democratic socialism

noun

1. socialism, or a modified form of socialism, achieved by a gradual transition by and under democratic political processes.

Other Word Forms

• democratic socialist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of democratic socialism¹

First recorded in 1845–50

Example Sentences

Democratic socialism is all about taxing successful entrepreneurs and running out of other people’s money; democratic capitalism is all about increasing profit margins, sharing the wealth and growing prosperous together.

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Once upon a time, adventurous theorists imagined that communism and capitalism might both end up adopting some version of democratic socialism, as a reformed Soviet Union and an increasingly welfare-state-oriented United States seemed to be converging on the Swedish model.

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Mr. Isserman has written that the DSA’s radical transformation has its roots in the 2016 election: “Veterans of left-wing groups that had nothing in common with democratic socialism joined DSA with the intention of turning this now sizable but somewhat inchoate group into something very much at odds with its founding vision.”

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If Mr. Mamdani sometimes blurs the line between socialism and communism, as he did when praising a Communist Party mayor in India, it’s to signal that his sympathies lie squarely with those who believe that the adjective in “democratic socialism” is an irrelevant modifier.

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The New York Times has sort of endorsed Andrew Cuomo in the race for New York City mayor, and you should consider this bad news—even if you don’t live in New York City, and even if, like the New York Times editorial board, you think that “Democratic socialism” is risky, radical, or just kind of annoying.

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