Political ideology that advocates a transition to a socialist society, achieved gradually through the democratic process. Originally a form of Marxism, the movement grew out of the formation of the German Social Democratic Worker's Party in 1869, which eventually led to the Social Democratic Party of Germany. Its philosophy evolved and eventually rejected militarism, totalitarianism, and revolution as a means for political change. A main advocate of social democracy was theorist Eduard Bernstein, who parted ways with Marx and Engel, instead positing that democracy must be embraced in order to instill socialist changes. Following the Second World War, several social-democratic governments came to power, including those in West Germany and Sweden.
