in later writings up to the establishment of the United Arab Republic, is moderate and shows little, if any, signs of Marxism.
[8] In a published shortly after that decision was made, Aflaq wrote If I am asked to define socialism, I shall not look for it in the works of [Karl] Marx and [Vladimir] Lenin.
[13] Atassi ended the article by calling for the "oppressed classes" of the workers, peasants and "other strugglers" to join in the effort to overthrow the oppressors to establish a united Arab society.
It extends to all aspects of life—economics, politics, training, education, social life, health, morals, literature, science, history, and others, both great and small.
[16] Socialism had also been introduced at the beginning of the nineteenth century through French thinkers which recognized the particularities of the Egyptian thought towards revolutionary movements.
He wanted to create the conditions for everyone to have equal opportunities to perform whichever role within society, for which he invested in education and public health measures.
[25] Throughout his mandate, he passed several reforms, which included the redistribution of land through the abolishment of feudalism, worker laws which ensured their participation into committees which had direct contact with management.
Ideologues from all across the political spectrum were invited, from socialists to nationalists and liberals to conservatives, all to debate the role of the intellectual vis-a-vis the state in building Arab socialism.
[5] He seeks to critique both contending models of political economy: Nasser's Arab socialism and the Soviet state-centric project (despite borrowing their rhetoric).
[5] Maksoud blasts what he calls the "bourgeoise national liberation" of Nasser's movement as providing a sense of political liberty without collective equality.
[5] Conversely, Soviet "economistic socialism" provides the feeling of collective equality but lacks proper avenues for exercising political dissent.
[5] Maksoud recognized the Arab left (which he defined as those "striving towards the inclusion of the masses in politics and the minimisation of class differences" with "material conditions determined thought") as a potentially palpable force, but it must reckon with the necessity of grassroots operations given the complete military capture of the Egyptian and Iraqi states.
[28] Post-exile, scholarship and debate dedicated to examining the role of Jewry in Egyptian socialism would focus on the question of whether or not "ex-comrades of Jewish origin" could be blamed for its failure.
[28] A significant portion of Jewish communists were atheists, in stark contrast to the Islamism of Arab socialism, further increasing the weight of the Palestine question.
[28] Egyptian leftists at large blame repressive state structures in tandem with the growth of right-wing Islamism for the failure of their socialist project.
[29] Salih draws attention to the ways conservative takes on "emotions, gender relations, moral regimes and sexuality" impeded the growth of the Egyptian left movement.
[29] Chehata Haroun was an influential Jewish Egyptian revolutionary whose particular persuasion of socialism butted ideological heads with Nasserism.
[4][5][9][12] Firstly, it spelled the end of decolonization and pan-Arabism as a military project, instead capturing the attention of wandering revolutionaries and directing it towards the Palestinian struggle.
[4][5][9] It cemented the turn towards Marxism in Arab left circles and marked the beginning of Nasser's decline, altering the entire trajectory of the MENA region's history.
[4] Related popular Egyptian movements in the wake of Nasser's 1967 resignation called for him to remain and face consequences, creating a space for public political critique of his regime.
[4] Eventually, Nasser's death in 1970 alongside further protests would open up avenues for more varied independent politics, even if the New Arab Left would ultimately fall short of realizing any tangible vehicle for change.
