The Social Democratic Party

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The Social Democratic Party

Thai_Social_Democrats.jpg
General Information
Country Flag-Thailand.jpg Thailand
Abbreviation SDP
Founded 7 April 2009
Political
President Defenestration
Members 0
Congress Occupancy 0/40 seats (0%)
Succeeds Thai Nation Together
Succeeded By Thai Military Party
Orientation Center-Left

The Social Democratic Party was a political party in Thailand. It was founded on the 7th of April 2009 by citizen Defenestration who reformed the old Thai Nation Together party and renamed it The Social Democratic Party. The Social Democratic Party was founded to play the role of a moderate left wing party, balancing the more center-right movements in eThailand and the far-left communist parties - upholding first the spirit of cooperation, the SDP seeks pragmatic solutions to current problems, whether the solutions come from the right-wing or the left wing is of less importance as long as the good of the Thai people is served.

The SDP takes much inspiration from the IRL social democratic movements such as those in Sweden, Norway, Great Britain etc. The idea that the expansion of democracy to all levels of society is the recipe for a stable and prosperous society is central to these movements.



The Structure of the Party

The internal structure of the party is built up with the ideals of democracy and pragmatism in mind. For now (in the party’s initial stage) there is only a party president and a Party Committee. The role of the Party Committee is to be the outward face of the party (together with the party-president) and run the day-to-day care of the party and its members.

The Party Committee

The regulations for the committee:


§ 1 consisting of 5 prominent party members, the Party Committee is the highest deciding organ within the party, and above all has the responsibility of the day-to-day care of the party and it’s members. It is the responsibility of the Party Committee to make sure that all members of the party are well informed of what’s going on in the party and in the country.


§ 1.1 appointment to serve on the Party Committee is done by the party-president whom after each party-president election chooses among the applicants who have submitted their interest to serve to the party-president. In accordance with the democratic tradition and with the tone-giving pragmatism still in mind, a Party Committee member can be voted of the Committee if a formal protest is posted (in an article) with a subsequent signing of at least 20% of the members.


More information about the structure of the party will be added.


Party Program of the Social Democratic Party

The First Party Program for the SDP

The Social Democratic party created on the ideals of real life social-democracy. The eThai Social Democratic party takes much inspiration from the Swedish social democratic party, the British labor party and other similar movements around the world.

A quote from the social democrats (of Sweden) will illustrate what where our ideas come from when we present them below, and why there from a social-democratic viewpoint need not necessarily be a clash between the market and the interest of the people if the society is one where cooperation is central :



“The human being is a social creature who develops and grows in co-operation with other people...” “Common good presupposes solidarity... the unity that originates from the insight... that the best society is the one that is built on co-operation..” “Solidarity does not exclude striving for individual development and success.” “Social democracy wants the ideals of democracy to characterize society as a whole... Our aim is a society without...class differences, sexual segregation or ethnic divisions...”

In the latest programme the difference between the market and capitalism was made clear: ”The market is necessary for efficient production that creates and recreates the resources for welfare. Capitalism and market economies must be kept apart. The market economy is a system of distribution where goods and services change owners with money as the medium of exchange. Capitalism is a power system with a return on capital as the overriding norm.” During the 1950’s, 1960’s and 1970’s the modern Swedish welfare state was built by the Social Democrats. The economy was strong and expanding, public finances were good. The “Swedish model” became world famous. Pragmatism rather than theories characterized the policy. Most of the social reforms were realized on the municipal and county level, which made it easier for the citizens to understand and accept them. Decentralization became the method for welfare policies.



The State

The party wants to promote the welfare of the all the people rather than that of a few company owners or members of a special interest group, and we want to strengthen the economy of the country. In order to accomplish this the party wants to introduce new ownership models, in addition to the simple ones that the game allows now. Workers and consumers will be able to choose from a variety of privately, stately, and workers' owned companies. State-controlled companies will be created and parts of the Thai economy regulated according to needs of the least fortunate, low-level and low-wellness players. Workers' self-management will also be conducted in workers' owned companies whose founding will be supported and subsidized by the state. Furthermore privately owned companies will be receive help and bonuses from the state if they fulfill conditions such as bringing in highly qualified workers from abroad, and small private companies will be given help from the state in order to be able to compete with huge multinational cooperation’s who would otherwise drain the wealth of eThailand. In short - the social democrats want’s to see a balanced and fair market, with many forms of ownership - and sees both privately owned companies and workers cooperation’s as a good thing for eThailand and will help them out, as long as they play fair and doesn’t use their workers or act otherwise unethical.


