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Democratic socialism is a left-wing[1] set of political philosophies that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy,[2] with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-management[3] within a market socialist, decentralised planned, or democratic centrally planned socialist economy.[4] Democratic socialists argue that capitalism is inherently incompatible with the values of freedom, equality, and solidarity and that these ideals can only be achieved through the realisation of a socialist society.[5] Although most democratic socialists seek a gradual transition to socialism,[6] democratic socialism can support revolutionary or reformist politics to establish socialism.[7] Democratic socialism was popularised by socialists who opposed the backsliding towards a one-party state in the Soviet Union and other nations during the 20th century.[8]
The history of democratic socialism can be traced back to 19th-century socialist thinkers across Europe and the Chartist movement in Britain, which somewhat differed in their goals but shared a common demand for democratic decision-making and public ownership of the means of production and viewed these as fundamental characteristics of the society they advocated for. From the late 19th to the early 20th century, democratic socialism was heavily influenced by the gradualist form of socialism promoted by the British Fabian Society and Eduard Bernstein's evolutionary socialism in Germany.[9]
Democratic socialism has been used in multiple senses, including a broad sense that refers to all forms of socialism which reject Marxist–Leninism and authoritarianism.[10] The broad interpretation of democratic socialism is more similar to the historical understanding of libertarian socialism.[11] In the broad sense, democratic socialism includes anti-authoritarian forms of social democracy, liberal socialism, utopian socialism, market socialism,[12] reformist socialism,[5] revolutionary socialism,[13] state socialism,[14] left populism,[15] Trotskyism,[14] and Eurocommunism.[16] In the narrow sense, democratic socialism refers to the anti-capitalist wing of social democracy, seeking to quickly move beyond the welfare state.[17]
- ^ Tsakalotos 2001, p. 26: "... most left-wing approaches (social democratic, democratic socialist, and so on) to how the market economy works."); Brandal, Bratberg & Thorsen 2013, Introduction: "In Scandinavia, as in the rest of the world, 'social democracy' and 'democratic socialism' have often been used interchangeably to define the part of the left pursuing gradual reform through democratic means."
- ^ Sinclair 1918; Busky 2000, p. 7; Abjorensen 2019, p. 115.
- ^ Edelstein 1993.
- ^ Anderson & Herr 2007, p. 448.
- ^ a b Alt et al. 2010, p. 401.
- ^ Busky 2000, p. 10.
- ^ Alt et al. 2010, p. 401; Abjorensen 2019, p. 115.
- ^ Williams 1985, p. 289; Foley 1994, p. 23; Eatwell & Wright 1999, p. 80; Busky 2000, pp. 7–8.
- ^ Bernstein 1907; Cole 1961; Steger 1997.
- ^ Busky 2000, pp. 7–8; Prychitko 2002, p. 72.
- ^ Draper 1966, pp. 57–84; Hain 1995; Hain 2000, p. 118.
- ^ Hain 1995; Anderson & Herr 2007, p. 448.
- ^ "Raya Dunayevskaya's Marxist Humanism and the Alternative to Capitalism". jacobin.com. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
- ^ a b Busky 2000, p. 93.
- ^ Möller, Kolja (September 2023). "From Jacobin flaws to transformative populism: Left populism and the legacy of European social democracy". Constellations. 30 (3): 309–324. doi:10.1111/1467-8675.12698. ISSN 1351-0487.
- ^ Weber, Henri (1978-08-01). "Eurocommunism, Socialism and Democracy" (PDF). New Left Review (I/110): 3–14.
- ^ Hamilton 1989; Pierson 2005; Page 2007.