Social Democracy seeks a socialist economy based on planned direction and collective decision making. The collective good must be the only decisive factor in determining the scope, direction, and distribution of production. An increase in the means of production and the output of consumer goods is the precondition for the necessary integration of Germany into the web of international economic relations.
The means of production can be nationalized in different ways and in different forms. In socialism, there is no single way, no bondage, no dictated “barracks socialism,” no uniformity. There is no socialist society without the most diverse types of enterprises and forms of production. Socialism calls for as much economic self-administration as possible, with the most vigorous participation of workers and consumers.
II. The immediate measures
Nationalization must begin with natural resources and basic industries. All enterprises involved in mining and the production and processing of iron and steel – including the manufacture of semi-finished products – must be nationalized, along with the better part of the chemical and synthetic industries, all large enterprises in general, all types of public utilities, and all segments of the manufacturing industry that are pushing to become large-scale enterprises.
A cooperative philosophy must be encouraged; enterprises in the crafts sector, commerce, and agriculture must work together on common operational tasks, and consumer cooperatives must be given the broadest support.
Socialist planning encompasses all means of transportation, the insurance system, and the supply of money and loans, which must be organized anew.
Agrarian and Land Reform
Fundamental agrarian and land reform, including the expropriation of large landholders, must be introduced immediately. Ownership and management of large land holdings must be transferred to individuals, as part of farms, small plots or settlements, or they must be transferred to cooperative farms under joint ownership. They must not be broken up in a manner that jeopardizes their efficiency. This is the precondition for social justice in the countryside, for finally providing more people with housing, for finding an initial solution to ending the hardship of our refugees, for promoting production, and for increasing food supplies for the German people.
Small and medium-sized enterprises in agriculture, commerce, industry, and the crafts sector will have to perform important tasks in the economic order sought by the Social Democrats, and they should evolve within this framework.
The German housing sector must be placed under the strictest public control. It must be financed by all of society and not only by the communities that suffered destruction. Housing procurement is among the most urgent of tasks. In a period of housing shortages, providing sufficient accommodations for all is the top priority, not the comfort of a few.
III. “Only one Democracy”
German Social Democracy sees its political mission as making the masses aware of the revolutionary changes in social life that are both necessary and inevitable. Their goal is to win the majority of the population over to socialism.
The only path to this goal is a strong democracy that is ready to fight. There is only one kind of democracy. There is no such thing as a bourgeois or a proletarian democracy, just as there is no such thing, for present-day Social Democracy, as a reformist or a revolutionary socialism. Every form of socialism is revolutionary if it pushes forward and helps reshape society.
Democracy is the best form of the political struggle for all workers. For us socialists, it is a necessity, both in terms of morals and power-politics. Social Democracy wants people to participate voluntarily and on the basis of personal conviction, yet it also wants its followers to have the right to voice criticism.
There can be no socialism without democracy, without freedom of thought, and without the freedom to criticize. By the same token, there can be no socialism without humanity and respect for the human individual.
Just as democracy is a prerequisite for socialism, so, too, is it constantly under threat in a capitalist system. German democracy needs socialism because of Germany’s special historical conditions and because of the special nature of German intellectual development. German democracy must be socialist; otherwise counter-revolutionary forces will destroy it once again.
Freedom and Socialism
The character of German Social Democracy lies in its uncompromising commitment to freedom and socialism. The Social Democratic Party of Germany is proud that it was the only German party that stood up for the ideals of democracy, peace, and freedom, at great sacrifice. It is also the party of democracy and socialism in Germany today.
German Social Democracy firmly rejects any return to totalitarian thinking and behavior. In accordance with this basic stance, it will pursue a policy of independence and autonomy vis-à-vis all forces at home and abroad, and it will regulate its relationship with other parties.
Social Democracy is not content with the historical legitimacy it has acquired through the grand history of its struggle for freedom. It intends to continue demonstrating its claim to being a leading force in German politics through its outstanding achievements for the state and the people, and through its honest, upstanding, and practical policies.
