Social Democrats Flashcards
Who are social democrats?…
Social democracy is the strand of socialism closest to the centre of the political spectrum.
In terms of economic policy, social democrats believe strongly in the virtues of co-operation between the government, the unions and management.
The level of wealth created within society should be reallocated via a combination of progressive taxation, an extensive welfare state programme and a significant role for both the public and private sector.
Are they socialists?…
Unlike other strands of socialist thought, social democrats stipulate that capitalism can and should be humanised.
The creation of a society built around social justice and equality does not therefore require a mass programme of nationalisation and state control as advocated by democratic socialists; nor the revolution predicted by Marxists.
Instead, an economic system based primarily upon private ownership can be civilised via an extensive set of left-wing policies.
Labour Party…
Social democracy has long been the dominant trend both within the Labour Party and to a lesser extent within the labour movement.
Trade unions, co-operatives, socialist societies and think tanks such as the IPPR have largely adopted a centre-left position aimed at converting the hearts and minds of the electorate.
Historically, many of the leading figures within the labour movement are classed as social democrats rather than democratic socialists.
Moreover, the Labour Party has been at its most successful in electoral terms when it has tempered its socialist ideals with a dash of realism about what a government of the left can achieve.
Why not Marxists?…
Revolutionary socialist parties such as the SWP and the Socialist Party of Great Britain have even less electoral appeal.
However, the main problem with a Marxist position is that revolutions are inevitably associated with bloodshed and chaos. It seems inconceivable that the agents of the state and other powerful forces with a vested interest in the status quo would simply step aside and accept the inevitable victory of socialism.
In terms of the Labour Party and to a lesser extent the labour movement, social democracy is the dominant strand of thought amongst those who wish to substitute capitalism.
What about education?…
Social democrats believe that governments should invest heavily in education and use education as a means to improve equality of opportunity. Which in turn is the best way to ensure that education also contributes to economic growth.
The Tripartite System…
Writing in the 1960s, Halsey et al. argued that the Tripartite system of education failed to deliver genuine equality of opportunity to all students: the majority of children who attended secondary modern schools failed to develop their potentials and thus did not have the same opportunities as those who attended either grammar or technical schools.
Halsey et al. also noted that opportunities were broadly divided along class lines, with mainly the working classes attending secondary moderns while the middle class attended grammar schools.
Growing the economy…
Social democrats also argued that a truly meritocratic education system would contribute to economic growth, because it would enable each individual to maximise their potential and thus contribute maximally to the economic development of the country.
Economic growth…
Theodore W. Schultz was a proponent of this idea, arguing that skills and knowledge were forms of capital – increasing spending on education represented an investment in people and the more governments spent on education, the more skilled the workforce would become, and the more productive they should be.
British government policy from WW2 to the early 1980s broadly followed social democratic lines – expenditure on education was gradually increased throughout these decades, the school leaving age was increased, and further and higher education expanded enormously.
