Elements, Nature, Success, Benefits, and Disadvantages of Democratic Socialism
Written assignment #2 (20% of your final mark)
The goal of this assignment is to write a document similar to the “In Brief” notes produced by the Library of Parliament’s Information and Research Service
Here are links to a few “In Brief” notes:
• Barnes, Andre. 2010. In Brief: Youth Voter Turnout in Canada: 1. Trends and Issues. Publication No. 2010-19-E. Parliamentary Information and Research Service. Ottawa: Library of Parliament.
• Heminthavong, Khamla. 2015. In Brief: Canada’s Supply Management System (PDF). Publication No. 2015-138-E. Parliamentary Information and Research Service. Ottawa: Library of Parliament.
• McGlashan, Lindsay. 2015. In Brief: Public-Private Partnerships: Are Canadians Getting the Full Picture? (PDF) Publication No. 2015-50-E. Parliamentary Information and Research Service. Ottawa: Library of Parliament.
As specified on the Library of Parliament’s website, their publications aim to “provide analysis to parliamentarians, parliamentary committees and parliamentary associations on current and emerging key issues, legislation and major public policy topics. The publications provide non-partisan, reliable and timely information on subjects that are relevant to parliamentary and constituency work (my emphasis).”
Your goal is to follow the spirit of these “In Brief” notes and produce a short document for busy people that presents all aspects of a particular problem in a non-partisan way. You must present and define the issue or problem, provide some background or context, explain why it is important and list all arguments for and against the problem or issue discussed. You can use bullet points, graphs or maps, but each claim or piece of evidence must be supported through an endnote.
Specifications
• Cover page. Must include subject title, first and last name, student number, course number, year and the exact wording of the question you are answering in your assignment;
• Table of contents, including page number for each section;
• Between 6 and 9 pages of text, excluding cover page, table of contents and endnotes;
• Text should be 11-12 point font; 1.0 line spacing on all pages, including cover page, block quotes, and endnotes;
• Pages should have regular 1.0 inch margins and be numbered;
• Reference/Citation style: ENDNOTES. Format of your choice, but you must be consistent.
All assignments will be submitted through Quercus and processed through Ouriginal.
What is the point of these assignments?
• To acquire more in-depth learning about a topic discussed in this course and its relevance to broader policy discussions
• To develop your writing skills
• To learn to think critically
• To learn the basics of scholarly and policy work
Citation styles
Please look up the University of Toronto Library webpage devoted to citing sources and creating your bibliography.
For written assignment 2 your are free to follow any of the Standard Documentation Formats, but I insist you use endnotes in assignment #2 (try to mimick the Federal Government documents as closely as possible).
Ouroriginal
Submitting your written assignments through Quercus will imply a review of textual similarity by Ouroriginal for detection of possible plagiarism. In doing so, students will allow their assignments to be included as source documents in the Ouroriginal reference database, where they will be used solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism. The terms that apply to the University’s use of the Ouriginal service are described on the Ouroriginal web site (https://www(dot)ouriginal(dot)com/). If you have an objection to the use of Ouriginal for the submission of your work, please make an appointment to speak personally with the Course Instructor to discuss alternative arrangements.
Please note that submitting your paper through Ouroriginal or making alternative arrangements with your professor before the relevant deadlines is not optional. Failure to do so will result in a grade of 0 for your assignment. The late penalties describe in this syllabus will apply.
Democratic Socialism
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Table of Contents Introduction. 3 Background. 3 Democratic socialism and social Democracy. 4 Main Elements of Democratic Socialism.. 5 Nature of Democratic Socialism.. 6 Success of Democratic Socialism.. 7 Benefits of Democratic Socialism.. 8 Disadvantages of Democratic Socialism.. 8 Conclusion. 9 References. 9
Democratic Socialism
Introduction
Democratic socialism is a political philosophy that advocates for political democracy in a socially owned economy. It emphasizes on the democracy of the economy, the workplace, and the self-management of the workers in a socialist economy. The difference between this philosophy and socialism is that the later emphasizes on equality in the society whereas the former emphasizes equality in a democratic state. In the United States, democratic socialists is the largest socialist organization. The society operates on a political tradition that depends on liberal democracy, the respect for individual and human rights, and free and fair elections. The main objective of the organization is to counter the casual nature in which politics and economics operate. Social inequality continues to increase as the minority groups search for a voice to air their concerns.[Upendra. “Difference between Socialism and Democratic Socialism.” Compare the Difference Between Similar Terms. Differencebetween.com, June 18, 2018. /difference-between-socialism-and-democratic-socialism/.] [Thomas, James. “Democratic Socialism in the United States.” Politics and Pedagogy, August 17, 2018. https://jamesmichaelthomas.wordpress.com/2018/08/17/democratic-socialism-in-the-united-states/.]
