"I
believe in a democratic civilized society health care is a human
right.
Government should make that happen. I believe that every young
person
in this country regardless of his or her income has the right
to get all
the education they need."
– Bernie
Sanders
With Senator Bernie
Sanders' win in Nevada, he is the front-runner for the Democratic
nomination for President of the United States. In as few as 10 days,
Sanders could amass a practically unbreakable delegate lead on Super
Tuesday.
Sanders conjures both the
hopes and the fears of the nation with one simple word. That word
describes a political and economic theory which advocates that the
means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or
regulated by the community as a whole. Even within the ranks of his
own party, Sanders confronts those who distress at all of the
connotations of the term. That suspicious word is “socialism.”
Of all the Democratic
candidates, Sanders would likely bring the most drastic changes for
businesses and wealthy Americans. Is America ready to understand what
supporting Bernie Sanders really means? Do most Americans even
understand his agenda? Does an old concept of social beliefs and
agendas even apply? It's time to answer some pertinent questions. In
this post, I will attempt to give a primer about Bernie's brand of
politics.
Just what is Bernie
Sanders' socialism? To be more exact, what is his
self-professed version of “Democratic Socialism,” the
political and economic theory Sanders hopes to ride to the White
House? An examination of the term reveals how this political
philosophy supports the belief that both the economy and society
should be run democratically to meet public needs, not to make
profits for a few.
Zack Beauchamp, senior
correspondent at Vox, says decades ago, Sanders used to be much more
radical in his socialist views. For example, in 1976, Sanders gave an
interview endorsing “the public ownership of utilities, banks, and
major industries.” In the meantime, he has spent his life
marinating in anti-capitalist political ideas and communities; his
political vision and language reflect that.
Sanders cites Eugene Debs,
the five-time presidential candidate of the Socialist Party of
America, as his hero. But he hasn’t always embraced the label. “I
myself don’t use the word socialism,” he said in 1976 in
the Vermont Cynic, a student publication at the University of
Vermont, “because people have been brainwashed into thinking
socialism automatically means slave-labor camps, dictatorship and
lack of freedom of speech.”
Then, in the summer 1986
issue of a now-defunct magazine called Vermont Affairs,
Sanders wrote:
“All that socialism
means to me, to be very frank with you, is democracy with a small
‘d.’ I believe in democracy, and by democracy I mean that, to as
great an extent as possible, human beings have the right to control
their own lives. And that means that you cannot separate the
political structure from the economic structure. One has to be an
idiot to believe that the average working person who’s making
$10,000 or $12,000 a year is equal in political power to somebody who
is the head of a large bank or corporation. So if you believe in
political democracy, if you believe in equality, you have to believe
in economic democracy as well.”
In 2020, Sanders wants to
emphasize a division: the split between the one percent of
“oligarchs” and the remaining 99 percent of Americans. He
represents a kind of class politics unusual among Democratic 2020
candidates – with the exception of Elizabeth Warren, whose speeches
often hit similar themes from a less avowedly anti-capitalist
perspective.
In Sanders' view,
democratic socialism is a “species” of social democratic populism
that pits the American people against a corrupt elite class that must
be defeated outright. This emphasis on class antagonism, on the
treachery of the elite and their threat to American democracy, is
what defines Sanders’ vision.
Sanders says …
The
United States and the rest of the world face two very different
political paths. On one hand, there is a growing movement towards
oligarchy and authoritarianism in which a small number of incredibly
wealthy and powerful billionaires own and control a significant part
of the economy and exert enormous influence over the political life
of our country. On the other hand, in opposition to oligarchy, there
is a movement of working people and young people who, in
ever-increasing numbers, are fighting for justice.
“Democratic
socialism,” for Sanders, is about creating a “political
revolution” that gives voice to the second group – by “sticking
it” to the first.
For a model, Sanders
usually points to Denmark, which has a regressive and high
Value-added Tax (VAT) – a consumption tax levied on products at
every point of sale where value has been added, starting from raw
material and going all the way to the final retail purchase. (Imagine
a 25% federal sales tax on everything, split in stages between
manufacturers, retailers and consumers). But it also has generous
benefits that raise quality of life for every Dane.
