One of the major stumbling blocks for new lefties is getting stuck in the "why can't we just have social democracy?" phase. On the surface, the Nordic Model looks pretty good - social safety nets, great public services, better workers' rights...so what's the problem? Let's talk about social democracy's critical failure, and why socialism is the better option.

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Why Social Democracy Isn't Good Enough – Second Thought
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Citations and Further Reading:

How capitalism robs the Global South
https://youtu.be/35Ax-psPZ1g
https://youtu.be/DtziEZAR1Qk

Social Democracy
https://jacobin.com/2018/08/democratic-socialism-social-democracy-nordic-countries
https://youtu.be/4lDZaKjfs4E
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godesberg_Program
https://youtu.be/dxI3MzhvCdQ
https://books.google.com/books?id=_00SKFEabywC&printsec=frontcover
https://jacobin.com/2018/09/elizabeth-warren-accountable-capitalism-stakeholder
https://jacobin.com/2017/11/german-social-democratic-party-second-international-culture
https://mronline.org/2022/07/18/scandinavia-and-imperialism/
http://tidewaterdsa.com/concealed-imperialism-the-true-face-of-social-democracy/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_democracy
https://jacobin.com/2018/07/democratic-socialism-bernie-sanders-social-democracy-alexandria-ocasio-cortez
https://jacobin.com/2016/06/social-democracy-polanyi-great-transformation-welfare-state
https://jacobin.com/2017/08/democratic-socialism-judis-new-republic-social-democracy-capitalism
https://jacobin.com/2018/07/socialism-democrats-alexandria-ocasio-cortez
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordic_model

H&M
https://www.renewablematter.eu/articles/article/unsustainable-fashion-h-and-m-is-being-sued-for-greenwashing
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/news/21-workers-die-in-fire-at-h-m-factory-1914292.html
https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/hm-fails-to-make-fire-and-building-safety-repairs-in-bangladesh/
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-workers-garment-abuse-idUSKCN1M41GR

The involuntary/automatic alliance of the state with capitalists
http://acdc2007.free.fr/block420.pdf

Capital strikes
https://www.dsausa.org/democratic-left/closing_the_exit_for_capital/
http://www.peterfrase.com/2011/09/the-rights-favorite-strike/
https://jacobin.com/2016/02/gude-third-way-clinton-new-deal-reagan-democratic-party

François Mitterand and the austerity turn
https://www.nytimes.com/1986/06/29/business/searching-for-a-safe-harbor-when-investment-capital-goes-on-strike.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_Mitterrand#First_term:_1981%E2%80%931988
https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-politics/2017/10/french-lessons-what-corbyn-can-learn-mitterrands-mistakes
https://jacobin.com/2015/08/francois-mitterrand-socialist-party-common-program-communist-pcf-1981-elections-austerity/

The decline of Swedish social democracy
https://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2016/12/21/sweden-heads-the-best-countries-for-business-for-2017/?sh=3fc8dce57ecd
https://newleftreview.org/issues/ii113/articles/goran-therborn-twilight-of-swedish-social-democracy

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