Social democracy

The social democracy indicates today a left-wing policy current, reformist and not Marxiste.

History

Origins

Initially, social democracy is a name of the movement international Socialiste, and in particular of the II {{ème}} founded Internationale in 1889 on the initiative in particular of Friedrich Engels. It thus acts at the base of a movement Marxiste.

Quoting Karl Marx, Georges Labica would make go up the origins of current running social democrat to the revolution of 1848, date on which a coalition between middle-class man and workmen removed with the social claims of the proletariat their revolutionary point and gave them a democratic turning. One removed with the democratic claims of the small-middle-class their purely political form and one emphasized their socialist point. Thus social democracy was created. The Proclamation of the Communist party being published in parallel, socialism included/understood, as of this time, of the different currents, to which one can add the anarchistic sensitivity carried out by Pierre-Joseph Proudhon.

Debates appear within social democracy at the end of the 19th century, since some - in particular Eduard Bernstein - propose a revision of the Marxisme in order to be directed towards the Réformisme. They are beaten with the congress of Erfurt of 1899, the leader of SPD August Bebel informant: I will not tolerate that the spinal column of social democracy is broken, that his principle is replaced: the class struggle against the having classes and the capacity of State, by a lame tactic and the exclusive tracking of supposedly practical targets , and Rosa Luxemburg will devote a work, social Réforme or revolution? , to fight this current. But in spite of this immediate defeat, they posed the foundations of what will be as from the 20th century the social democrat current.

The international IIe, following various recastings, became the Internationale Socialist, and gradually gave up part of its exclusive references to the Marxisme; it gathers the social democrat parties with the current direction of the term.

In France

In France, socialism remained divided into several parties (of which certain revolutionists and other reformists) until in 1905. On injunction of the International , these parties were linked in 1905 to found SFIO. Jean Jaurès was one of the principal French theorists of socialism.

In the years 1920, many members SFIO who had joined the PCF returned disillusioned to “old the social democrat house”. Thereafter, the government policy of Leon Blum with the Popular front was reformist and democratic.

First World War

The First World War is the occasion of an serious attack of social democracy. A big number of parties of the second international one (SPD in Germany, SFIO in France…) take part, support actively or passively their respective governments engaged in the conflict (see also: Sacred union and the Socialists). Minorities are opposed then to the war, “leagues Spartakiste” in Germany, “Committee for the resumption of the international relations” in France, and the majority of the opponents to the war are gradually excluded from social democracy (in particular USPD in Germany). This scission gives birth between 1915 and 1921 to the Communist parties in all Europe.

In Germany, the opponents with the war are excluded from the SPD in 1916, and found the USPD, which includes/understands the Spartakiste league of Rosa Luxemburg, but is much broader. Part of USPD will found in 1918 the Communist party of Germany (KPD). In January 1919, the leaders of the KPD, Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, were carried out following a missed insurrection, on order of the German government directed by the SPD.

In Russia, the Left Working Social democrat Russia, including its Bolshevik fraction, supports mainly the provisional government resulting from the Révolution of February 1917. With the arrival of Lénine of return of exile, the Bolchevik S take the party of immediate peace with Germany, and preach the seizure of power by the Soviet S. the Révolution of October removes the capacity at the provisional government, and gives it to a council of police chiefs of the people controlled by the Bolsheviks. The other parties all are prohibited as from July 1918. In 1919, they found the Third International, devoting the rupture with the social democracy, which was effective since 1914.

Third international

Essentially, the divorce between the third and the second international one will be based on the rejection by the social democrats of the revolutionary prospect.

Social democracy becomes often a pejorative term, the Communists qualifying the social democrats of “social-chauvinistic” to have accepted the war of 14-18, and “deviationists” compared to the Marxisme. The term of social democracy was then compared to a drift droitière or centrist. This assimilation will harm the concept and will cause a certain confusion which is found until today.

Modern social democracy

In a context of cold war, a new turning takes place in 1959, when the congress of Bad Godesberg of SPD vote the abandonment of any reference to the Marxisme.

The universalization proof

By reducing its opposition to the communist ideology to a dissension on the question of the Revolution like principle of action, social democracy chooses a conquest of the capacity by the election and by respecting the principles of the Representative democracy.

