Politics
“Politics is a strife of interests masqueraded as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage”. This quote, by Ambrose Bierce is an accurate reflection of what politics has become in the modern era. In today’s era, it seems politicians have abandoned the idea of public good, and instead embraced private, corporate sponsored agenda’s. In order to change this contemptible reality, the dominant corporate dominated political paradigm must be challenged. The only political belief system that is capable of doing so is social democracy. Social democracy is an ideology that promotes a democratic shift from capitalism to socialism. It combines the economic ideology of socialism, with the political system of democracy. It promotes legal, political, and economic equality for all human beings. With its view on the role of the state, the role of the individual and its belief in horizontal interdependence of human beings, it is the only ideology that can meet the needs of the public.
The role of the state is a key aspect of the social democratic ideology. Democratic socialists believe that the state should play a bigger role in reducing inequalities between the extremely wealthy and the working middle class and the poor. It also supports a bigger role of government in protecting the labor rights of workers and unions, so that they are not exploited. However, unlike other forms of socialism and even communism, social democracy, as its name suggests, is a democratic ideology that believes that change must be gradual and democratic; it rejects the violent and revolutionary nature of other Marxist ideologies. Unlike liberalism and conservatism, which promote capitalism and limited government interference with the economy, democratic socialism believes that capitalism is inherently exploitative of the working class and it is the state’s role to redistribute the wealth that is created by it, and balance the power between the working class and
The role of the state is a key aspect of the social democratic ideology. Democratic socialists believe that the state should play a bigger role in reducing inequalities between the extremely wealthy and the working middle class and the poor. It also supports a bigger role of government in protecting the labor rights of workers and unions, so that they are not exploited. However, unlike other forms of socialism and even communism, social democracy, as its name suggests, is a democratic ideology that believes that change must be gradual and democratic; it rejects the violent and revolutionary nature of other Marxist ideologies. Unlike liberalism and conservatism, which promote capitalism and limited government interference with the economy, democratic socialism believes that capitalism is inherently exploitative of the working class and it is the state’s role to redistribute the wealth that is created by it, and balance the power between the working class and
Cited: 1. "Bangladesh." UNICEF. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2013 2. "The Advantages of Horizontal Organization." Business & Entrepreneurship. N.p., 3. “People, Politics, and Government” James John Guy pgs 86-91.