Different Political Ideologies “A clear definition of socialism does not exist; and ideologies or parties that are somehow related with socialism are generally defined by an adjunct, as for example'state socialism' or 'marxist socialism'.” of conservative parties are often characterized by a reduction of the welfare and tax system and a liberal economic approach. Such policies seem to contradict with the ideology's basic principles. However, reality shows that a deregulated market often preserves a societal order better than any state could do. Not surprisingly, the target group of conservative parties is primarily the well-to-do from the educated middle class and the business elite as well as the religious – mainly Catholic – sphere. Despite fundamental differences, cooperation with social democrats sometimes takes place. Such coalitions usually lead to strong disagreements on economic and tax questions. While social democrats constantly try to improve the rights of the underprivileged, conservatives mainly represent the interests of the traditional upper class. Cooperation is nevertheless possible because parties from both ideologies strongly accept that political decisions have to be born out of compromises. Socialism As mentioned earlier, ever since World War I(1914-1918) it has been highly important for social democrats to distinguish themselves from(state) socialists and communists. Why? As the different ideologies share parts of their history and sometimes refer to the same philosophers and ideas, it might be easy to mix them up, which has never been in the interest of social democrats. Some differences between the ideologies are so fundamental that they result in a completely different understanding of politics. The umbrella term'socialism' describes economic and political ideas that have been interpreted in various ways. A clear definition of socialism does not exist; and ideologies or parties that are somehow related with socialism are generally defined by an adjunct, as for example'state socialism' or 'marxist socialism'. Socialism derives from the same time and the same socio-economic conditions as the labor movement of the 19 th century. In this period theorists like Karl Marx(1818-1883) and Friedrich Engels(1820­1895) worked on new models of society and laid with their writings the foundation for various political ideologies. The wish for a more equal society unified the labor movement and the philosophers. Shared core values became equality, justice and solidarity. The movement soon split up into different groups, which had a differing understanding of the specific form of a more equal society. One of the main dividing questions was,“How to change the unjust societal order: with a violent revolution or by democratic reforms?” While social democrats clearly believed in the importance of a democratic state and therefore only accepted democratic reforms, more radical groups demanded a revolution. Though time has shown clear distinctions between different social ideologies, several of them refer to the same important theorists(e.g., Marx and Engels), from communism to social democracy. These ideologies share some values, but the interpretation of these values, the political styles, and the understanding of economy vary fundamentally. For communists, socialism is the developmental stage between a capitalistic society and real communism. During the communist times of various East 36