Political Culture
The individual proponents of the theory of social democracy propose that in the final analysis social democracy is synonymous with political culture; seen as a whole, it is nothing but a form of political culture. Another version of this argument claims that under current circumstances, social democracy is identical with the political project of civil society. Even for all intents and purposes the argument identifies an important element in the concept of social democracy, it does not take all aspects into account. While social democracy is embedded in the political culture that it legitimizes, generates, and maintains, it does not stop there. It is first and foremost an institutionalized political structure with a system of rights, institutions, and action programmes. Social democracy that is worn out and no longer effective as political culture would be nothing other than a libertarian version of communitarism or civil society. Social security would depend solely on the spontaneity of a citizen’s social involvement. The fully realized project of social democracy, however, implies politically institutionalized rights accompanied by the authority of the state to impose sanction; examples include the right to co-determination in a company or the right to social security.