Advocating socialism, to be achieved entirely through peaceful parliamentary methods.
In 1869 the General German Workers' Union and the Social Democratic Workers' Party joined to become the Social Democratic Party. This coalition was so very popular among voters that similar parties emerged across Europe. Their thinking influenced Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the Indian Congress Party and the founders of Israel. These parties have shifted progressively to the right, and today occupy a very moderate band of the political spectrum. The strong Marxist revolutionary roots of this group are no longer evident.