The Frankfurt Declaration is the general name that refers to the set of principles titled ''Aims and Tasks of Democratic Socialism'' issued on 3 July 1951 by the

Socialist International The Socialist International (SI) is a political international or worldwide organisation of political parties which seek to establish democratic socialism. It consists mostly of socialist and labour-oriented political parties and organisations ...

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

.Lamb, Peter Lamb; Docherty, James C., eds. (2006). ''Historical Dictionary of Socialism'' (2nd ed.). Lanham, Maryland, United States; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Oxford, England, United Kingdom: Scarecrow Press. p. 125. . The Declaration condemned

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, priva ...

for placing the "rights of ownership before the rights of man", allowing

economic inequality There are wide varieties of economic inequality, most notably income inequality measured using the distribution of income (the amount of money people are paid) and wealth inequality measured using the distribution of wealth (the amount of ...

and its historical support of imperialism and

fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

. It declared that capitalism has coincided with "devastating crises and mass unemployment". It praised the development of the

welfare state A welfare state is a form of government in which the state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal opportunity, equita ...

as challenging capitalism and declared its opposition to Bolshevik communism. It declared that

socialism Socialism is a left-wing Economic ideology, economic philosophy and Political movement, movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to Private prop ...

was an international movement that was plural in nature that required different approaches in different circumstances. However, the Declaration stated that true socialism could only be achieved through

democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which people, the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation ("direct democracy"), or to choo ...

. According to the Declaration, the economic goals of socialism include full employment, the

and achievement of

public ownership State ownership, also called government ownership and public ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, or enterprise by the state or a public body representing a community, as opposed to an individual or private party. Public ownershi ...

through a variety of means, including nationalization, creation of

cooperatives A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

to counter capitalist private enterprise and/or securing rights for

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

s. The Declaration stated that economic and social planning did not necessarily have to be achieved in a centralized form, but it could also be achieved in decentralized forms. The Declaration denounced that all forms of discrimination whether economic, legal, or political must be abolished, including discrimination against women, races, regions and other social groups. The Declaration denounced all forms of

colonialism Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colony, colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose the ...

and imperialism. The Frankfurt Declaration was updated at the 18th Congress of the Socialist International in Stockholm in June 1989.Social International (20–22 June 1989)
"Declaration of Principles of the Socialist International Adopted by the XVIII Congress, Stockholm, June 1989"
''Socialist International, XVIII Congress''. Stockholm, Sweden: Socialist International. Retrieved 10 July 2020.

Articles of principles of the Frankfurt Declaration

References

{{reflist, 2 1951 documents Social democracy Socialism Socialist International

Articles of principles of the Frankfurt Declaration

See also

References