The mutations of social democracy (late XIXth century– 1945): From long-term aspirations to “here and now” policies

Trevor S.

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The mutations of social democracy (late XIXth century– 1945): From long-term aspirations to “here and now” policies

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In 1871, the Paris Commune, a proto-socialist attempted to form a new regime on communalistic and collectivist principles, and was savagely repressed by governmental troops led by Adolphe Thiers. Communards, if divided between patriots advocating the continuation of a
revolutionary war against Prussia and several leaders of the First International, had a governmental program openly inspired by socialist ideals: the severance of Church and State, a free and laique (secular) public instruction, the owning of the means of production by the workers.

Yet the conservative crackdown has put an end to these schemes and beheaded the French socialist movement for years: "this terrible sight will lecture them" 1, Thiers has reportedly said. This landmark is a symbol of the downfall of amateurish forms of revolutionary purposes in aid of scientific socialism, and the marxist theories: to put it in a nutshell, the belief that the society is divided between capitalists that own the means of production, and workers who own nothing but their workforce; the class struggle between the two shall eventually lead to the overthrow of capitalism by the proletariat and the founding of a classless communist society. But more important than the ideological foundations of this theory is the means that shall be used in order to reach the objectives: an organized revolution, led by skilled socialists.

Sommaire

Introduction
Social democracy has gradually accepted the parliamentary system as the b est means of improving the workers' living conditions
1. A gradual jettisoning of the ideal of revolution
2. A blatant lack of success of direct action
3. Parliamentary action as a favored instrument for achieving short-term goals
In its swelling pursuit of political acceptability, social democracy has gingerly abandoned most of its marxist dogmas
1. The war, an opportunity for responsible governmental attitude
2. A growing defiance towards communist extremism
3. A bourgeois Social Democracy?
Notwithstanding, social democracy has remained a prisoner of its inherent contradictions which have made it unfit for power
1. When in power: a fiasco
2. A blatant ideological mediocrity
3. At the end of World War II: a programmatic maturation
Conclusion

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Extraits

[...] This second alternative has been chosen : a moderate stance that has allowed Social Democracy to conquer a new electorate. The German SPD turned from an “Arbeiterspartei” to a “Volkspartei”, suggesting this openness. In Scandinavian countries, the Left abandoned its program of nationalisations and revolution in aid of a Welfare State that most people favoured. Most socialist parties would follow this trend in the upcoming years. This ideological veer has had some important consequences on the sociology of its electorate, the share of industrial workers dwindling in aid of public-sector and middle-class voters. [...]

[...] In the end, what conclusion can we deduce from the mutations that Social Democracy has known from the last years of the XIXth century to the aftermath of World War Two ? Probably the main change that has occurred is the renouncement to the marxist ideology in aid of what we have called “here and politics, id est schemes that could better the living conditions of the working class taken in its largest definition. Social Democracy has doubtlessly more to do today with humanism and equity than with violent unrest and pipe-dreams of a classless society. [...]

[...] As Millerand put it : more workers' rights, no more social legislation : there is nothing but 5. During the conflict, most governments have welcomed socialist leaders in power : for instance, in France, Guesde, Sambat, and Thomas have joined the Union Sacrée though at non-strategic roles. In the UK, socialist leaders have maintained rest among workers in the name of the Nation. Of course, some senior figures have described the war as “capitalistic” and suggested to take advantage of the situation in order to overthrow the executive, taking example on the Soviet Revolution. [...]

[...] De la révolution au réformisme, Aubier, Paris KRIEGEL Annie, Les Internationales Ouvrières, Presses Universitaires de France, Paris SASSOON Donald, One hundred years of socialism. The West European left in the Twentieth Century, I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd, New York TOUCHARD Jean, Histoire des idées politiques. T2. [...]

[...] Parliamentary action as a favoured instrument for achieving short-term goals As early as in 1896, the Congress of London has underscored the importance that must be given to parliamentary action id est, reformism. One of the mottos of the labour movement all across Europe would be universal suffrage in order to give more influence to, according to the country, workers or women that were discriminated against by the law : this stance proves that a biggest seriousness was accorded to legal means as a way to achieve short-term goals. [...]

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