Democratic road to socialism

This article is about the approach to socialism associated with Nicos Poulantzas. For the reformism associated with Eduard Bernstein, see Evolutionary socialism. For the policies of Chilean president Salvador Allende, see The Chilean Way to Socialism. For the broad range of socialist ideologies emphasizing democracy, see Democratic socialism.

The democratic road to socialism is a political philosophy within structural Marxism and democratic socialism which emphasizes a mixture of parliamentary and social movement-based strategies in order to achieve fundamental transformations to the structures of the state and civil society.[1]

Definition

The term was coined by Nicos Poulantzas,[1]:74-8 who defined it in analyzing the nature of the capitalist state. Though he believed liberal democracies have an inherent tendency to "reproduce the capitalist state regime" despite socialist electoral victories,[1]:23 he interpreted political liberties as "the result of popular struggles" which exploited the state's contradictions.[1]:24 In this view, both reformist and revolutionary socialist perspectives were insufficient.[2] To reformists: Occupying office does not imply a transformation of the state, and thus many socialist parties merely manage capitalism rather than enable permanent political transformations.[3] To revolutionaries: "smashing" the state implies a loss of conquests of popular struggle (i.e., political liberties),[4] and creating a Leninist or centralist alternative reproduces class domination over the popular power it claims to unleash.[5]

He therefore advocates not for merely prioritizing entry into state institutions (whether by election or revolution) but for "the development of popular movements, the mushrooming of democratic organs at the base, and the rise of centres of self-management,"[6] including popular assemblies, labor unions, and workers' councils, which would then enable a radical transformation of the structure of the state itself.[1]:24

However, the democratic road to socialism maintains that institutions of representative democracy are "an essential condition of democratic socialism" which can regulate these decentralized models in order for the working class to collectively wield the political power and technical expertise necessary to direct a complex socialist society.[7] Under the democratic road to socialism, entry to state institutions remains necessary to press on the state's internal contradictions toward transformation, with aid from external organizing.[8]

The seizure of state power depends on a long-term strategy of modifying the relation of forces on state terrain itself, pressing on its internal contradictions. But contrary to what certain currents in the Eurocommunist parties accept, we must not forget that the state ... cannot be radically modified by merely shifting the relation of forces.

— Nicos Poulantzas, "The State, Social Movements, Party," Dialectiques, Fall 1979[9]

Application

Some academics, activists, and political commentators retroactively apply the term democratic road to socialism to The Chilean Way to Socialism and the Presidency of Salvador Allende. While Allende and the moderate factions of Popular Unity and the Socialist Party of Chile he reflected never adopted the term, the Allende administration likewise shared a commitment to Marxism, representative democracy, a gradual transition to socialism, and broader social movement politics that rejected the possibility of achieving socialism by merely taking office, in favor of fundamental transformations to state and civil societal structures.[10][11][12][13]

Today, the democratic road to socialism is espoused by certain socialist politicians, such as former Bolivian Vice President Álvaro García Linera,[1]:xii and groups, such as the Bread and Roses caucus of the Democratic Socialists of America.[14][15][16][17][18] The democratic road to socialism has influenced the development of Eurocommunism[19][20][7] and the ideological trajectory of parties such as Syriza.[21][22][23][24]

Tristram Hunt and Bruno Jossa argue that Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels grew skeptical of "top-down revolutions" in their later writings, in favor of "a peaceful, democratic road to socialism."[25][26]

