Absence of Social Democratic Party in the US During the Industrial Revolution

Social Democratic Party
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Social Democratic Party
Social democracy began as a concept within labor that aimed to promote social revolution. Many industrialized nations, such as Germany, developed this ideology, leading to the formation of the Social Democratic Party. This party has thrived in these nations except in the United States. The United States remains the only industrialized nation that never adopted Social Democratic Party in its electoral system. Every other developed country has had an electorally viable socialist or labor party to one degree or another (Lipset & Marks, 2000). The absence of the Social Democratic Party in the US dresses the theory of American exceptionalism. Scholars have attributed the absence of the Social Democratic Party in the US to the weak trade unions, America’s strong belief in capitalism, and the country’s constitutional mandate.
One of the primary reasons the US did not develop the Social Democratic Party was the constitutional mandate that the country’s elections focus on filling one office, the presidency (Lipset & Marks, 2000). This made party coalitions by diverse groups nearly impossible. Everything was directed toward the presidency, unlike the electoral situation in parliamentary politics (Cronin, Ross, & Shoch, 2011). Only two candidates were allowed to vie for the position of the presidency. Other nominees for other parties could not win since supporters ended up voting for one of the two established parties. This process has occurred recurrently and is one of the significant factors weakening the development of a Social Democratic party. In other words, the American two-party system made it impossible for the country to develop another political party.
Another reason was the failure of the trade unions to support the socialists. Despite the US being the most successful industrialized nation, it has never had a vibrant left-wing working-class party du...