Thank you for your article. The fight isn't over. Instead of a Bleeding Heart Liberal I'm seeing myself as a Democratic Socialist after 76 years. Cutting off social programs to build monuments to the monster in charge and his flying monkeys, is unconscionable. Attacking hard working immigrants, alienating our allies with words and tariffs, starting new forever wars, and listening to the malignancy that is Stephen Miller is destroying the country I love. So I send my money and protest in the streets and pray that this period of hatred and violence will pass.
Protesting since the Sixities and still on the streets. God Bless America and All who call her home
Karen, I think of you as a Pragmatic Capitalist, what we find in the Scandinavian countries where a fair tax system helps the governments provide for all of the citizens, resulting in the "Happiest People in the World." The governments are not Socialistic - the means of production are held by the private sector, unlike Socialism. I think that Bernie and Mamdani, as well as Alexandria, make a mistake calling themselves "Socialists." In fact, they aren't. In the final analyst it is up to us.
Ugh, where's the dislike button when needed! First let's allow people to chose their own labels. As someone who would tend toward wearing the label of Democratic Socialist, it would be an insult to equate Pragmatic Capitalist with my beliefs. Capitalism cares not for workers, considers them as tools and a necessary evil for shaping the raw materials into a finished product; slavery is the purest form of capitalism. Socialism considers the societal impact of production, how it affects everyone. Those "happy" Scandinavian countries do not allow "its capitalists" to run roughshod over workers. They impose the kind of taxation and worker rights that would give businesses in this country apoplexy, if that's what you're calling pragmatic. Words have meaning and impact. Do not try to soften them with misleading modifiers.
Words have meaning and they should be used according to their definitions. The capitalism in the Scandinavian countries is still capitalism. When the oligarchs gain control, it becomes abusive capitalism instead of pragmatic capitalism. It's still capitalism by definition. The Scandinavian countries are not Socialist.
If you think Scandinavians do not have old wealth and oligarchs, you haven't looked deeply. Like so many, you confuse/equate socialism with communism. Socialism does not require the means of production to be held by and dictated the state, as in communism. Socialism is about production benefiting society as a whole. A simplified example. In a traditional tribal society, the best hunter may have been given first dibs on his kill's prime cuts, nevertheless the kill was "owned" by the tribe to be distributed to nourish the entire tribe. Capitalism would allow the hunter to keep the entire kill, regardless of the tribe's collective part in securing the forest where the hunting took place, in others providing the veggies and starches necessary for a proper diet, providing education to all the children, textiles for clothing, and moral guidance of the elders. From this natural state of development, humans devolved into our current market driven, capitalistic, paternalistic societies.
Socialism is a political and economic system where the community or the government owns and manages major businesses, factories and resources instead of private owners. The goal is to share wealth equitably. The New Deal did this but the U.S. never adopted Socialism. What we now have is an oligarchy, where a few ultra wealthy individuals control how the government functions. We're seeing that now as the impoverished and powerless are pushed further into despair.
So says Google AI, an apt encapsulation without the nuances and complexity of the Socialist concept. The New Deal did a lot to relieve the poverty of the Depression with public works projects and Social Security, but it would be an exaggeration to call it Socialism, especially amongst all the capitalists who multiplied their wealth prior to and during WWII. What we have now is what we have had since antiquity. We have simply replaced words like royalty and robber barons with tech bros and oligarchs.
If people do not notice somethings are very wrong, they are not paying attention or are dead. Nobody is home when you look into their eyes. Think about them and ask them to vote for change. If you can help them register to vote and get a mail in ballot, then help them fill it out. Take them to lunch to do it. See the Truth? They did and it killed them. Help bring them back to life, if possible. It may gain you a friend and a voter for life. Not just their life, all Life.
"Nobody’s describing a better version of America. Describing it would mean admitting we’re not standing in it yet."