Sanders' critics see any
form of socialism as a step to communism. But, others claim that
belief is unfounded. Dr. Jean Louise Cohen, a professor of political
thought and contemporary civilization at Columbia University, told
Newsweek: "Communism does not respect or esteem formal or
procedural liberal democracy.” Cohen noted that communism in
practice, has "embraced the idea of the dictatorship of the
proletariat" while claiming to "foster social justice
rather than political democracy."
Right-wing
critics have argued that the ideas espoused by Sanders and other
democratic socialists in Congress would lead to the collapse of the
U.S. economy, and transform the country into a struggling state
similar to South America's Venezuela. However, experts like Cohen
said this assessment was inaccurate, pointing out that Sanders'
proposals align more closely with those already implemented by
wealthy northern European countries.
One proposal offered by
Sanders would raise the tax rate to 52% on earnings over $10 million.
Sanders also proposed that the first $29,000 of a person’s income
would be exempt from taxes, and a 4% income-based premium would be
applied to earnings over $29,000.
Of course, many older
Americans still hold onto individualism, and they’re still
skeptical of big government. So when Sanders asks them to relinquish
the independence of a free market system in the hopes that
government-run programs will provide economic and social equality,
very few are convinced.
Young Americans, however,
are attracted to this exchange, and it’s not hard to see why.
They’re facing unprecedented expenses, so it’s no wonder a
candidate offering free healthcare, free college, and the elimination
of outstanding student loan debt is so popular.
An irony is that older
Americans currently enjoy benefits that resemble some of Sanders’s
proposals – Medicaid, Social Security, and mortgage-interest
deductions, otherwise known as “boomer socialism” – while young
Americans foot the bill.
Make no mistake. Bernie
Sanders supports a political revolution. Sanders “is not a
candidate who is adopting these issues – he has always been running
on these issues,” said Joshua Ulibarri, a partner with the
Democratic polling firm Lake Research Partners.
Sanders says …
“We
are gonna also launch what I think is unprecedented in modern
American history, and that is a grassroots movement to lay the
groundwork for transforming the economic and political life of this
country.”
Sanders supports the
following measures in his Democratic Socialist agenda:
Universal Medicare
system – Medicare For All. Sanders wants bill that transitions
the country to a universal Medicare system over four years,
eventually sunsetting Medicaid and Medicare in their current forms
while leaving the Veterans Affairs health system and the Indian
Health Services in place.
Normalization of a $15
minimum wage. At one time this issue was a
huge debate within the Democratic Party, but by the summer of 2016,
Clinton had endorsed Sanders’s view and Democrats adopted it in
their platform. Now the debate feels almost passé.
Capping the size of
banks. Sanders has pointedly criticized Wall Street for years. In
October, he introduced a bill to cap the size of financial
institutions, which would break up banks including J.P. Morgan Chase
and Goldman Sachs. He also unveiled a plan to restrict stock
repurchases, which would put conditions on share buybacks.
Free college. Sanders
says Americans are entitled to the “right of a complete education,”
calling it a “national disgrace” that many are either unable to
afford higher education or mired in unimaginable student loan debt
for attaining it. He introduced a plan to make community college
tuition-free and eliminate tuition at four-year universities for
students from families with income of $125,000 or less. And, he wants
to cancel all $1.6 trillion in student loan debt owed in the United
States, and enact a debt- and tuition-free public college system.
Raising the top estate
tax rate to 77 percent. He’s also proposed expanding the estate
tax, as well as a Wall Street speculation tax on bonds, stocks, and
derivatives bought and sold in the United States.
Campaign finance
reform. By the end of the last presidential primary, the country
was well aware that Sanders’ average campaign donation was $27.
Running without corporate PAC donations is now something many
politicians – especially 2020 contenders – now feel pressure to
conform to, and that’s largely because of Sanders
Climate change.
Sanders has endorsed a version of the Green New Deal, a plan
to dramatically reshape the U.S. economy to cut carbon emissions and
address climate change.
