Democratic Socialism | 8values ​​Interpretation of ideological ideology in political tests

Democratic Socialism is an important part of political ideology, and it advocates the combination of political democracy and socialized economy. This article will explain in detail the core principles, historical development, and differences from social democracy in the 8Values ​​political test results, and explore its impact in contemporary politics, so as to help you better understand the results of your 8Values ​​political values.

Democratic Socialism , as an important left-wing economic and political philosophy, supports political democracy and advocates a certain form of social ownership economy. It aims to combine democratic principles with a progressive reshaping of economic structures to achieve equality and individual freedom.

According to the definition of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), democratic socialists believe that both the economy and society should operate democratically, with the goal of meeting public needs rather than making profits for a few. This concept clearly opposes the full control of the government and the full ownership of large companies.

Democratic socialists believe that capitalism is essentially incompatible with the values ​​of freedom, equality and unity, and these ideals can only be achieved through the realization of socialist society. Although most democratic socialists seek to transition to socialism in a gradual way, the ideology also includes a political line that supports reform or revolution in achieving socialism.

The core principles of Democratic Socialism

Democratic socialism emphasizes the expansion of democracy into the economic field and the pursuit of building a society where wealth and power distribution is more equal than capitalism. Its core principles mainly include:

Economic Democracy and Social Ownership

Democratic Socialism emphasizes the equal importance of political democracy and economic democracy. This includes Workplace Democracy and Workers' self-management. Its core economic propositions include:

• Public Ownership: Important economic resources and industries are owned and managed by the public or the state. This principle is designed to ensure that critical resources benefit the entire society, not a few private owners.
• Economic Planning: To achieve social goals by managing and regulating the economy. Democratic socialists advocate market socialism, decentralized planned economy or democratic centralized planned economy.
• Economic Justice: pursues the equitable distribution of wealth and resources. Supporters of market socialism, such as Jaroslav Vaněk, believe that under the private ownership of productive property, a true free market is impossible, because class differences and unequal distribution of wealth will distort the interests of the dominant class.
• Worker self-management: Many Market Socialism advocate the development of workers’ cooperatives, and workers manage the enterprises independently because workers can gain a profit share from the overall performance of the enterprise, thus having greater motivation to increase productivity.

A perfect social welfare system and wealth redistribution

Democratic socialists advocate mitigating the drawbacks brought about by capitalism through a strong social security network and wealth redistribution.

• Social expenditure and high taxation: Democratic socialist governments tend toward high welfare state expenditure and fair redistribution of wealth. Data shows that countries with a higher proportion of social expenditure to GDP also tend to have a higher proportion of tax revenue to GDP.
• Social Safety Nets: Supports a comprehensive welfare system to protect the health and well-being of citizens. This includes social expenditures for vulnerable groups such as children, patients and the poor.
• Public service guarantee: Advocate access to basic resources such as health care, education, decent housing and decent retirement for all. For example, the Democratic Socialists of the United States (DSA) supports Medicare for All and popularizes free college education.

Analysis of democratic socialism and social democracy

Although democratic socialism and social democracy were historically synonymous, over time, especially after World War II, the two had significant differentiation in their core goals, which was crucial to understanding contemporary political thought.

• Core goal differences:

  • Social Democracy aims to reform and humanize capitalism, mitigating inequality through government intervention, progressive taxation and social welfare programs. It accepts that the market is an integral part of the economy and is committed to building a strong welfare state within the framework of capitalism.
  • Democratic Socialism aims to transcend and replace capitalism. While democratic socialists also support welfare reforms (such as universal health care), they see these reforms as a transitional step towards a deeper, systematic transition—that is, a transitional step towards a full socialist economy.

• Economic system differences:

  • Social democracy supports a mixed economy , which is capitalism-led, accompanied by strong regulation and public welfare.
  • Democratic socialism conceives a socialist economy , with means of production owned or controlled by society (the public or workers). They are committed to systematic transformation of the economy.

• Practical Differences:

  • Social democrats often accept capitalism as the current situation in practice, and their reform goals are mostly limited to the capitalist framework.
  • Many democratic socialists criticize social democracy as the Third Way has deviated from the socialist goals and is actually supporting capitalism in disguise. They insist on systematically transforming the economic system.

Self-positioning: Both democratic socialism and social democracy pursue social justice, but take different paths. If you want to know which ideology your political stance is closer, you can explore your specific position on the economic, social and political level with the 8values ​​Political Values ​​Propensity Test to see if you tend to reform capitalism or commit to replacing it.

The historical origins of democratic socialism

The ideological roots of democratic socialism can be traced back to the 19th century, when it was primarily a response to social and economic inequality brought about by the Industrial Revolution.

Early influence of fantasy and democratic thought

The origins of democratic socialism can be traced back to utopian socialist thinkers in the 19th century, such as Charles Fourier in France and Robert Owen in Britain. These early socialists are committed to building a cooperative model in which people work together to build a better society.

In addition, this idea was also influenced by the Chartist movement of the British Charter, which advocated democratic decision-making and public production of means of production as the basic characteristics of an ideal society.

The Formation and Dissemination of Evolutionary Socialism

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, democratic socialism was deeply influenced by "social democracy". The "Evolutionary Socialism" by Eduard Bernstein in Germany and the progressive socialist form of the Fabian Society in the UK influenced the development of democratic socialism . Bernstein advocates the realization of socialist goals through gradual and reformist methods within democratic society.

With the expansion of democratic institutions and universal suffrage in the 20th century, democratic socialism became a mainstream movement, forming ruling or major opposition parties in many countries (the United States is a major exception).

