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Social Democracy

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Social Democracy
Social Democracy Essay
Essay title: Analyse the influence of social democracy or conservatism on the nature of welfare state(s) development during the 20th century. Assess its current influence on welfare discourse with reference to relevant examples.
Social Policy Essay – Social Democracy

Social Democracy emerged from socialism in the 19th century; its aim was to combat individualism and later on critique capitalism. Social democrats are sometimes compared to liberalists as they emphasise individual liberty but their understanding of liberalism is different to that of the classic liberalists’ outlook. The importance of collectivism, redistribution, equality are practiced by social democrats and often interpreted in the welfare state. The idea of social democracy supported Keynesianism, which at the time seemed to be the most logical economic option to adjust to. Keynesianism had appealing characteristics that suggested an easy solution to avoid capitalism but include the welfare of the civil society at the same time. “The economic theory of socialism depends upon the idea that left to its own devices, capitalism is economically inefficient”. 1. This quote reinforces the attitude that social democrats advocate, that capitalism in and of itself does not contain enough power to proceed for the entirety of the future and benefit the citizens of the society at hand. One of the main objectives of social democrats is to battle capitalism and gain as much social justice as possible, such as eliminating unemployment and maintaining a healthy balance between the social and economic ambitions of a state. Social democracy is seen as an attempt to adapt right wing economic thinking and left wing socialist values. Social democracy is not only about the work and participation of the welfare state, social democrats concerns lie elsewhere such as society and their needs and amid that, the economic aspects of the world. “Social democracy, by contrast, insists that democracy

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