Social democracy

Not to be confused with democratic socialism.

A red rose, the symbol for social democracy.

Social democracy is a political ideology within socialism.^[1][2] The ideology is named for democracy where people have a say in government actions and it works to introduce socialism while also helping people in need by providing healthcare, education and social welfare.^[3][4][5] This makes it easier for people to support themselves in society by having more protection if they are unemployed or fall into poverty.^[6] As an ideology within socialism, it places an emphasis on equal rights for everyone, and there is plenty of government ownership or regulation of various industries to protect the public interest.^[7][8] The ideology's movement has seen some interest in other countries whose economic systems do not work this way, because it has worked well for those who have it.^[9]

Social democracy is supportive of Keynesian economics, where the government should step in and help people in need or without jobs.^[7][10] Social democracy strives to achieve a balance between capitalism and socialism or a balance between the public sector and private sector in the economy.^[11]

Practice versus theory

Some would argue that capitalist systems are not without help for the poor and the needy. An example is England, where relief for the poor was available in every parish in the land, long before there were any government social services. The practice was known as charity. Also, Britain saw the growth of an important middle class after industrialisation took hold. So it is not completely right to think of such societies as simply composed of owners and workers, or rich and poor.

Social democrats are divided in how they see their theory and it has been a subject of much debate around the world. Terms like "market socialism" and "the third way" are efforts to rethink what social democracy means today.^{[12][13][14][15]}

Related pages

• Socialist International
• Nationalization
• Welfare state

References

1. Contemporary political ideologies (2nd ed.). London: Pinter. 1999. pp. 80–103. ISBN 1-85567-605-2. OCLC 39706797.
2. Newman, Michael (2005). Socialism : a very short introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 5. ISBN 978-0-19-151684-9. OCLC 94270255.
3. Routledge encyclopedia of philosophy. London: Routledge. 1998. p. 827. ISBN 0-415-07310-3. OCLC 38096851.
4. International encyclopedia of political science. Thousdand Oaks, Calif.: SAGE. 2011. p. 2423. ISBN 978-1-4129-9416-3. OCLC 699482491.
5. Meyer, Thomas (2007). The theory of social democracy. Lewis P. Hinchman. Cambridge, UK: Polity. ISBN 978-0-7456-4112-6. OCLC 122283497.
6. Colby, Ira C. (2013). Connecting social welfare policy to fields of practice. Catherine N. Dulmus, Karen M. Sowers. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley. ISBN 978-1-118-41928-1. OCLC 798809969.
7. Weisskopf, Thomas E. (1992). "Toward a Socialism for the Future, in the Wake of the Demise of the Socialism of the Past". Review of Radical Political Economics. 24 (3–4): 1–28. doi:10.1177/048661349202400302. hdl:2027.42/68447. ISSN 0486-6134. S2CID 20456552.
8. Routledge encyclopedia of international political economy. New York: Routledge. 2001. ISBN 0-415-24350-5. OCLC 44860825.
9. "The Happiest Countries In The World (INFOGRAPHIC)". HuffPost. 2013-09-10. Retrieved 2023-05-04.
10. Heywood, Andrew (2012). Political ideologies : an introduction. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 125–128. ISBN 978-0-230-36724-1. OCLC 779097284.
11. Harrington, Michael (2011). Socialism : past and future : the classic text on the role of socialism in modern society. Skyhorse Publishing. p. 93. ISBN 978-1-61145-335-5. OCLC 759166335.
12. Bardhan, Pranab; Roemer, John E. (1992). "Market socialism: a case for rejuvenation" (PDF). Journal of Economic Perspectives. 6 (3): 101–116. doi:10.1257/jep.6.3.101. S2CID 155047731.
13. Ollman, Bertell (1998). Market socialism: the debate among socialists. New York: Routledge. pp. 55–80. ISBN 978-0-415-91966-1.
14. Cramme, Olaf; Diamond, Patrick (2012). After the third way: the future of social democracy in Europe. London: I.B. Tauris. pp. 1–27. ISBN 978-1-84885-992-0.
15. Lavelle, Ashley (2008). The death of social democracy: political consequences in the 21st century. Aldershot, England: Ashgate. ISBN 978-0-7546-7014-8.