social democracy

(19th century- )

Theory of democratic socialism.

Although social democracy was used to describe 19th century Marxist parties in continental Europe, the phrase established a distinctive, non-Marxist and non-revolutionary meaning after the 1917 Russian Revolution, socialism can and should be achieved by democratic means, thus extending the meaning of democracy from simple political power to include social and economic power exercised by the electorate through the state.

Source:
David Miller et al., eds, The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Political Thought (Oxford, 1987)



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