In spite of their education and sophistication, hapless democrats keep failing at passing their message on to the mainstream. As a Republican strategist Rick Wilson brilliantly said on Real Time with Bill Maher:”Don't run on boutique issues in a Walmart nation”
GOP is scaring its base and the undecided with the old red scare of socialism. WHAT IS SOCIALISM? Due to relentless decades-old propaganda and resulting ignorance, Americans (including many politicians) throwing this term around have no idea what they're talking about! Please, consult professor Richard Wolf who studied and wrote books about it. Here's an informative debate between Wolf and another economist Paul Krugman on Democracy Now https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6J3ROV4IPc . Their opinions differ; one can understand Wolf defending Bernie's proclamation that he is a socialist arguing that thanks to Bernie it's no longer taboo to discuss what socialism is and isn't. Krugman offers a more pragmatic opinion that Bernie IS NOT a socialist and that this word and its ideals are too radical to Americans who would be afraid to vote for him.
At the very least, progressives should inform themselves and keep pounding the following points to the public every chance they get. So here it is:
1. SOCIALISM IS AN ECONOMIC SYSTEM BASED ON PUBLIC OWNERSHIP OF THE MEANS OF PRODUCTION, meaning no private ownership at all, whereas a human being cannot employ - exploit - another. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/socialism It is not a collection of welfare programs such as free health care etc. even though they are part of that economic system. (Even China and Cuba are no longer socialist as they allow private enterprise)
2. DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST is a member of European parties of the same name or ideology in CAPITALIST COUNTRIES with many SOCIAL- not socialist - welfare programs. That does not change their capitalist economic system with overwhelmingly private ownership of the means of production and services.
3. Roosevelt introduced many social welfare programs still in place and widely supported today, is US socialist?
4. Sanders does not propose a "socialist" revolution, he is a proponent of a capitalist system with social reforms implemented in Europe, not USSR.
5. Not accepting contributions from the rich is not a goal in itself. Sanders will seem more down to earth and practical if he puts the main goals of his campaign ahead of this principle and say he would accept contributions from anyone as long as they do not expect - as a condition in writing - to get a return on their investment. To paraphrase a real revolutionary, Lenin, why not let them offer you "the rope you’ll hang" them with? :-) Think of all the good that donated money can do even if Bernie is not the winner...
6. To Americans everything is black or white: one cannot possibly utter anything positive about your sworn enemy. Reverse it. Suppose other countries judge the US only on its history of slavery, slaughter of native Americans etc. Are we all barbarians?
GOP is deliberately misusing and weaponizing the term "socialism". If Sanders and other progressives do not straighten this linguistic mayhem, dance around the issues with platitudes, avoid answering questions directly and not speak out against conservatives’ lies, they stand little chance with those who grew up with or have been brainwashed to believe the sky will fall if Sanders wins.
No comments:
Post a Comment