Global development and contemporary resurgence after the war

After World War II, democratic socialist thought played an important role in the reconstruction of Europe and was deeply rooted in many political systems. The founding of Socialist International in 1951 provided a global voice platform for democratic socialism . During this period, countries such as Sweden and Denmark became models for successfully combining social welfare policies with democratic governance.

Entering the 21st century, democratic socialism has regained its popularity in the United States. Political figures represented by Senator Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) claim to be democratic socialists , pushing their policy propositions into the mainstream vision of American politics. The movement has been widely supported by the American youth community, many who are disappointed with how the capitalist system performed after the 2008 financial crisis and linked it to economic inequality.

Practical Models and Cases of Democratic Socialism

The economic vision of democratic socialism encompasses a variety of models that aim to replace profit-driven private ownership.

Market Socialism and Decentralized Planning

Democratic socialists advocate integrating into the market mechanism, i.e. market socialism, into the socialist economy. In this model, socially owned businesses operate in competitive markets and are usually managed by their employees.

On the other hand, supporters of Decentralised Planning advocate democratic or participatory decision-making in the economic decision-making process. They rejected an executive order-based economic system like the Soviet Union, believing it to be inefficient and lack of democracy.

Debate between practical cases and Nordic models

Historically, social practices following the principles of democratic socialism include anti-authority and democratic anti-capitalist anarchist and socialist society. Famous examples include the Paris Commune and the Revolutionary Catalonia in Spain. In addition, Chile also implemented democratic socialism during the reign of President Salvador Allende.

In contemporary times, Nordic models are often mentioned, such as Denmark, Sweden and Norway. These countries are known for their comprehensive welfare programs, high standards of living and low poverty rates. However, in terms of strict ideological distinction, these countries are often classified as social democratic capitalism rather than complete democratic socialism . These countries have largely retained the capitalist framework and private ownership, and the private economy occupies an absolute dominant position in the national economy.

Ideological compatibility and social value

As a political ideology, democratic socialism is committed to achieving a social vision that transcends capitalism, and its core values ​​lie in the pursuit of freedom, equality and unity.

Commitment to democracy and pursuit of value

For democratic socialists , democracy is not only a means to achieve goals (such as socialism), but also the fundamental essence of the socialist goals themselves. They believe that true democracy can only be achieved when all people have democratic control over the economy.

• Humanitarian Foundation: Democratic socialism believes that socialism is a moral value and human ethical demand, not just a historical necessity. Its basic concepts, such as freedom, justice, unity and mutual assistance, are all manifestations of the humanitarian worldview.
• Social justice: Advocate for the elimination of various social discrimination, such as discrimination based on gender, geographical or ethnicity. Pursuing liberation and developing human personality.
• Worker's rights: Emphasizes workers' right to speak and represent in the workplace and protects their basic economic and social rights, such as the right to work, the right to health insurance, the right to rest, and the right to economic security when they are old or unemployed.

Distinguishing from other ideologies

Democratic socialism usually opposes all forms of centralism.

• Difference from Communism: Although both advocate public ownership, communism usually tends toward one-party dictatorship, while democratic socialism adheres to democratic procedures and individual freedoms. Democratic socialism respects democratic elections.
• Distinguishing from Traditional Socialism: Democratic socialism seeks to achieve socialism through democratic means, emphasizing the combination of political democracy and social ownership of means of production, while traditional socialism sometimes involves centralized economic planning and state control, and may even take a non-democratic approach.

Of course, democratic socialism also faces criticism from all sides:

• Concerns of non-communist opponents: Some opponents believe that socialism and democracy are essentially incompatible. They fear that socialism will cause the state bureaucracy to expand and ultimately limit individual freedoms, which may lead it to centralization.
• Criticism of communist opponents: Some Marxist and communist thinkers criticized democratic socialism for paying too much attention to reformism, believing that the problem of capitalist exploitation cannot be fundamentally solved through democratic reforms under the capitalist framework, and that the capitalist system can be completely disintegrated through proletarian revolution.

The contemporary influence and future prospects of democratic socialism

Since 2016, Democratic Socialism has significantly increased visibility and popularity in American politics. The Democratic Socialists Organization of the United States (DSA) has seen a significant increase in membership, with candidates winning a certain seat in local and state legislatures.

Economic Populism consensus

Although the label of “ democratic socialism ” may remain controversial in some areas, such as red and purple constituencies, its core economic populism policy has been supported by cross-party support.

The survey shows that most American voters (including Republicans and independent voters) agree that "our economic system favors companies and the rich." Therefore, the issue of "Bread-and-butter economics" such as raising wages, lowering prices, combating corporate corruption, protecting workers' organizational and collective bargaining rights, and investing in public products constitutes a direct way for democratic socialists to expand their support base.

8Values ​​Test: Explore your political coordinates

If you are interested in ideas such as democratic socialism , social democracy, or economic populism and want to systematically understand your own political values, you can try 8 values ​​of political values ​​inclination . This test can help you clearly position yourself on eight core value dimensions, including economic equality, social freedom, and more, to better understand how these ideologies affect your decision-making.

Democratic socialism, as an ideology that advocates the realization of social and economic justice within the democratic framework, is becoming a political force that cannot be ignored in the context of contemporary globalization and inequality, and continues to promote discussions on economic equity and social well-being.

Want to learn more about your political leanings? Please try our 8values ​​political orientation test and explore a detailed interpretation of all 8values ​​results ideology . In addition, you can find more articles on political theory and its real-life applications in our blog .