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What is a Democratic Socialist?

A democratic socialist believes that the government should provide a range of essential services to the public for free or at a significant discount, such as health care and education. Unlike socialists, democratic socialists do not believe the government should control all aspects of the economy, only help provide basic needs and help all of its citizens have an equal chance of success.

What is Social Democracy?

Social democracy and democratic socialism are often used as synonyms; however, there are differences. Social democracy has a mostly capitalistic economy (i.e.: a less-regulated market and fewer rules against private ownership of land, utilities, etc.), but also with large-scale social welfare programs.

Social democracy is seen in the Nordic model, which includes a welfare state based on free market capitaliam. The model also include multi-level collective bargaining, a high percentage of the workforce unionized, and a large percentage of the workforce employed by the public sector. The Nordic countries were shaped by social democracy. Many other European countries have social democracies.

Socialism vs. Communism

Socialism and communism are both built on the premise that individuals contribute to society based on their ability to do so. Both concepts have the government playing a larger role in economic planning, investment, and government control institutions. Both also remove private business as a producer of goods and services.

There is a big fundamental difference between socialism and communism. Individuals under a proper communist system would not have money and would be given what the government thinks you need in terms of food, clothing, housing, etc. The people would not need to work harder to receive the same amount as anyone else. Under socialism, individuals are compensated based on their individual contribution; therefore, those who work harder would receive more.

Furthermore, communism views all property as public property, while socialism allows individuals to still have their own private property. Communism is an economic and political philosophy, and socialism is an economic philosophy. Lastly, communism abolishes class distinctions as everyone is effectively treated equally, while socialism allows class distinctions to exist, as there is the opportunity for some to achieve more wealth than others.

Democratic Socialism vs. Socialism

Both democratic socialism and socialism advocate for a redistribution of wealth and power to meet public needs, not make profits for a few. Both aim to weaken the power of corporations and increase the power of the working people.

Democratic socialists, however, do not think the government should immediately take control of all aspects of the economy. Democratic socialism focuses more on providing basic needs to all people, such as health care and education. Democratic socialism, unlike socialism, would achieve this through democratic means and not an authoritarian rule.

Failed Socialist Countries

The largest of the failed socialist countries is the Soviet Union, which fell in 1991. Following World War II, the United States helped rebuild Western European countries, all of whom were free marketing economies that rebuilt rapidly by establishing the European Union and trading with one another. On the other hand, the Soviet Union seized government control of Eastern European nations, all of which became socialist states. These included: Bulgaria, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Belarus, and Ukraine. While East Germany reunified with West Germany and joined the thriving EU economy, the rest of the Eastern European countries faced economic hardship after the Soviet Union fell. Many of these countries remain the poorest European countries today.

Additionally, both Cuba and Venezuela are currently socialist states facing their own economic crises deemed a result of socialism.

Successful Socialist Countries

Some argue that there has been no completely socialist country that has been successful, only countries that have seen success in adopting socialist policies.

Bolivia is an example of a prosperous socialist country. Bolivia has drastically cut extreme poverty and has the highest GDP growth rate in South America.

Other countries that have adopted and enacted socialist ideas and policies to various degrees, and have seen success in improving their societies by doing so, are Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Great Britain, Canada, the Netherlands, Spain, Ireland, Belgium, Switzerland, Australia, Japan, and New Zealand.
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