Democratic Socialism

Democratic Socialism, commonly shortened to DemSoc, and not to be confused with Social Democracy, is a  left-wing ideology inhabiting around the top center of the libertarian left quadrant. It is one of the more moderate socialists.

Democratic Socialism seeks to combine Democracy and  Socialism, viewing dominant socialist currents as undemocratic (and usually as not truly socialist, due to this). This is done typically by means of advocating for transition to socialism by Reformist and electoralist means, using  Liberal democracy to acheive a socialist society, rather than using revolutionary, or otherwise violent or non-reformist means. Despite the former, sometimes dubbed "Evolutionary Democratic Socialism", or just "Evolutionary Socialism", being by far the most popular Democratic Socialist current, there also exists a form of Democratic Socialism that does support (violent) revolution. Revolutionary Democratic Socialism does not view electoralism as a legitimate or practical way of achieving socialism, but rather supports a revolution to establish a socialist society with democratic governance. In this way, this form of Democratic Socialism is democratic not in its means, like Evolutionary Socialism, but only in its ends.

[[File:Cball-UK.png]] United Kingdom [[File:Corbynism-ball.png]]
Corbynism is based on the political positions of  British MP  Jeremy Corbyn, who was also a former leader of the opposition, former leader of the  Labour Party and former chairman of the  Stop the War Coalition, also responsible for a  left-wing political fandom called "Corbynmania". He has already stated in an interview that he read Marx a lot, but not that much and some consider him "far left". Its ideals are based on protecting the environment in a "spiritual" way, with strong regulation of the environment and an economy against private investment, salary of 10 pounds an hour, nationalization and re-nationalization of private companies, increased public spending to £500bn, rising inflation, subsidizing regional development, recovering losses from tax evasion and reducing tax benefits by around £93bn.

[[File:Cball-US.png]] United States [[File:Sanders.png]]
In the United States, Democratic Socialism exists in the form of  Sandersism. Sandersism first came around as an ideology in 1972 when Bernie Sanders ran for senator of Vermont under the Liberty Union Party, but lost the vote. He ran for Governor of Vermont as well in the same year but also lost. Bernie Sanders did later become senator of Vermont in 2006 and still has been the senator of Vermont to this day, but is now under the  Vermont Progressive Party (but somewhat independent) rather than the Liberty Union. Though he is still part of the Senate Democrat Caucaus and runs for president as a  Democrat. His runs for president in 2016 and 2020 put the term 'democratic socialism' into mainstream American political discourse, although his economic policies which more resemble that of Social Democracy, with him heavily citing the  Nordic Model as an inspiration, makes his classification as a democratic socialist debatable. Nonetheless, democratic socialist organizations like the DSA saw a huge boost in membership after his runs for president, with many of these members like AOC later being elected to congress.

[[File:Cball-Russia.png]] Russia [[File:Menshevik.png]] [[File:Esers.png]] [[File:Gorb.png]]
At the beginning of the 20th century in Russia, two parties stood on the positions of democratic socialism: the  Mensheviks and the  Socialist-Revolutionaries.

During the years of Soviet power, democratic socialism was popular among the opposition.In his “Draft Constitution of the Union of Soviet Republics of Europe and Asia”, Academician A. D. Sakharov reflected the principles of a state with broad democratic rights and a mixed planned market economy, in which entrepreneurs are financially responsible for the social consequences of their activities.

In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev came to power and tried to reform the  Soviet Union.

Today, many provisions of democratic socialism have broad support in Russia. According to the All-Russian Poll of VCIOM in February 2006, 46.7% of the population spoke in favor of recreating a strong and socially oriented, but at the same time democratic, state. However, this ideology is almost not associated with the existing socialist or social democratic parties, which were supported by only 4% of the respondents.

[[File:Cball-Chile.png]] Chile [[File:Allende.png]]
As a result of the elections in Chile in 1970, the  Popular Unity party, led by  Salvador Allende, came to power. Economic reforms were carried out, as a result of which the US share in the Chilean economy decreased, and workers' self-government was also introduced.

However, in 1973 this government was overthrown by a military junta led by Augusto Pinochet.

[[File:Cball-India.png]] India [[File:Nehru.png]]
Jawaharlal Nehru is an Indian statesman, political and public figure. Under the mentorship of Mahatma Gandhi, he became Chairman of the Indian National Congress, and later, after the country gained independence on August 15, 1947, the first Prime Minister of India. He remained in this post until May 27, 1964, when he died of a heart attack. Nehru took a neutral position in foreign policy, implying India's independence from both the Western and  Eastern blocs. In view of this, he, along with Gamal Abdel Nasser and  Josip Broz Tito, took part in the tripartite consultations that preceded the creation of the Non-Aligned Movement, which unites countries with economies that differ significantly from  capitalism and  soviet central planning. However, he later admitted that the neutral position towards communism, which pursued an aggressive expansionist policy, was ineffective. China's attack on India forced it to move closer to the  NATO countries and abandon its neutrality.

