Social Democracy and the Birth of Working-Class Representation in Europe

Abstract

abstract: Despite the growing interest in the economic backgrounds of mps in Western Europe, the evolution of working-class numerical representation before 1945 has not been systematically studied. Using data from England and Wales (1832–1944), Germany (1871–1930), and Norway (1906–1936), the authors show both that working-class mps were elected when barriers were lowered and that almost all working-class parliamentarians were affiliated with socialist parties. The authors further probe the conditions that determined the electoral success of workers using data about all candidates, constituencies’ occupational profile, and unionization in Norway between 1906 and 1936. They find that socialist parties nominated workers either in relatively uncompetitive elections in which unionization was high or in competitive races in which the party’s victory was possible but not guaranteed. Using information about mps in Germany and England and Wales, the authors find similar patterns. The article discusses the implications for research about democratization, the rise of social democracy, and the numerical representation of workers.