Why Social Democrats Must Stop Defending and Start Transforming

The centre-left's defensive crouch has made it look like a guardian of an unfair status quo—radical reformism offers escape.

https://www.socialeurope.eu/why-social-democrats-must-stop-defending-and-start-transforming



Since its beginnings during the revolutions of 1848, social democracy has been a political project defined by its transformative nature. From the progress achieved throughout the 20th century by leaders such as Harold Wilson, Willy Brandt, Mário Soares and François Mitterrand, social democrats have always been characterised by a continuous attitude of challenge towards the prevailing state of affairs, whenever that “current time” happened to be. That critical attitude towards the structure of society and its institutions not only led to a transformation of society—through achievements such as the creation of the welfare state—but also enabled social democrats to change the way their core policies were implemented, ensuring they always reflected contemporary necessities and continued to benefit ordinary people.

For some years, however, that transformative edge—which has always defined the social democratic way of doing politics—has been eroding. With the rise of right-wing populism and its inherent threat to democracy, the centre-left was forced onto the defensive. Although acutely aware of widespread unhappiness with the current state of things and of the urgent need for change across various aspects of society, when confronted with the possibility of something far worse gaining power, social democrats found themselves in a position where they had to defend a flawed status quo, with all its faults, rather than offering the bold change people demanded.

As a result, social democrats have, in recent times, adopted a conservative attitude towards politics. Not conservative in their policies, but conservative in their posture—characterised no longer by their traditional emphasis on the gradual transformation of society, but by a defensive desire to preserve what they have already achieved, notwithstanding the need for those achievements to be updated according to current needs. Owing to this conservative way of doing politics, social democrats—who were once perceived as the side of progress and reform towards a fairer society within democracy—came instead to be perceived as supporters of a system most people find unjust. This perception shift has had visible and painful electoral consequences for the centre-left.

Social democracy has never been a conservative force. Its way of doing politics, of acting upon public affairs, rests on the principle of reformism. That is to say, it rests on the conviction that, through gradual and constant reform of existing institutions, one can make them fairer and, in turn, make society fairer, freer and more equal. Social democrats must therefore reject this conservative attitude that has plagued them in recent years and re-embrace the approach that made their movement a positive, progressive and transformative political force. In short, they need to re-embrace radical reformism.

What radical reformism actually demands.................

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