Current Articles

  • The Social Democracy Project

    W. E. Smith, Editor, The Social Democrat

    With so many online news sites already active on the Web, the question arises, why The Social Democrat? What motivated me to start the site? Why do I consider it worth producing and, also, worth following?

    I started The Social Democrat to promote awareness of and generate enthusiasm and support for the political system known as social democracy: a system of political, social and economic organization based on a chiefly private-enterprise economy (“capitalism”) with a government that does not hesitate to use its plenipotentiary powers to ensure that all citizens, from childhood on, are afforded an equal opportunity to participate in the social, cultural, economic and political life of their communities and… Read More

  • Work & Wages: U.S.

    By W. E. Smith, Editor, The Social Democrat

    (1) The Current American System of Work Falls Short of Social Democratic Ideals

    Unfortunately the system of working life under which American citizens currently live falls short of social democratic values on several fronts. In almost any period of history there are not enough jobs to go around, so that some must suffer unemployment and loss of income, which offends the values of justice, solidarity and inclusion. Many of the jobs that do exist are compensated at wages that do not afford a life considered dignified by the average person; this not only offends the values of justice, solidarity and inclusion, but also demonstrates a lack of humane concern for our fellow citizens. Many American states have made it difficult… Read More

  • Social Democratic History

    W. E. Smith, Editor, The Social Democrat

    Sweden has long been a bellwether of social democracy. The following excerpt admirably sums up Sweden’s accomplishments:

    Once one of Europe’s poorest countries, in the post World War II decades Sweden evolved into a slum-free, affluent, egalitarian full employment welfare state, with a strong commitment to work for all and women's equality –the poster child of advanced welfare states. Income differences narrowed dramatically and poverty was nearly eliminated. Labor-management cooperation, high union density, high taxes and (except for a few years) Social Democratic political dominance, were the norms. A strong commitment to the welfare state and jobs for all eventually cut across political party lines.

    Read More

  • Police & Criminal Justice Reform

    W. E. Smith, Editor, The Social Democrat

    Police State: “a political unit characterized by repressive governmental control of political, economic, and social life, usu. by an arbitrary exercise of power by police [italics mine] . . .” (Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition)

    On an ordinary autumn afternoon in 1963, on a banal commercial block in Cleveland, a series of events occurred that have profoundly impacted policing in the United States, inaugurating a legal regime responsible for uncountable acts of police arrogance, abuse and, yes, outright terror.

    Cleveland veteran detective Martin McFadden was patrolling his usual city beat on that otherwise quiet afternoon when two men attracted his attention. According to… Read More

  • Identity Politics

    Part I of a Three-Part Article

    By W. E. Smith, Editor, The Social Democrat

    At no time since the days of official apartheid has the American Left been more focused on racialized categories. Many no doubt see in this trend a welcome attention paid to the lingering effects of once officially sanctioned discrimination, as well as to the persistence of racist attitudes and practices today, by a new generation of Americans born after the bad old days of pre-1970s America. As a lifelong denizen of the American Left, born in 1955, I remember with pain and sadness the racism so prevalent during my early years, and I have always stood in solidarity with those seeking egress from the toxic society we then lived in and the attitudes that supported it. Yet I question, as a dedicated… Read More

  • Identity Politics

    Part II of a Three-Part Article

    W. E. Smith, Editor, The Social Democrat

    It is of course indisputable that prior to the latter part of the 20th Century America was a systemically—and systematically—racist society, especially in the Southern states. Until the passage of the Civil and Voting Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965 and the Fair Housing Act of 1968, along with new vigilance from federal courts in protecting the rights of racial minorities under the 14th Amendment (including the 1954 Brown v Board of Education decision), separate and unequal treatment, if not officially sanctioned by the federal government (though often even dictated by some state governments), was certainly condoned. And I believe that… Read More