What Is Social Democracy?
The political philosophy I follow is called Social Democracy.
I believe in two interrelated principles that guide this philosophy:
The empowerment of citizens (civic empowerment)
Fact-informed civil discourse.
To speak to the first point, the empowerment of citizens is not just the right to vote, but the active cultivation of civic virtues among them. Civic virtues include not just exercising the right to vote but also defending other citizen's right to vote. This comes with a commitment to respect other citizens in our democracy (especially one's political opponents). I also believe we have the duty to make political participation an inviting and hospitable environment. Important metrics to measure this civic empowerment include the rate of voter turnout in elections, and should also include research data on whether or not citizens have the means to run for office, are willing to run for office, or can even imagine themselves (or someone like themself) on the ballot. In a Social Democracy, if any of these metrics are low, it is our obligation to take actions that improve the metrics.
Fact-informed civil discourse goes back to the birth of modern democracy in the Enlightenment era, as articulated in philosopher David Hume's "An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals", which described the necessity to distinguish facts from basic values. In Social Democracy, there is a recognition that valuing fact-informed discourse is a key part of citizen empowerment - as it creates a civic common ground where we productively discuss the issues we face together. When citizens can see the value in data collection and understand the means by which scientifically grounded analysis of that data is produced, the resulting factually-informed citizens are more effective at improving their own lives.
Whether those issues be climate change, civil rights, public health, or the housing crisis, the resulting fact-based data results in an informed citizenry crafting and voting for policies that measurably make the world a kinder, more prosperous, and equitable place.
If you would like to learn more about Social Democracy, please view the excellent historical account of its development in "How Denmark Invented Social Democracy" on YouTube.
