Social democracy

Social democracy is a political ideology emerging in the late 19th and early 20th centuries from supporters of Marxism who believed that the transition to a socialist society could be achieved through democratic evolutionary rather than revolutionary means. It emphasises a program of gradual legislative reform of the capitalist system in order to make it more equitable, usually with the theoretical end goal of building a socialist society.

"Democratic socialism" versus "Social democracy"

Democratic socialism or reformism arguably forms a distinct current of thought from social democracy, in that self-described democratic socialists still see themselves as working towards the establishment of a socialist society with a socialist economic system. Many separate parties calling themselves "social democrats" have sought to distance themselves from their democratic socialist counterparts. Naturally, there is some degree of overlap, and some self-professed democratic socialists remain associated with social democratic parties in an effort to render them more avowedly socialist.

Related Topics:
Democratic socialism - Reformism

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In most cases, those who merely want to improve capitalism have kept the name "social democrats" while those who want to gradually abolish capitalism through democratic means are called "democratic socialists". In other cases, particular names are used solely by historical accident.

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