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.

Criticism of social democracy

Most criticism of social democracy comes from the right wing. Conservatives typically argue that social democratic systems are too restrictive on individual rights, particularly economic freedom, and that individual choice is not as great in systems that provide state-run schools, health care, child care and other services. Social democrats usually retort by arguing that their policies are in fact enhancing individual rights, by raising the standard of living of the vast majority of the population and eliminating the threat of extreme poverty.

Related Topics:
Right wing - Individual rights

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Economic conservatives and classic liberals argue that social democracy interferes with market mechanisms and hurts the economy by encouraging large budget deficits and restricting the ability of entrepreneurs to invest as they see fit. Social democrats might respond to this argument by observing that right-wing governments have also built up large budget deficits in recent years, notably the Reagan and Bush Jnr administrations in the USA and the Thatcher government post-1987 in the UK.

Related Topics:
Conservative - Classic liberal - Budget - Reagan - Bush Jnr - Thatcher

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The modern liberal critique of social democracy is centred on its willingness to restrict the political and legal rights of the individual in favour of a perceived social good. For example, the debate over detention of terrorist suspects without trial in the UK in 2004-05 pitted the Liberal Democrat party, who supported the right to a fair trial, against the Labour government, who argued that curtailing human rights was justified if it served a social end.

Related Topics:
Modern liberal - Social good - Detention of terrorist suspects without trial in the UK - Liberal Democrat - Right to a fair trial - Labour - Human rights

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There is also extensive criticism against social democracy coming from many segments of the Left. Democratic socialists and revolutionary socialists criticise social democrats for being so dependent on the capitalist system that they become indistinguishable from modern liberals. Many social democrats explicitly renounce the label "socialist" and the goal of achieving a socialist state. This willingness to work within the capitalist system rather than trying to modify or overturn it leads many on the left to accuse modern social democratic parties of being corrupt and betraying their principles. Left critics allege that some professed social democrats, such as Tony Blair, Göran Persson and Gerhard Schröder, end up doing the work of the capitalists by implementing tax cuts, cuts in social programs, privatisations, industrial deregulation, and a rolling back of the welfare state rather than extending it.

Related Topics:
Left - Modern liberals - Tony Blair - Göran Persson - Gerhard Schröder

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