True Democracy

One of the pillars upon which social democracy rests is the extension of democratic rule to all levels of society. We want to see a society where everyone can take part in the debate and affect their situation. The social democratic party wishes to see more decentralized government, more public polls, and more “common” workers engaged in their democracy. The limits of this game is quite frustrating to say the least, however, it is the social democratic party’s vision and goal to expand beyond the limits of the game and create external forums where the common worker can affect things through polls and voting in his region as well as on the national level. You will remember that the social democratic party wants too see such things as workers-cooperation’s across the country, and they would of course have to be governed in this fashion as well.

A Strong and Democratic Military

The Social democratic party wishes to see a strong and mobile army that is capable to react to any threat that might befall eThailand. We wish the military to grow, but we also wish it to be democratic. As stated before, we never want to see the formation of special interest groups in our country that has the power to oppress other people through their wealth or political influence or anything else. It is therefore important that the army maintains a clear connection to the common people, and that the leaders of the army are chosen democratically from the most capable candidates. That way they can truly fulfill their most pressing duties which initially will be:

International Peacekeeping

The Social democratic party’s vision for eThailand and if’s armed forces goes well in hand with it’s vision for international solidarity. It is our duty as human beings to help out those in need and defend the weaker nations on this earth against imperialistic countries that would oppress the indigenous population and rob them of their riches. eThailand must therefore maintain a big, and strong army that can be ready to act at any time where international peacekeeping operations is needed - or where allied countries request our help. In this case, having a properly democratically founded military will help us to gain a bigger army, with more efficiency that can gain more strength faster, and thus increase the prestige and safety of eThailand.


Unity and cooperation

The social democratic party should be ready work with any party that strives towards the same goals that they do, whether they be right-wing, or left-wing. The only thing we will not tolerate is racist and imperialistic parties that seeks to plant hatred among the people. Such parties should be constantly worked against and never be allowed to pollute eThailand with their filth and hatred.

Pragmatism

With our goals made clear regarding true democracy and solidarity it is important to notice that the social democratic party is above all a pragmatic party. The economic and social situation in the country and in the world may change rapidly and sometimes not in our favor. It is then important that we keep our ideal in mind, and try to make headway with them any way we can, but when this won’t be possible, the most important thing must be cooperation and pragmatic solutions. We won’t change the world in a day, so there is no need to rush into things, creating enemies along the way.


What is Social Democracy; a general explanation

Social Democracy aims to build a society based on the ideals of democracy and on the equal value of everyone. Free and equal people in a solidarity society are the goal of democratic socialism.

Everybody must be free to develop as an individual, to govern their own lives and to influence their own society. Freedom involves both freedom from external compulsion and oppression, hunger, ignorance and fear of the future as well as the freedom to participate and to decide on questions together with others, to develop as an individual to live in a secure community and the freedom to live ones own life and to choose a future of ones own. This freedom of people presupposes equality. Equality means that all people despite different preconditions are given the same opportunities to build their own lives and to influence their society. This equality presupposes the right to choose and develop differently, without differences leading to social ranking and to social divisions in power and influence over everyday life and in society.

Freedom and equality are a matter both of individual rights as well as of collective solutions in order to create the best for all, which provides the basis for the individual’s opportunities in life. The human being is a social creature who develops and grows in co-operation with other people and much of what is important to the welfare of the individual can only be created together with other people.

This common good presupposes solidarity. Solidarity is the unity that originates from the insight that we are all mutually dependent on each other, and that the best society is the one that is built on co-operation, on mutual consideration and on respect. Everybody must have the same right and opportunity to influence solutions; everybody must have the same obligation to be responsible for them. Solidarity does not exclude striving for individual development and success; it excludes the egoism that enables people to exploit other people to their own advantage.

All power in society must start from those who together form society. Economic interests never have the right to set limits to democracy: democracy always has the right to state the terms for the economy and to set limits for the market.

Democracy must be practiced in many ways and on several levels. Social Democrats strive for a social order where people as citizens and individuals can influence both development at large and community work at the level of everyday life. We strive for an economic order where every person, as a citizen, wage earner and consumer, can influence the direction and redistribution of production, the organization and the conditions of working life. Social Democracy wants these ideals of democracy to characterize society as a whole and people’s mutual relationships. Our aim is a society without divisions into lower and higher orders, without class differences, sexual segregation or ethnic divisions, a society without prejudices and discrimination, a society where everybody is needed and has a place, where everybody has the same right and the same value, where all children can grow up to become free and independent adults, where everybody can run their own affairs, and in equal and solidarity co-operation work for the social solutions that serve the community best. These ideas of democratic socialism have been inherited from earlier generations, they have been reshaped by experience and they are the driving force of today’s and tomorrow’s political efforts. Social Democracy has its deepest roots in the conviction of everybody’s equal value and inviolability.