Differences with other socialist perspectives

The democratic road to socialism is distinguished from evolutionary socialism to its right, as espoused by Eduard Bernstein, which advocates for incremental reform by primarily parliamentary means within liberal democracy, with the goal of ultimately achieving socialism through the state.[7] Yet, it is also distinguished from revolutionary socialism to its left, which views capitalism as only able to be completely overthrown by non-reformist means, and does not see a transformative "capture" of the liberal state as a viable means to reach a socialist democracy. The democratic road to socialism further differs from libertarian socialism in its strong support for representative institutions and state transformation, and from Leninism in its rejection of vanguardism and "smashing" the old state machinery to construct a new one.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Ducange, Jean-Numa; Keucheyan, Razmig, eds. (2019). The end of the democratic state: Nicos Poulantzas, a marxism for the 21st century. Marx, Engels, and Marxisms. Translated by Broder, David (1st edition 2019 ed.). Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-3-319-90889-2.
  2. ^ Poulantzas, Nicos (2000) [1978]. State, Power, Socialism (Classics ed.). London: Verso Books. pp. 119, 259–60. ISBN 978-1-85984-274-4. Furthermore, the State that plays a decisive role in organizing the modern nation is not itself an essence: neither the subject of history nor a mere instrument-object of the dominant class, it is, from the point of view of its class nature, the condensation of a class relationship of forces.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  3. ^ Poulantzas, Nicos (2000) [1978]. State, Power, Socialism (Classics ed.). London: Verso Books. pp. 258–9. ISBN 978-1-85984-274-4.
  4. ^ Poulantzas, Nicos (2000) [1978]. State, Power, Socialism (Classics ed.). London: Verso Books. p. 261. ISBN 978-1-85984-274-4.
  5. ^ Poulantzas, Nicos (2000) [1978]. State, Power, Socialism (Classics ed.). London: Verso Books. pp. 252–6. ISBN 978-1-85984-274-4.
  6. ^ Poulantzas, Nicos (2000) [1978]. State, Power, Socialism (Classics ed.). London: Verso Books. pp. 259–60. ISBN 978-1-85984-274-4.
  7. ^ a b c Barrow, Clyde W. (January 24, 2023). "Nicos Poulantzas Was a Vital Theorist of Democratic Socialism". Jacobin. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  8. ^ Sessions, David (Spring 2019). "Nicos Poulantzas: Philosopher of Democratic Socialism". Dissent Magazine. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
  9. ^ Poulantzas, Nicos (December 18, 2017). "The State, Social Movements, Party: Interview with Nicos Poulantzas (1979)". Viewpoint Magazine. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
  10. ^ Fleet, Michael H. (1973). "Chile's Democratic Road to Socialism". The Western Political Quarterly. 26 (4): 766–786. doi:10.2307/447149. ISSN 0043-4078. JSTOR 447149.
  11. ^ Oppenheim, Lois Hecht (1989). Bitar, Sergio; Chavkin, Samuel; Davis, Nathaniel; Farrell, Joseph P.; Fleet, Michael; Fermandois, Joaquin; Garreton, Manuel Antonio; Moulian, Tomas; Department, National Education (eds.). "The Chilean Road to Socialism Revisited". Latin American Research Review. 24 (1): 155–183. doi:10.1017/S002387910002272X. ISSN 0023-8791. JSTOR 2503286.
  12. ^ Allende, Ben B. , Marianela D'Aprile, and Salvador (September 11, 2018). "Allende and Democratic Socialism". The Call. Retrieved February 1, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ Duhalde, David (September 11, 2023). "Immediately After the 1973 Chilean Coup, US Socialists Supported Those Fighting for Freedom". Jacobin. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  14. ^ "Where We Stand". Bread and Roses DSA. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  15. ^ Springfield, Bryce; Lewis, John (January 31, 2025). "A Guide to DSA Politics". Pamphlets. Libertarian Socialist Caucus. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
  16. ^ Springfield, Bryce (November 23, 2023). "An Introduction to the Internal Politics of DSA". The Princeton Progressive. Princeton, NJ. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
  17. ^ Downs, Steve (September 27, 2019). "Three questions of political strategy". Solidarity. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
  18. ^ "MUG's YDSA Caucus Guide". Marxist Unity Group. April 23, 2024. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
  19. ^ Emadian, Baraneh (January 2, 2019). "The Quandary of Multiple States as an Internal and External Limit to Marxist Thought: From Poulantzas to Karatani". Rethinking Marxism. 31 (1): 72–91. doi:10.1080/08935696.2019.1577618. ISSN 0893-5696.
  20. ^ Bernstein, Sarah; Lawrence, Stewart (May 1, 1980). "Eurocommunism as Current Events and Contemporary History: A Critical Bibliography". Radical History Review. 1980 (23): 165–191. doi:10.1215/01636545-1980-23-165. ISSN 0163-6545.
  21. ^ Albo, Greg; Panitch, Leo; Zuege, Alan, eds. (October 2018). Class, Party, Revolution: A Socialist Register Reader. Haymarket Books. pp. 52–3. ISBN 9781608469192.
  22. ^ Sebastian, Budgen; Stathis, Kouvelakis (January 23, 2015). "Greece: Phase One – Syriza and Left forces". Europe Solidaire Sans Frontières. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  23. ^ Kondakciu, Ervin (July 29, 2019). "The left will be international or it won't be at all: lesson from Greece". openDemocracy.
  24. ^ "Alex Callinicos & Stathis Kouvelakis: Syriza and Socialist Strategy". Marxists Internet Archive. February 25, 2015. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  25. ^ Garner, Dwight (August 18, 2009). "Fox Hunter, Party Animal, Leftist Warrior". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  26. ^ Jossa, Bruno (2010). "The Democratic Road to Socialism". Rivista Internazionale di Scienze Sociali. 118 (3): 335–354. ISSN 0035-676X. JSTOR 41624957.
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