Why did the Social Democratic Party of Germany abandon calls for nationalizing industry in 1959?

The Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) abandoned its calls for the nationalization of industry in 1959 as part of a strategic reassessment following three consecutive national election defeats in 1949, 1953, and 1957.12

Reformers within the party concluded that the SPD had misread postwar public opinion. They recognized that most Germans were weary of ideological rhetoric regarding class struggle and government takeovers of industry, which were central to the party's program at the time. Voters were increasingly satisfied with the success of West Germany’s social market economy, which had fostered rapid recovery and rising living standards under private ownership.23

Consequently, at a special party conference in Bad Godesberg in 1959, the SPD formally discarded its doctrinaire approach. By embracing the market economy and abandoning appeals to class warfare, the party successfully broadened its base to attract greater segments of the middle class, leading to significant electoral gains in the following years.12