In domestic politics, Nehru was an active supporter of  Georgism, while recognizing private initiative as the main functional engine of harmonious economic and social development.

[[File:Cball-China.png]] China [[File:ChenDuxiu.png]]
Chen Duxiu Thought is an ideology based on the ideas of Chen Duxiu, the first general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party. He believed that China should not follow the ideas of  Stalin, but should follow the path of  trotskyism and  democratic socialism.

However, in 1927 he left the post of General Secretary of the CCP, and founded his own faction in 1929. In 1932 he was arrested by the Nationalist government, and in 1942 he died.

[[File:Cball-France.png]] France [[File:Melenchon.png]]
Mélenchonism is an ideology based on the views of the French politician Jean-Luc Mélenchon. He was a member of the French National Assembly and a member of the  European Parliament. In the 2022 elections, he came close to making it to the second round of the presidential election, with 22%.

[[File:Cball-Sweden.png]] Sweden [[File:LeftPartyicon.png]]
Jonas Sjöstedt is a Swedish politician who was Chairman of the Left Party from 2012 to 2020, and is a former metal worker. He has also been a member of the Swedish Parliament since 2010.

Sjöstedt became politically active in the trade union movement at Volvo's Umeå plant in the early 1990s. Despite the fact that he was elected MEP in 1995 from the Left Party in the united left - the Northern Green Left. He held this position until his retirement in September 2006. In 2010 he was elected a member of the Swedish Parliament for Västerbotten. In the election, he came first on the ticket of the Left Party (which usually receives one representative in that district) and was elected by a personal majority in one part of all the elected electoral votes (for a sufficient sample of more than 8%).

In January 2020, Sjöstedt announced his intention to step down as leader of the Left Party at the May convention, stating that he wanted to spend more time with his family, who currently lives in Vietnam. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the convention was postponed and Sjöstedt was the group's headquarters until the convention took place on October 31, 2020, when Nushi Dadgostar was elected as his successor.

Based in New York from 2006 to 2010, Sjöstedt is also a member of the US Socialist Party. He writes for Swedish publications, articles for radio and newspapers, as well as history and fiction. Married to a Swedish diplomat. Ann Mawe, who was a member of the Swedish delegation to the  UN.

Personality
Democratic socialism usually behaves like a softer version of Socialism. He also does not like being confused with Social Democracy.

How to Draw
Demsoc_flag.svg

USA style
Drawing Democratic Socialism in this design takes a few steps:


 * 1) Draw a ball
 * 2) Fill it with red
 * 3) Draw a white hand outline coming from the left
 * 4) Draw a black hand outline coming from the right, that holds onto the white hand
 * 5) Draw a white rose with 2 white leaves
 * 6) Draw the eyes and you're done!

Star style
Demsoc_flag2.svg Drawing Democratic Socialism in the star style also takes a few steps:


 * 1) Draw a ball
 * 2) Fill it with red
 * 3) Draw a white circle in the center
 * 4) Draw a smaller blue circle inside the white circle.
 * 5) Draw a white star over the circle, being careful to leave the points of the star outside of the white circle but the indentations well inside the blue one so this one is still visible
 * 6) Draw a smaller red star inside the white star
 * 7) Add the eyes and you're done!

Friends

 * [[File: Soc.png]] Socialism - My father had his problematic ways but his intentions were good.
 * [[File:Dem.png]] Democracy - Without democracy, a society is nothing.
 * [[File: Socgeo.png]] Social Georgism - One of the better capitalists, I like his policies on land.
 * [[File: Libsoc.png]] Libertarian Socialism - Sometimes she's a little extreme in her rhetoric, but both of us value freedom and socialism.
 * [[File: Marketsoc.png]] Market Socialism - Based!
 * [[File:Libms.png]] Libertarian Market Socialism - Also based!
 * [[File: Partip.png]] Participism - An alternative to market socialism for a post-capitalist society.
 * [[File: Ecosoc.png]] Eco-Socialism - We gotta DEFEND THE EARTH!
 * [[File: Liberalsoc.png]] Liberal Socialism - We are very similar!
 * [[File: Reform.png]] Reformism - The best way to achieve socialism.
 * [[File: Socdem.png]] Social Democracy - Some say we're different but the truth is that we overlap quite often. We both love Eugene V. Debbs and Olof Palme.
 * [[File: Leftpop-0.png]] Left-Wing Populism - For the people!
 * [[File:Bernst.png]] Reformist Marxism - One of the best forms of Marxism.
 * [[File:Swhf.png]] Socialism with a Human Face - Really wish your attempts at democratization weren't squabbled by [[File:ML.png]] them.
 * [[File:Thar.png]] Anti-Authoritarianism - Down with [[File:Tankie.png]] tankies, [[File:Fash.png]] fascists and [[File:Monarch.png]] monarchists!

