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Some countries in Western Europe, especially the Scandinavian nations of Norway, Denmark, and Sweden, have developed hybrid economic systems. As noted in Figure 1.1, these systems represent something of a middle ground between socialist and capitalist systems. Primarily capitalist, in that they trust the market process and they believe most property can be privately held, proponents of social democracy nonetheless argue that the equitable outcomes often promoted by socialism are attractive and can be brought about by democratic reform rather than revolution. Believing that the economy does not have to be owned by the state for its effects to be controlled by the state, social democratic countries attempt to strike a difficult balance between providing substantive guarantees of fair outcomes and procedural guarantees of fair rules.

social democracy a hybrid system combining a capitalist economy and a government that supports equality

Since World War II, the citizens of many Western European nations have elected social democrats to office, where they have enacted policies to bring about more equality—for instance, the elimination of poverty and unemployment, better housing, and adequate health care for all. Even where social democratic governments are voted out of office, such programs have proved so popular that it is often difficult for new leaders to alter them. Socialism and social democracy do not generally find much support in the United States, although Bernie Sanders’s campaign for the Democratic nomination in 2016 gained a surprising amount of traction, and many of his proposals found their way into the Democratic Party platform.

In Your Own Words

Describe the role that politics plays in determining how power and resources, including control of information, are distributed in a society.