Democratic socialism is a variant of socialism that rejects centralized, elitist or authoritarian means of transitioning from capitalism to socialism. Democratic socialism advocates for the immediate creation of decentralised economic democracy from the grassroots level, undertaken by and for the working class itself.
The term is often used by socialists who favour spontaneous revolution from below or gradualist reformism over organised revolutionary socialism, in an effort to distinguish themselves from Leninist socialists, who seek to organise a revolutionary movement by a vanguard party based on principles of democratic centralism.
Democratic socialists endorse a post-capitalist, socialist economic system as an alternative to capitalism. Some democratic socialists advocate market socialism based on workplace self-management, while others support a non-market system based on decentralized-participatory planning. Many contemporary democratic socialists reject centralized planning as a basis for democratic socialism.
Read more about Democratic Socialism: Definition, Notable Democratic Socialists
Famous quotes containing the words democratic and/or socialism:
“Not only our future economic soundness but the very soundness of our democratic institutions depends on the determination of our government to give employment to idle men.”
—Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945)
“The socialism of our day has done good service in setting men to thinking how certain civilizing benefits, now only enjoyed by the opulent, can be enjoyed by all.”
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