Social Democracy

The term social democracy has been defined in a number of different ways. Originally used by Marxists to distinguish between the narrow goal of political democracy and the more fundamental objectives of socialism, social democracy came, by the early twentieth century, to be associated with a reformist rather than a revolutionary road to socialism. However, the modern use of the term was shaped by the tendency of democratic socialist parties to abandon the goal of abolishing capitalism and embrace the more modest objective of reforming or humanizing capitalism. Social democracy, then, stands for a balance between the market and the state, a balance between the individual and the community. The chief task of social-democratic theory has therefore been to establish a compromise between, on the one hand, an acceptance of capitalism as the only reliable mechanism for generating wealth and, on the other, a desire to distribute wealth in accordance with moral, rather than market, principles.

The characteristic emphasis of social democratic thought is a concern for the underdog in society, the weak and vulnerable. This can, in most cases, be seen as a development of the socialist tradition, either being shaped by attempts to revise or update Marxism or emerging out of ethical or utopian socialism. Such developments usually involved the re-examination of capitalism and the rejection of the Marxist belief that the capitalist mode of production is characterized by systematic class oppression. Nevertheless, social democracy lacks the theoretical coherence of Marxism and may, anyway, not be firmly or exclusively rooted in socialism. In particular, social democrats have drawn so heavily upon modern liberal ideas such as positive freedom and equality of opportunity that it has become increasingly difficult to distinguish between social democracy and liberalism. This can be seen in the influence of Rawls upon social-democratic thought. More recent developments within social democracy have involved an accommodation with principles such as community, social partnership and moral responsibility, reflecting parallels between ‘modernized’ social democracy and communitarianism. Some ‘new’ social democrats have adopted the idea of the ‘third way’ to highlight the need to revise traditional social democracy to take account of the pressures generated by globalized capitalism.

The attraction of social democracy is that it has kept alive the humanist tradition within socialist thought, offering an alternative to the dogmatism and narrow economism of orthodox Marxism. Its attempt to achieve a balance between efficiency and equality has been, after all, the centre ground towards which politics in most developed societies has tended to gravitate, regardless of whether socialist, liberal or conservative governments are in power. From the Marxist perspective, however, social democracy amounts to a betrayal of socialist principles, an attempt to prop up a defective capitalist system in the name of socialist ideals. Nevertheless, social democracy’s central weakness is its lack of firm theoretical roots. Although social democrats have an enduring commitment to equality and social justice, the kind and extent of equality they support and the specific meaning they have given to social justice have constantly been revised. For instance, to the extent that social democracy has been recast as a defence of community, it can be said to have assumed an essentially conservative character. Instead of being a vehicle for social transformation, it has developed into a defence of duty and responsibility, and so serves to uphold established institutions and ways of life.

Eduard Bernstein (1850–1932) A German socialist politician and theorist, Bernstein was responsible for the first systematic revision of Marxism. He drew attention to the failure of Marx’s predictions about the collapse of capitalism, pointing out that economic crises were becoming less, not more acute. Bernstein rejected revolution and called for alliances with the liberal middle class and the peasantry, emphasising the possibility of a gradual and peaceful transition to socialism. He later abandoned all semblance of Marxism and developed a form of ethical socialism based upon neo-Kantianism. Bernstein’s most significant work is Evolutionary Socialism ([1898] 1962).

Richard Henry Tawney (1880–1962) A UK social philosopher and historian, Tawney championed a form of socialism firmly rooted in a Christian social moralism unconnected with Marxist class analysis. The disorders of capitalism, he argued, derived from the absence of a ‘moral ideal’, leading to unchecked acquisitiveness and widespread material inequality. The project of socialism is therefore to build a ‘common culture’ that will provide the basis for social cohesion and solidarity. Tawney’s major works include The Acquisitive Society (1921), Equality ([1931] 1969) and The Radical Tradition (1964).

Anthony Crosland (1918–77) A UK politician and socialist theorist, Crosland built on Bernstein in attempting to give social democracy a theoretical basis. He argued that capitalism no longer needs to be abolished as the ownership of wealth has become divorced from its control, and major economic decisions are made by salaried managers rather than by the bourgeoisie of old. The task of socialism is thus to promote equality, by which Crosland meant narrow distributive inequalities, rather than to restructure the system of ownership. Crosland’s best-known works include The Future of Socialism (1956) and Socialism Now (1974).

Anthony Giddens (1938– ) A UK social and political theorist, Giddens has been the most influential exponent of ‘modernized’ social democracy, or ‘third-way’ thinking; he is sometimes referred to as ‘Tony Blair’s guru’. He argues in favour of a form of social democracy that remains faithful to traditional values such as social justice, but recognizes the need to rethink the ways these are understood and delivered in the light of globalization, de-traditionalization and increased social reflexivity. Giddens’s main works include The Constitution of Society (1984), Beyond Left and Right (1994) and The Third Way (1998).