Social Democracy Between Class and People

The rise of social democratic parties in the late nineteenth century constituted an important development in European politics. Social democratic parties have been credited as crucial forces behind both democratization and welfare state development. Scholars of social democracy commonly assume that social democrats must choose between appealing to the working class and the people as a whole. This article questions that assumption through a study of early Swedish social democracy. Drawing on archival evidence, the article shows that Swedish social democrats commonly invoked class and people simultaneously. The article further analyzes how social democrats sought to reconcile their appeals to class and people. By demonstrating the party’s dual commitment to class and people, the article also challenges the commonplace notion that early socialist parties were exclusively oriented toward the working class.