Sid Schwab’s interesting column of April 28 (“Capitalism works if we save it from true believers”) attempts to distinguish communism, socialism and democratic socialism. He says, “There’s one thriving system of governance that’s designed to improve the lot of its citizens, giving them a voice in the process while confronting the strengths and weaknesses of humanity,” and he struggles to find a name for it, since “democratic socialism” does not seem right.
Allow me to help. I am a retired professor who taught comparative and development economics in the U.S. and Europe. The countries of Northern Europe and elsewhere have the system he describes. It is called “social democracy.”
Robert Scott Gassler
Everett
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