| Godesberg Program | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Godesberger Programm |
| Ratified | 15 November 1959 |
| Location | Bad Godesberg |
| Signatories | Social Democratic Party of Germany |
| Subject | Social democracy |
| Purpose | a fundamental change in the orientation and goals of the SPD |
TheGodesberg Program (German:Godesberger Programm) of theSocial Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) was ratified in 1959 at a convention in the town ofBad Godesberg nearBonn. It represented a fundamental change in the orientation and goals of the SPD, rejecting the aim of replacingcapitalism while adopting a commitment to reform capitalism and amass party orientation that appealed to ethical rather than class-based considerations. It also rejectednationalization as a major principle ofsocialism.[1]
The Godesberg Program eliminated the party's remainingorthodox Marxist policies and the SPD redefined its ideology asfreiheitlicher Sozialismus (liberal socialism).[2] With the adoption of the Godesberg Program, it renounced orthodox Marxistclass conflict andeconomic determinism[citation needed]. The SPD replaced it with anethical socialism based onhumanism and emphasized that it was democratic, pragmatic and reformist.[3] The most controversial decision of the Godesberg Program was its declaration stating thatprivate ownership of themeans of production "can claim protection by society as long as it does not hinder the establishment of social justice".[4]
By accepting free-market principles, the SPD argued that a trulyfree market would in fact have to be aregulated market to not degenerate intooligarchy. This policy also meant the endorsement ofKeynesian economic management,social welfare and a degree ofeconomic planning. Some argue that this was an abandonment of the classical conception of socialism as involving the replacement of the capitalist economic system.[4] It declared that the SPD "no longer considered nationalization the major principle of a socialist economy but only one of several (and then only the last) means of controlling economic concentration of power of key industries" while also committing the SPD to an economic stance which promotes "as much competition as possible, as much planning as necessary".[1] The decision to abandon the traditionalanti-capitalist policy angered many in the SPD who had supported it.[3]
After those changes, the SPD enacted the two major pillars of what would become the modernsocial-democratic program, namely making the party a people's party rather than a party solely representing theworking class and abandoning remainingMarxist policies aimed at destroying capitalism and replacing them with policies aimed atreforming capitalism.[1] The Godesberg Program divorced its conception of socialism from Marxism, declaring thatdemocratic socialism inEurope was "rooted inChristian ethics,humanism, and classicalphilosophy".[1] The Godesberg Program was a major revision of the SPD's policies and gained attention from beyond Germany.[3] At the time of its adoption, the stance on the Godesberg Program in neighbouringFrance was not uniform. While theFrench Section of the Workers' International was divided on the Godesberg Program, theUnified Socialist Party denounced the Godesberg Program as a renunciation of socialism and an opportunistic reaction to the SPD's electoral defeats.[3]
The Godesberg program was also notable because the party abandoned and rejected Marxist theories of class conflict and revolution. This was consistent withEduard Bernstein'sMarxist revisionism. In adopting the Godesberg Program, the SPD dropped its hostility to capitalism which had long been the core of partyideology and sought to move beyond its old working class base to embrace the full spectrum of potential voters, adopting a political ideology grounded in ethical appeals. Nonetheless, they adhered to the Marxist analysis put forward by social democrats such as Bernstein that socialism would arise as a result of the evolution of capitalism. In this sense, the Godesberg Program has been seen as involving the final victory of thereformist agenda of Bernstein over the orthodox Marxist agenda ofKarl Kautsky.[1]
Labor unions had abandoned the old demands fornationalization and instead cooperated increasingly with industry, achieving labor representation on corporate boards and increases in wages and benefits. After losing federal elections in 1953 and 1957, the SPD moved toward an American-style image-driven electoral strategy that stressed personalities, specifically Berlin mayorWilly Brandt. As it prepared for the1961 federal election, it proved necessary as well to drop opposition to rearmament and to acceptNATO.[5] The Godesberg Program was superseded in 1989 by the Berlin Program, resolved at the party congress held on 20 December 1989 inBerlin.[6]
  | ThisGerman history article is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |
