Difference between revisions of "Danton's politics"
From Danton's Real Life Userguide
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By moderate socialism I mean limited socialism under a democratic political regime with a free market economy. | By moderate socialism I mean limited socialism under a democratic political regime with a free market economy. | ||
| − | All Western democracies are in fact social-democratic. The Keynesian welfare state, introduced in the United States during the great depression of the 1930s as a response to one of the cyclic crises inherent in capitalism, is a form of minimal social-democracy. | + | All Western democracies are in fact social-democratic. The Keynesian welfare state, introduced in the United States during the great depression of the 1930s as a response to one of the cyclic crises inherent in capitalism, is a form of minimal social-democracy. The difference between the welfare state and socialism proper is only a matter of degree: as a moderate socialist I advocate a greater degree of socialism, but within the same framework, that of liberal democracy. |
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| + | The ''theory'' of moderate socialism was developed by Bernstein, who invented the term "social-democracy." Bernstein thought that the transition to socialism could be gradual, rather than requiring a revolutionary rupture. The ''practice'' of moderate socialism was developed in France by Leon Blum, whose Popular Front government illustrated how a leftist coalition could exercise power within the framework of liberal democracy, and then yield the power when overturned in the elections. | ||
==Failure of the Marxist experiment== | ==Failure of the Marxist experiment== | ||
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The formal mechanisms of liberal democracy, including free speech, universal sufferage with multiple parties, and a "state of law," are necessary to protect human rights and freedoms, whatever the economic system. Furthermore, a liberal democracy recognizes the right to property ownership, and by extension the right to hire the labor of others and operate as a "capitalist," which is incompatible with state-enforced communism. The best way to work towards the ideals egalitarianism and cooperative endeavor is to promote these within the framework of liberal democracy. | The formal mechanisms of liberal democracy, including free speech, universal sufferage with multiple parties, and a "state of law," are necessary to protect human rights and freedoms, whatever the economic system. Furthermore, a liberal democracy recognizes the right to property ownership, and by extension the right to hire the labor of others and operate as a "capitalist," which is incompatible with state-enforced communism. The best way to work towards the ideals egalitarianism and cooperative endeavor is to promote these within the framework of liberal democracy. | ||
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| + | ==The autonomous collective unit== | ||
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==See also== | ==See also== | ||