Frenemies

 * [[File: Consocf.png]] Conservative Socialism - I like your economic takes, and a lot of your followers are reformists too, but stop calling everything you don't like "degeneracy" please!
 * [[File:Tito.png]] Titoism - A rather authoritarian version of Market Socialism.
 * [[File:3princ.png]] Tridemism - Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People is based but you went down the drain quickly with Chiang Kai-shek's oppressive right-wing dictatorship and now I don't know what you are anymore.
 * [[File: Leftnat.png]] Left-Wing Nationalism - You got great economic takes but I'm not so sure with the nationalism, Allende and Evo were based however.
 * World Federalism2.png World Federalism - We actually have quite a bit of history together. Some of my most famous proponents also supported you, but I hate how you can often be imperialistic.
 * [[File: Khrusch.png]] Khrushchevism - Authoritarian, but did manage to De-Stalinize the USSR.
 * [[File: Socliber.png]] Social Libertarianism - I like your decentralization but when are you going to seize the means of production?
 * [[File: Ormarxf.png]] Marxism - You’re way too extreme. Also why do you keep saying I am a Marxist Communist?! And why do you hate [[File:Utsoc.png]] Mom?
 * [[file: Chavismo.png]] Chavismo - A little too authoritarian but I still support him against American imperialism.
 * [[File:Nordmodel.png]] Nordic Model - You're ok I guess. Just wish everyone in the US would stop thinking you're me.
 * [[File:Trot.png]] Trotskyism - You're the part of us in the past, Then you betrayed us by join [[File:Orthlen.png]] him, But Chen Duxiu is based.
 * [[File:Baath.png]] Ba'athism - As much as I despise both Saddam and Assad (the latter isn't even a socialist), the Iraq War and foreign intervention in the Syrian civil war made things much worse and led to the rise of ISIS.
 * [[File:Hochi.png]] Ho Chi Minh Thought [[File:Đổi Mới.png]] - Same as above. The US had no place in the Vietnam War but Vietnam is a repressive and now authoritarian capitalist one-party dictatorship like China.

Enemies

 * [[File:Neoliberal-icon.png]] Neoliberalism - STOP PRIVATIZING EVERYTHING YOU AUSTERITY-LOVING FUCK!
 * [[File:Nazbol.png]] National Bolshevism - You're like [[File:Consocf.png]] ConSoc but worse.
 * [[File:Necon.png]] Neoconservatism - STOP USING WELFARE MONEY ON USELESS WARS AND OIL COMPANIES!
 * [[File:Corp.png]] Corporatocracy - CORPORATIONS WERE BAD ENOUGH AND THEN THERE IS YOU, WANTING CORPORATIONS TO RULE THE COUNTRY!!
 * [[File:Ancapf.png]] Anarcho-Capitalism - Healthcare is a right, not a privilege!
 * [[File:Zio.png]] Zionism - FREE PALESTINE!
 * [[File:Pinochet.png]] Pinochetism - I'll never forgive you for what you did to [[File:Allende.png]] Allende!
 * [[File:Orthlen.png]] Leninism - Bolshevik scum! And you make [[File:Trot.png]] him to betray us! But at least we both like Chen Duxiu.
 * [[File:ML.png]] Marxism–Leninism - A lot of people don't trust me because of you!
 * [[File:Stalin.png]] Stalinism - He claimed to be a socialist but he was an oppressive cunt!
 * [[File:Dengf.png]] Dengism - Almost worse than the two above. Tankies defend you for some reason I can't comprehend.
 * [[File:Monarch.png]] Monarchism - why do you still exist?
 * [[File:Imp.png]] Imperialism - The highest stage of capitalism.
 * [[File:Nazi.png]] Nazism & [[File:Fash.png]] Fascism - BASH THE FASH!
 * [[File:Demcr.png]] Democratism - There is a reason I didn’t get dressed up for Biden's inauguration. Longest afternoon of my life.
 * [[File:Korwinism-Pikselart.png]] Korwinism - What the fuck?
 * [[File:Hoppef.png]] Hoppeanism - WHY?
 * [[File:3way.png]] Third Way - Fucking Blairites, I'll never forgive you for sabotaging Corbyn and ousting him from his own party!
 * [[File:Ottoman.png]] Neo-Ottomanism - QUIT TRYING TO BAN ME IN TURKEY! I AM NOT A [[File:PKK-icon-pcb.png]] PKK SYMPATHISER! STOP MAKING UP BULLSHIT!

