Democratic socialism is a description used by various historians to describe the ideal of socialism in an established democracy. The term is also used by Socialist movements and organizations to emphasize the democratic character of their political orientation. Democratic socialism is contrasted with political movements that resort to authoritarian means to achieve a transition to socialism, instead advocating for the immediate creation of decent...
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Democratic socialism is a description used by various historians to describe the ideal of socialism in an established democracy. The term is also used by Socialist movements and organizations to emphasize the democratic character of their political orientation. Democratic socialism is contrasted with political movements that resort to authoritarian means to achieve a transition to socialism, instead advocating for the immediate creation of decentralized economic democracy from the grassroots level, undertaken by and for the working class itself. Specifically, it is a term used to distinguish between socialists who favor a grassroots-level, spontaneous revolution or gradualism over Leninism – organized revolution instigated and directed by an overarching Vanguard party that operates on the basis of democratic centralism.
The term is sometimes used synonymously with "social democracy", but social democrats need not accept this label, and many self-identified democratic socialists oppose...
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