Political ideology that advocates a peaceful, evolutionary transition of society from capitalism to socialism , using established political processes.
It rejects Marxism 's advocacy of social revolution. Social democracy began as a political movement in Germany in the 1870s. Karl Marx had seen in it (including unemployment and overproduction) and that universal suffrage would lead peacefully to a socialist government. After 1945, social-democratic governments came to power in West Germany (see Social Democratic Party ), Sweden, and Britain (under the {{link=Labour Party">Labour Party ). Social-democratic thought gradually came to regard state regulation (without state ownership) as sufficient to ensure economic growth and a fair distribution of income.