Background
The history of democratic socialism can be traced back to the 19th-century Europe, which was characterized by a clique of social thinkers. These thinkers, together with Britain’s Chartist movement held differing views regarding their goals. However, they had a common perspective on democratic decision making and the need for public ownership of production means and resources. Most socialists perceive democratic socialism as simply socialism. The organization can either be a broad or a limited movement. As a broad movement, it includes libertarian socialism, market socialism, reformist socialism, and revolutionary socialism. Its ideals differ from those of Marxism-Leninism, which critics regard as being authoritarian and undemocratic in practice. Whereas the ultimate goal of democratic socialists is to achieve some form of socialism in various sectors of the society, some members are more focused on reducing the influence of capitalism. Their efforts are in accordance with the modern trend where organizations and individuals are striving to amerce as much wealth as possible even at the expense of other members.
Democratic socialism and social Democracy
The two phases are quite confusing. Democratic socialism entails a branch of social democracy that was established before the development of Keynesianism by the neo-liberism and monetarism, which encouraged many social-democratic parties to embrace a Third Way ideology that accepted capitalism as the contemporary status quo. The adoption of the third way resulted in a redefinition of socialism in a manner that preserved the capitalistic structure. Consequently, there is a new version of Clause IV of the Labor Party Constitution that Tony Blair adopted, which utilizes democratic socialism to define the contemporary form of social democracy. The modern socialism is no longer committed to public ownership of property. Instead, it advocates for the enterprise of the market and competition that promises high quality public services, in which case the people have the powers to hold public institutions accountable for the services they receive. This perspective also shapes modern politics, whereby while politicians are funded and supported by capitalists, they promise to deliver some form of social democracy, where the people are the ultimate determinants of their environment.[Gani, Aisha. “Clause IV: A Brief History.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, August 9, 2015. /politics/2015/aug/09/clause-iv-of-labour-party-constitution-what-is-all-the-fuss-about-reinstating-it.]
One of the ways to distinguish between social democracy and the modern concept of democratic socialism is that that the later can include revolutionary techniques whereas the former holds that the only acceptable constitutional form of government is representative democracy under the rule of law. Nonetheless, these terms mean more or less the same to most people. In several cases, some social democrats have referred to themselves as socialists or democratic socialists whereas others perceive the terms as distinct, preferring to regard their political ideals as social democracy only. In political science, the two terms are often perceived as synonyms and sometimes overlapping with each other. Traditionally, democratic socialism was represented as socialism attained through democratic means and often resulted in reformism, whereas the social democracy comprised reformist and revolutionary wings. However, following the association of social democracy as a policy regime and the establishment of the Thirdway, social democracy has become mainly linked to capitalist welfare states, whereas democratic socialism has incorporated communism and revolutionary tendencies.[Jake. “Social Democracy vs. Democratic Socialism: Understanding Socialism.” Talk Radio News, June 28, 2021. https://talkradionews.com/social-democracy-vs-democratic-socialism/#r.]
Main Elements of Democratic Socialism
Democratic socialism is based on four key elements. One of them being that there is a government or a collective ownership of property and businesses. According to this perspective, no person can lay claim to be the owner of a specific property. Instead, most of the properties are owned by the community or the state. Secondly, the perspective advocates for election of political leaders. While capitalism has crept into the political system, by allowing capitalists to manipulate the elections and choose leaders for the people, the initial goal of democratic capitalism was to have a system that allows the people to elect their representatives in a free and fair manner. The third element entails the redistribution of wealth. Under this concept, the government is responsible for ensuring equitable distribution of wealth. The idea behind this distribution is to enhance equality and ensure that no one amasses wealth at the expense of the other. Finally, there is the existence of government-funded social programs. These programs are designed to serve the poor by providing services that these members cannot afford under normal circumstances.
Nature of Democratic Socialism
Democratic sociali...