Democratic socialism combines socialism and democracy, with citizens controlling the government to benefit society as a whole. Resources are shared through cooperatives or public ownership, and social programs ensure a high quality of life for all citizens.
The term “democratic socialism,” in its purest sense, would mean a socialist society that is under democratic government. Both democracy and socialism are based on the ideal of equality. Democracy is a form of government in which citizens participate, assisting in various ways in governing themselves. Socialism is an economic concept that calls for the sharing of a society’s wealth among all its members, rather than more wealth held by some people than others.
Equally beneficial for everyone
People who support the idea of democratic socialism generally believe that decisions in a society should be made considering the needs of all people, not just the rich or powerful. This applies to economic and social decisions. Some important beliefs among democratic socialists are that resources and wealth should be used for the benefit of all members of a society and that economic institutions should be controlled and owned by the people affected by them. They also generally believe in the ideal that all members of a society have a voice in the decisions that affect them. This is in contrast to the communist form of socialism, where an all-powerful government owns all resources and industries, and decisions are made for the people rather than by them.
Citizens in control
Under democratic socialism, government is usually seen as controlled by citizens, with the primary goal of making decisions that benefit society as a whole. This democracy would also be characterized by equality between people. There would be no preferential treatment for the wealthy or prominent, and members of government would live like average citizens. Furthermore, there would be no discrimination based on race, religion, economic status, gender or any other difference.
Shared resources
A key goal of democratic socialism is an economy in which resources are shared, rather than left in the hands of the wealthy, as is often the case in a capitalist economy. One way to achieve this would be to create cooperatives that are owned and operated by workers, rather than having large capitalist corporations. Another option would be to put companies under public ownership and have them run by both consumers and workers. Extremely large industries, such as energy, might require some kind of government ownership or control, but the main goal would be to keep the economy under the control of the general public.
Social programs
Even a society living under a system of democratic socialism would be committed to meeting the needs of all its citizens. A wide variety of needs would be met through social programs designed to benefit every citizen and ensure a high quality of life. Examples of such programs include universal childcare, free or subsidized education, national health systems that provide access to all, and other social services. As of 2011, democratic socialism had not been fully implemented by any government, but some countries had specific programs that would be part of a democratic socialist’s vision.
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