Wikipedia

 * Democratic Socialism
 * Workplace Democracy
 * Fabian Society

People

 * [[File:Cball-UK.png]] Jeremy Corbyn [[File:Corbynism-ball.png]]
 * Political positions of Jeremy Corbyn
 * [[File:Cball-US.png]] Bernie Sanders
 * Political positions of Bernie Sanders
 * [[File:Cball-UK.png]] George Orwell
 * [[File:Cball-Germany.png]] Karl Kautsky
 * [[File:Cball-UK.png]] Tony Benn [[File:TonyBenn.png]]
 * [[File:Cball-UK.png]] Aneurin Bevan
 * Bevanism
 * [[File:Cball-US.png]] Martin Luther King Jr. [[File:MLK Jr.png]]
 * [[File:Cball-France.png]] Jean-Luc Mélenchon [[File:LaFranceInsoumise.png]]
 * [[File:Cball-US.png]] Eugene V. Debs
 * [[File:Cball-US.png]] Michael Harrington [[File:Dsa.png]]
 * [[File:Cball-UK.png]] John McDonnell
 * [[File:Cball-UK.png]] Dennis Skinner
 * [[File:Cball-UK.png]] Ken Livingstone
 * [[File:Cball-India.png]] Jawaharlal Nehru
 * [[File:Cball-Germany.png]] Albert Einstein
 * [[File:Cball-Sweden.png]] Olof Palme
 * [[File:Cball-Chile.png]] Salvador Allende
 * [[File:Cball-Bolivia.png]] Evo Morales
 * [[File:Ottoman.png]] Selahattin Demirtaş [[File:Cball-IraqiKurdistan.png]]
 * [[File:Cball-Peru.png]] Verónica Mendoza

Political Parties

 * [[File:Cball-US.png]] Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) [[File:Dsa.png]]
 * [[File:Cball-UK.png]] Socialist Campaign Group
 * [[File:Cball-US.png]] Socialist Party USA
 * [[File:Cball-France.png]] La France Insoumise [[File:LaFranceInsoumise.png]]
 * [[File:Cball-Spain.png]] Podemos [[File:Podemos.png]]
 * [[File:Cball-Germany.png]] Die Linke [[File:LINKE.png]]
 * [[File:Cball-Sweden.png]] Left Party
 * [[File:Cball-Finland.png]] Left Alliance
 * [[File:Cball-Brazil.png]] Socialism and Liberty Party
 * [[File:Cball-Portugal.png]] Left Bloc
 * [[File:Cball-Chile.png]] Popular Unity
 * [[File:Ottoman.png]] Peoples' Democratic Party [[File:Cball-IraqiKurdistan.png]]

Literature

 * Towards a Democratic Socialism
 * Social Democracy Versus Revolutionary Democratic Socialism
 * Socialism
 * Spectres of Marx by Jacques Derrida
 * Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich
 * Bait and Switch by Barbara Ehrenreich
 * The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein
 * No Logo by Naomi Klein
 * Das Kapital by Karl Marx
 * Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell
 * Christianity and Social Order by Archbishop William Temple
 * The Chilean road to socialism: 1970-73 by Collier et all
 * The Chilean Agrarian Transformation: Agrarian Reform and Capitalist ‘Partial’ Counter-Agrarian Reform, 1964–1980 Part 1: Reformism, Socialism and Free-Market Neoliberalism by Antonio Bellisario
 * The Chilean Agrarian Transformation: Agrarian Reform and Capitalist ‘Partial’ Counter-Agrarian Reform, 1964–1980 Part 2: CORA, Post-1980 Outcomes and the Emerging Agrarian Class Structure

Media

 * Jacobin
 * Dissent Magazine
 * Tribune

Videos

 * Democratic Socialism Vs. Social Democracy by Secular Talk

Online Communities

 * r/DemocraticSocialism
 * r/SandersForPresident
 * r/AOC
 * r/OurPresident
 * r/WayOfTheBern
 * r/demsocialists
 * r/demsocialist

Gallery
Socjalizm demokratyczny