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I stand on the left side of the political spectrum so I am attracted to a more liberal political philosophy, whereby the primary emphasis was placed on limiting governmental involvement in all aspects of society. However, as I have gotten to know the world more, I have started to see that state intervention is necessary in order to steer society in the direction of equality.
Over the last several years, I have started to reject classical and conservative ideas, because I came to believe education was the most crucial part of a growing society. This essay will explain how and why I believe in social democratic ideas. In my ideal society, there is no interference of the state when it comes to business. However, the ultimate aim of democratic socialism is “protection and promotion of each person’s equal opportunity to develop his potentialities as fully as possible (Malleson, 2014, p. 230)”. This is why I favor government interference in sectors such as education and health care. Social democrats favor electoral politics, with a system of civil liberties and elections under a so-called “representative democracy”. I believe that this system is a good way of governance as it benefits all people. After careful consideration of strengths and weaknesses related to conservative and social politics, I have decided that the best ideology for me is democratic socialism.
This ideology is defined as having a market economy in which “the means of production are controlled to a degree, alongside a politically democratic system of government (Malleson, 2014, p. 230)”. Social democracy is the system many European countries have, which relies on free-market capitalism combined with regulations to protect its citizens from the excesses of capitalism. Capitalism is fundamentally a positive force. But we should also be wary of large corporations, as they can gain a lot of market power through consolidation and political power via lobbying. That is why we need the government to be able to control corporate behavior and ensure that it is kept separate from the democratic process. Governments need to balance between protecting the rights of their citizens while simultaneously giving enterprises as much freedom as possible so that they can be competitive. Democratic socialism was born after WWII when many European citizens saw that Communism just didn’t work and that National Socialism should not be allowed to become a real ideology (Van der Linden, 1998, p. 163). Therefore, they sought reform in public health care, public schools, housing projects, pension plans and support for low-income individuals. Socialist programs and reforms make for a better society of people that are “freer, more educated and able to live their lives to the fullest” (Van der Linden, 1998, p. 163).
The reason why social democracies have evolved towards state intervention is that citizens grew distrustful in corporations. One of the ways extreme capitalism has manifested over the years is visible in the United States, which is a modern liberal country. The growth of personal wealth over the years has led to the consolidation of businesses and eventually created a system of lobbying political parties. The greatest example of this is the healthcare industry, which is continuously making an effort to ensure that the availability of health services stays scarce so that company profits can grow. Ultimately, when people see that large players, such as pharmaceutical companies, are swaying a liberal society they start to feel less free and more part of another plan. In a capitalist society, a person is told that they are able to engage in free enterprise and compete against others. However, in practice, this is furthest from the truth as it is basically impossible to compete against large corporations, which have established a hold in the market. Democratic socialism is about ends, not means. With a free market and private ownership, it upholds individualist principles but is regulated in order to achieve a fairer, more humane society.
All modes of production - and capitalism is no exception - are subject to change. It is possible that capitalism will be replaced by a different system of human engagement so human needs are satisfied. Ultimately, it is important that a majority of the global working class have shown that capitalist ideas have served their purpose and that it was time for a change. The critical contradictions of capitalism, whereby the few own more and more capital suggest that this change will occur sooner rather than later.
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