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Bernie, you’re a social democrat
Bernie, you’re a social democrat
Bernie Sanders calls himself a “democratic socialist,” a provocative label in neo–Cold War America. Most people still probably associate socialism with the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc – a centralized authoritarian government with a planned and state-controlled economy that is the antithesis of America’s vaunted free-market capitalism. The two ideologies are usually considered mutually exclusive. That was the assumption when Anderson Cooper, in the first Democratic Party debate, asked Sanders to confirm that he’s “not a capitalist.”
In his explanation, Sanders adduced the example of Denmark and the other Scandinavian countries as models of more equitable and compassionate societies. They have larger public sectors than the United States has; they have higher taxes and greater income redistribution; they have cooperation between labor organizations and business management. In short, they have more social security in the broadest sense, a stronger safety net.
Capitalist welfare states
These are social welfare states, like most of Western Europe, but they’re not socialist countries. They are commonly known as “social democracies,” and they consider themselves more capitalist than socialist. They limit economic inequality and promote social “solidarity” within open, market economies. Social Democratic political parties are found throughout Europe. They led the development of the welfare state, but more recently they’ve sometimes turned centrist, as in the UK and Denmark.
These are social welfare states, like most of Western Europe, but they’re not socialist countries. They are commonly known as “social democracies,” and they consider themselves more capitalist than socialist. They limit economic inequality and promote social “solidarity” within open, market economies. Social Democratic political parties are found throughout Europe. They led the development of the welfare state, but more recently they’ve sometimes turned centrist, as in the UK and Denmark.
This seems to be the model Sanders is espousing, and his positions appeal to a significant portion of the electorate in these troubled times. But regardless of how feasible his platform may or may not be in the United States, he has given himself an unnecessary handicap by calling himself a socialist and encouraging the perception that one must choose between capitalism and socialism.
Sharing all the wealth
There are avowedly socialist parties in the European parliaments that are always agitating to enlarge the public sector. The Red-Green Alliance in Denmark advocates true democratic socialism. It was created in a merger of three small far-left parties, including the Danish Communist Party, in 1989. During the 2011 election campaign, when it was trying to broaden its appeal, someone dug up its platform, which apparently hadn’t been updated recently. It called for wholesale revolution, including the abolition of private property, the armed forces and the police. The reaction in the mainstream media was an eye-rolling smirk: “After the revolution, can I keep my toothbrush?” It was seen as a relic of 1970s utopianism and a PR gaffe.
There are avowedly socialist parties in the European parliaments that are always agitating to enlarge the public sector. The Red-Green Alliance in Denmark advocates true democratic socialism. It was created in a merger of three small far-left parties, including the Danish Communist Party, in 1989. During the 2011 election campaign, when it was trying to broaden its appeal, someone dug up its platform, which apparently hadn’t been updated recently. It called for wholesale revolution, including the abolition of private property, the armed forces and the police. The reaction in the mainstream media was an eye-rolling smirk: “After the revolution, can I keep my toothbrush?” It was seen as a relic of 1970s utopianism and a PR gaffe.
Faux extremist
I doubt Sanders is plotting to confiscate personal toothbrushes or the means of production. But despite his surprising inroads against Hillary Clinton, the S word is a disadvantage as he tries to broaden his appeal. If he would simply reverse the order of those two words in his epithet, demoting the bugbear to an innocuous modifier, signaling reform instead of revolution and thus aligning himself more clearly with the mainstream European ideology he admires, he might get more people to listen to his message.
I doubt Sanders is plotting to confiscate personal toothbrushes or the means of production. But despite his surprising inroads against Hillary Clinton, the S word is a disadvantage as he tries to broaden his appeal. If he would simply reverse the order of those two words in his epithet, demoting the bugbear to an innocuous modifier, signaling reform instead of revolution and thus aligning himself more clearly with the mainstream European ideology he admires, he might get more people to listen to his message.