You hit the nail on the head - The "working class", a term I'm not fond of, just want things to get done. As long as basic needs are covered they don't really care who is piloting the ship as long as they get some semblance of freedom. The countries where the public has rioted against the ruling class it has gone pretty bad for the common citizens.

Social Democrats (and others closely associated) believe they have the formula for micromanaging society in a way to keep the power by not uppsetting the public too much.