Changes

==History==

==History==

[[File:Mao Browder and Social Democracy.jpeg|right|350px|thumb|''Mao, Browder, and Social Democracy''. The tract, written by Marxist–Leninist purists, accuses [[Chairman Mao]] and CPUSA general secretary [[Earl Browder]] of [[deviationism|corrupting Socialism]].]]

[[File:Mao Browder and Social Democracy.jpeg|right|350px|thumb|''Mao, Browder, and Social Democracy''. The tract, written by Marxist–Leninist purists, accuses [[Chairman Mao]] and CPUSA general secretary [[Earl Browder]] of [[deviationism|corrupting Socialism]].]]

It is generally considered that the international Left split into two distinct camps after the [[Russian Revolution]] of 1917. Members of the more extreme factions around the world, which sought to achieve radical societal change through revolution, became known as ''[[communists]]'', while members of the less extreme factions, which were led by Eduard Bernstein and sought to pursue gradual change through the democratic system, became known as ''social democrats''. The roots of these divisions, in fact, long preceded 1917: [[Marxist]]s, for example, had called for violent revolution in the nineteenth century, while more moderate parties such as the [[British]] [[Labour Party]] had never espoused such ideas.  Austrian economist [[Friedrich Hayek]] writing in 1945 observed, "To many who have watched the transition from socialism to [[fascism]] at close quarters the connection between the two systems has become increasingly obvious, but in the democracies the majority of people still believe that socialism and [[freedom]] can be combined. They do not realize that democratic socialism, the great [[utopia]] of the last few generations, is not only unachievable, but that to strive for it produces something utterly different – the very destruction of freedom itself.<ref>[http://www.iea.org.uk/files/upld-publication43pdf?.pdf ''Road to Serfdom'',] Friedrich A. Hayek, Reader's Digest Condensed Version, April 1945, pg. 36.</ref>

It is generally considered that the international Left split into two distinct camps after the [[Russian Revolution]] of 1917. Members of the more extreme factions around the world, which sought to achieve radical societal change through revolution, became known as ''[[communists]]'', while members of the less extreme factions, which were led by Eduard Bernstein and sought to pursue gradual change through the democratic system, became known as ''social democrats''. Vladimir Lenin, however, while advocating for violent overthrow overall, did nonetheless toy with the idea of referring to his party as Social-Democrats,<ref>[https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1901/witbd/iii.htm What Is To Be Done?] by Vladimir Lenin<br />''"...the Social-Democrat’s [Communist's] ideal should not be the trade union secretary, but the tribune of the people, who is able to react to every manifestation of tyranny and oppression, no matter where it appears, no matter what stratum or class of the people it affects; who is able to generalise all these manifestations and produce a single picture of police violence and capitalist exploitation; who is able to take advantage of every event, however small, in order to set forth before all his socialist convictions and his democratic demands, in order to clarify for all and everyone the world-historic significance of the struggle for the emancipation of the proletariat."''</ref> with what would become the Bolsheviks and Mensheviks originating from a party called the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party from its founding in 1898 up to 1903, with the Bolsheviks openly embracing social democratic ideals.<ref>https://stream.org/lenin-said-christians-socialism/</ref> The roots of these divisions, in fact, long preceded 1917: [[Marxist]]s, for example, had called for violent revolution in the nineteenth century, while more moderate parties such as the [[British]] [[Labour Party]] had never espoused such ideas.  Austrian economist [[Friedrich Hayek]] writing in 1945 observed, "To many who have watched the transition from socialism to [[fascism]] at close quarters the connection between the two systems has become increasingly obvious, but in the democracies the majority of people still believe that socialism and [[freedom]] can be combined. They do not realize that democratic socialism, the great [[utopia]] of the last few generations, is not only unachievable, but that to strive for it produces something utterly different – the very destruction of freedom itself.<ref>[http://www.iea.org.uk/files/upld-publication43pdf?.pdf ''Road to Serfdom'',] Friedrich A. Hayek, Reader's Digest Condensed Version, April 1945, pg. 36.</ref>

==Social Democracy in Practice==

==Social Democracy in Practice==