Popular socialism

Popular socialism or people's socialism (Danish: Folkesocialisme) is a distinct socialist current in the Nordic countries.

In that context the term can be said to represent a distinct ideological tendency, originating from Aksel Larsen's split from the Communist Party of Denmark in 1956. Larsen founded the Socialist People's Party (SF), which placed itself between communism and social democracy.[1] In Norway a similar party, the Socialist People's Party, was formed by an anti-NATO/anti–European Economic Community split from the Labour Party and later became the backbone of Socialist Left Party (SV). Today, both the Danish SF[2][3][4] and the Norwegian SV identify their ideological base as 'popular socialism'. In Sweden the term has sometimes been used and there were at one point discussions within the rightist section of the Left Party on forming a political project with the Danish SF as model, but the split was eventually avoided.

Inspired by green politics and democratic socialism, popular socialism places emphasis on grassroots democracy, social justice, and environmentalism. Popular socialist parties participate in democratic elections to gain clout and influence policy, but do not consider the power of government as their primary goal, preferring to work within participatory systems on a local level.[3]

The American People's Party was a populist farmer-labor movement that advocated a progressive income tax, federal farm credit, the nationalization of railroads, telegraphs, and banks, the eight-hour workday, the right to form labor organizations, and other demands typical of Popular socialist movements. [5]

People's socialism in Eastern Europe originated in the 1890s as an effort to differentiate from traditional social democracy with basic ideological patterns from National-Social Association in Germany. The most promiment parties were People's Socialist Party in Yugoslavia, Russian Popular Socialists and National Socialist, understood as "people's socialist" Czech National Social Party in Czechoslovakia. This Eastern European form is less leftist ideology than in Nordic countries, form of socialism, strictly refusing Marxism with certain liberal elements. During 1920's and 1930's they were active as observer parties in Labour and Socialist International but never became full members.[6]

• Democratic socialism
• Left-wing populism
• Social democracy