She triumphs during second half of the 20th century, period during which all the countries of Western Europe and North America adopt, at various intervals, reforms social-democrats leading to the État-providence.

Certain control measures of the markets and the capital are slackened as from the years 1980, under the impulse of right parties such as the British or Canadian conservatives and the American republicans. In Europe, this current is described as “Néolibéral” by the anticapitalists, the altermondialists, and certain social democrats.

The collapse of the Communist bloc as from 1989, the acceleration of the economic Universalization, and electoral successes of the conservatives in several countries lead to a handing-over in question of certain social democrat principles. They thus take again political elements of the center, even of the right-hand side, like the acceptance of industrial privatizations or universalization. This strategy, sometimes called “third way” or “Social-liberalism”, allows the Labor British (carried out by Tony Blair) to durably find the capacity in 1997, after fifteen years of opposition. One finds of them elements in the United States (Bill Clinton, ladykiller of George Bush) or in Germany (Gerhard Schröder, ladykiller of Helmut Kohl).

Doctrines

Social democracy is in its political program only one logical form of the middle-class democracy… Troelstra, directing Dutch socialist party.

In rupture with the Communism, social democracy with the modern direction of the term was placed during the 20th century under the sign of the doctrines keynésienne combining private initiative and impulse of the State, while remaining within the economic framework of capitalism.

But it is not only one policy: social democracy is in manner indissociable a political culture which leaves social pluralism and defends “moderation”, the " compromis" policy and of the structures of organization for the negotiation and the dialog.

In a general way, the social democrats support:

of the mechanisms of regulation of the private production in order to defend the interests of the employees, the consumers and the small companies, for example via the protection of the union action, the minimum wage, the framing of the work conditions;
a social economy of market, organization intermediate enters the free competition and the planned economy;
the Equitable trade rather than the Free trade;
a Welfare state which protects the population from the risks related on health or work;
a public system of education, health, guard of children, etc, accessible to all;
of the levels of high taking away in order to finance this public expenditure via a Graduated income;
of the laws on environmental protection;
immigration and the Multiculturalisme;
the Secularity;
a foreign politics based on the promotion of the democratic values, the defense of the Human rights and the dialog.

They are generally favorable to measurements like the Homosexual marriage, the right to the Avortement, or the de-penalization of the soft drugs.

Various social democrat parties

See also: List of the social democrat parties

German social democracy

The German Socialisme very quickly will be qualified of social democrat, since the two terms are synonymous at least until 1914.

SPD ( Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands , Left Social democrat German), resulting from fusion between the partisans of Karl Marx and Lassalle (in 1875), is the first modern party of mass. The scientific socialism justifies the need for the construction of a working party of mass and fell under a rational use of the forms and means of the representative democracy by leaving however the possibility of a rationalization of the class struggle for the constitution of a republic of socialist work .

Very early however the SPD will carry out alliances with the liberal parties in order to sit the Democracy vis-a-vis the authoritarian regime of the Emperor. In 1912 the SPD, which are the first party of the Reichstag, form a coalition with the Liberal Nationals, the Progressists (the left wing of liberalism) and part of the deputies of the Zentrum (catholic Center). But the war will prevent it from asserting a real Parlementarisme. In 1918, while refusing to support the revolt spartakist, which will not receive the support of the majority of the working councils, soldiers and sailors remaining faithful to the Socialists with the capacity, and more still by repressing in blood the German Révolution, the SPD breaks definitively with revolutionary logic.

Initially hostile with capitalism and the market economy, the SPD accepts it in the program of Bad Godesberg, elaborate at the time of the congress of the same name in 1959.

Scandinavian social democracies

The left social Danish democrat, the social-democratic Swedish left the workers, the social democrat Left Finland and the Norwegian workers party are the models frequently quoted in example by the social democrats, particularly with regard to the Sweden.

Internal bonds

Some figures of social democracy

Before 1914:

After 1914:

There also was within social democracy " moderne" , since the middle of the 20th century, of the elements which disputed the adaptation to the Capitalisme: in France, Marceau Green woodpecker and PSOP, then PSU; in Italy PSIUP of Lélio Basso; in Germany WASG.

See too

Left
political Ideas
List of the social democrat parties
Class struggle
Labor movement
Political movements
Birth of the trade unionism in Europe
Political party
Socialism
Trade unionism
SFIO

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