To first understand what is social democracy we need to look at its definition; which there are multiple of but the one that most modern day social Democrats believe is "Social democracy seeks to humanize capitalism and create the conditions for it to lead to a greater democratic, egalitarian and solidarity outcomes". To sum it up Social Democrats believe that capitalism is an unequal and oppressive political and economical system but it can be "humanized" which can then lead to a more egalitarian society now that we have understood what social democracy is let's now look at the case for social democracy.
The Case for Social Democracy will be broken down into points which will be listed below:
A Healthcare system for all not just the 1%:
Social Democrats advocate for a Healthcare system where a single entity ie the government pays for all related health care needs otherwise known as a single payer Healthcare system now me personally I think this system is incredibly necessary again you need to remember this doesn't mean a single payer Healthcare system is free no it's not its free to the point of use meaning most medical needs are free of cost except in some cases still this helps cut the economic burden for so many people that can't pay out of the pocket or their companies don't provide them insurance as a benefit. A system that many countries should follow is the UK Healthcare plan which I think is the best Healthcare system in the world and a standard that most countries should follow.
A Wealth tax:
Social Democrats believe in a wealth tax which in common man terms means a higher taxation on the rich. Social Democrats believe that the rich don't pay their fair share of taxes and they believe by overtaxing the rich and using this tax to invest in health care and education will greatly benefit the country and humanity but this is where I grow skeptical per say because it is the job of the government to use the taxpayers money to invest in these sectors but that's the major issue with so many countries take for example India where the government doesn't prioritize investing in human kind meaning let's take the education sector as an example India does have public schools which is free of cost but the thing is majority of Indians send their kids to private schools because public schools are horribly run they have a lack of equipment poor teaching poor facilities they have an unsafe and unsanitary environment and heaps more issues thus due to the government not investing in public schools makes more parents to send their kids to private schools even if they can barely afford it and thus this inadvertently creates a commodification of a human right like education so yes the wealth should be heavily taxed but It should also be the government responsibility to invest the tax in these sectors.
Free college:
As soon as you heard these two words I am pretty sure you immediately asked the question how? How on earth can college be free well in social Democratic states college is free especially in Nordic states like Finland but the way these countries can afford free college is by an increase in taxes for example the tax rate in Finland is one of the highest in the world higher than the US thus they are able to afford free college by increasing the tax rate now there is a downside to this due to colleges not taking tuition money from students colleges are forced to be very picky and cannot take that many kids or they may Incur severe losses thus due to this many students cannot enroll in the colleges of their countries as they may not qualify based on their respective colleges criteria of admission thus Finland for example has one the worst university enrollment rates for a first world country in contrast the US has one of the highest enrollment rates for a first world country because their colleges are not free but there is a downside to this as most college students in the US are forced to take students loans to afford tuition these loans have high interest rates and need to be paid for years on end and on a monthly basis.
These are just some of the most popular talking points among Social Democrats around the world and in my opinion many of them are needed more than ever.
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