What is Democratic Socialism?
Democratic socialism holds that both politics and the economy should be run democratically. Supporters argue that political democracy is incomplete if a small group controls most wealth and workplaces. They want to expand public, cooperative or worker ownership and to give people more say over economic decisions. Unlike revolutionary communism, democratic socialism insists on free elections, multiple parties and civil liberties. Unlike most modern social democracy, it aims to move beyond capitalism rather than only regulate it.
Core beliefs
- Democracy should extend from government into workplaces and the economy.
- Major industries, utilities and finance should be under public or social ownership.
- Health care, housing and education should be guaranteed as social rights.
- Socialism must be reached and kept through free elections and civil liberties.
- Workers, unions and social movements are the main drivers of change.
History
Democratic socialism developed alongside other socialist currents in the late nineteenth century. In Britain, the Fabian Society and later the Labour Party combined socialist goals with parliamentary methods. In 1918, Labour adopted a clause calling for common ownership of the means of production. In France, Jean Jaures argued that socialism should complete the democratic republic. In the United States, Eugene V. Debs ran for president several times as a Socialist Party candidate in the early twentieth century, and Norman Thomas continued that tradition. After 1917, democratic socialists distanced themselves from Soviet communism, which they saw as undemocratic. Michael Harrington helped found the Democratic Socialists of America in 1982.
Variants
Some democratic socialists favor nationalizing key industries under elected governments. Others prefer worker cooperatives and self-management, closer to market socialism. Ethical socialists, influenced by writers such as R. H. Tawney, base their case on moral values of fellowship and equality. Eco-socialists add a strong environmental focus. In many countries the line between democratic socialism and the left wing of social democracy is blurred, and the same party may contain both.
Criticisms
Critics on the right argue that broad public ownership weakens incentives, reduces efficiency and innovation, and concentrates too much power in government, even when that government is elected. Many economists point to the difficulty of setting prices and allocating capital without private markets. Social democrats and centrists argue that its goals are unrealistic or costly, and that regulated markets can deliver similar welfare outcomes. Some revolutionary socialists argue the opposite, that elected governments cannot transform capitalism because business interests will resist.
In practice
The postwar Labour government in Britain, led by Clement Attlee, nationalized coal, railways and other industries and created the National Health Service in 1948. Democratic socialist parties have taken part in governments in several European and Latin American countries. Ideas associated with the tradition, such as universal health coverage, public housing, worker representation on company boards and cooperative ownership, appear in policy debates in many democracies.