What is Social Democracy?

As Bernie Saunders continues to rise in the polls and popularity, the questions begin ...What is Social Democracy?How is it different from Socialism (and Communism, fascism, etc) and why they should not be confused.Social democracy - RationalWiki (see link for more):

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Social democracy is the idea that the state needs to provide security and equality for its people and should actively reorder society in a way that is conducive to such developments, but that such changes should be brought about gradually, legitimated by a democratically-elected majority. It is native to Europe, where social democrats regularly feature as one of the major parties and have led (or at least participated in) governments in most states at some point in time, most notably in Scandinavia (up to being nicknamed the "Nordic model"). Social democrats typically regard government intervention as a force for good, constraining markets and engaging in redistributive efforts for the benefit of the lower classes in order to establish a more equitable society.

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Somewhat confusingly, social democracy is not the same thing as democratic socialism, nearly-identical names notwithstanding. Modern social democrats believe in maintaining the capitalist system democratic socialists (in fact, all socialists) do not.

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emphasis mineWhat is a Social Democracy? (with pictures) (see link for more):

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A social democracy is a government that uses democratic process but has several characteristics that resemble those of a socialist society. Social democrats typically are committed to acting for the common good. In a government that is a social democracy, the government plays an active role in regulating certain political and economic conditions.

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The political ideology of a social democracy falls in the center-left of the political spectrum. Although social democrats believe in individual freedoms and a democratically elected government, they also often emphasize the need for the protection of minority groups and programs to benefit the poor. Social democrats generally support work and trade unions, free education and gender equality.

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emphasis mineCuriously I do not see how this either violates the constitution, nor is incompatible with it or the ideals of the founding fathers. Or that it even begins to be a bad idea\ideal.Certainly unrestrained capitalism is a scourge on humanity and a scourge on the planet.Socialism - RationalWiki (see link for more):

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Socialism refers to a set of related socio-economic systems based on social ownership of the means of production (as opposed to a small class owning them) and a cooperative management of the economy (where every individual has a degree of influence in the workplace), and ideologies that seek to promote social equality maximize opportunities for full human "self-actualization". The exact forms of socialism differ; with some forms advocating for cooperative enterprises within a market economy, while other forms advocate for a more comprehensive transformation with economic planning substituting capital markets and all means of production being held in common.

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2. Branches
  2.1 Revolutionary socialism
    2.1.1 Utopian socialism
    2.1.2 Blanquism
    2.1.3 Marxism
    2.1.4 Anarchism
  2.2 Reformism
    2.2.1 Ethical socialism
    2.2.2 Liberal socialism
    2.2.3 Democratic socialism
    2.2.4 Libertarian socialism
3. Not Socialism
  3.1 Stalinism
  3.2 Obamunism
4. Socialism and political parties
  4.1 Socialist International
  4.2 Communist internationals
  4.3 U.S. Democratic Party
  4.4 British Labour Party

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A characteristic phrase often used for socialism is "from each according to their ability to each according to their need."Now you can have a good chuckle over "Obamunism" ... "Recently, the right wing in the US has been trying to redefine the term "socialist", with the desired meaning being, "a person who flouts the Republican party line on more than two issues." ... considering he's a New Democrat. " (ie -- a republican on most policy points, further to the right than Reagan), and you can see why it isn't socialism and he isn't a socialist.And I also had a chuckle over the socialism and the democratic party bit:

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Some people say that the Democratic Party in the United States are socialists, specifically Barack Obama and the 2008 version of Hillary Clinton.

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This is bullshit; the Democrats are centrists, at most center-left. If they moved left enough even to approach socialistic beliefs, even so far as such factions as the right wing of the Socialist Party USA, they would start being ignored by the Biased Conservative Media.

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Why are the Democrats not socialist? Well, it's quite simple. Rather than going into every single way in which they're not, let us look at possibly the most important aspect of socialism, common ownership of the means of production, thus the abolition of class. The Democrats do not support this, hence are not socialists. At the very most they would support a welfare state.

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Read the first paragraph and you should understand that this is Faux Noise Nutwerk and their crony "Mythinformationist" noise-casters trying to redefine words and scare people with McCarthyistic tactics.Read that second paragraph and then look at how the "main stream media" has ignored Bernie Saunders ... until he became the.most.popular.candidate.Read that third paragraph and then you should see why Social Democrat Bernie Saunders is not a socialist.See also Social Democratic Party - Wikipedia for a list of countries with Social Democrat Parties.Also see Social Democratic Party of Germany - Wikipedia before yammering about fascist Germany.EnjoyEdited by RAZD, : .