This is likely the biggest problem to overcome. We all know people IRL who can never, ever be wrong. About anything. They've never admitted a single mistake or given an apology - at least not without DARVO-ing the $#!+ out of it. The president is perhaps the most glaring example, but this pathology - and yes, I am very deliberately calling it A PATHOLOGY because of the harm it invariably causes - affects enormous swaths of our population. Worse, it appears to be damned near a prerequisite for those who succeed in seeking power and wealth.
I have thought about this for a very long time. I think it's directly traceable, at least in large part, to the unbridled, immoral capitalism you describe so well, Corbin. The hierarchical worldview it necessarily engenders (requires to function?) is dog-eat-dog/every man for himself. Once you're seeing the world through this lens, and especially if it's working for you personally, you're so invested in it that it's very easy to lose sight of the fact that humans are a social species, utterly and inextricably interdependent, with everything that implies. We ARE all in this together.
Interestingly, it seems that universal/single-payer healthcare has a unique power to recalibrate that warped lens. At the very least, it's as good a place as any to start building.
"I think it's directly traceable, at least in large part, to the unbridled, immoral capitalism you describe so well, Corbin."
It absolutely is. The Heritage Foundation (and like think tanks) were founded and funded by mega wealthy corporate capitalists (aka Coors) whose primary objective was to undo the New Deal. They objected to a large middle class because it was too expensive -- it took wealth away from them. Thus began the great "undoing" -- anti-trust, labor unions, deregulation of Reagan, a continuation of the same under Clinton's "New Democrat" (WTO which allowed corporations who "built" to flee to cheap labor markets) and gross privatization under Bush II and Obama. Privatization of the commons is what gave us Musk, Thiel, etc. Their wealth is all derived from U.S. tax-funded gov't grants and contracts, upon which they reap profits that (due to buying gov't via Citizen's United) they then pay no taxes.
Here is a simple fact, Janet. If the U.S. population were only 3.4 million people, we may not have even one billionaire; but because our population is 340 million people, we have about 1100 billionaires. So, what's the takeaway? It's the people who produce the wealth. I subscribe to the theory of government espoused by FDR's Sec of Labor, Frances Perkins, the person most responsible for our having Social Security: "The people are what matter to government, and a government should aim to facilitate the means by which all the people under its jurisdiction can access the best possible life." The Chinese have an old saying: "An inch of gold cannot buy an inch of time." None of the billionaires served a single day in the U.S. military, yet huge cuts to Veterans' medical services have been put in place. I served four years, a significant percentage of my adult life. Others gave a whole lot more. The indifference and the cruelty by those in power is beyond description.
yep! best thing i've read lately. I too have a visceral loathing for democratic so called leadership & republicans have become evil & at 71, having been a political & social activist since protesting the vietnam war as a teenager, it is hard not to just give up, write it off as done & exit stage left. Yet i won't, because i care too much, so here we are, just trying to make a difference in what feels like a dead thing. Keep writing please...
Here in rural Western Wisconsin, we too benefited from the Progressive era (Bob LaFollette), the New Deal’s rural electrification program, our parks built by the CCC, our swimming pools built by the WPA, and our hospital was built by the county.
Corbin’s voice on these things, in these times where people in my area feel that our lives and history, both good and bad, is no longer part of America’s conversation, is a much needed and welcome one!
Corporations have taken over. Citizens United helped open the flood gates to the purchasing of our Congress. AIPAC is bad, but Wall Street Health Care, Big Pharma, and particularly the Military Industrial Merchants of Death steal taxpayer dollars - LEGALLY. You want to run for office ? Better have some deep pockets.
Yet one more little "item" that of course the fossil fuel industry was aware of. Sadly, the financial loss (methane) is not coming out of their pocket!
I'm sure you are aware of the attempt to remove the buffer zone around Chaco Canyon. After reading Heather Cox richardson's letter this morning, we all should realize that's only the start of this asinine bunch's attempt to do as they please!
Thank you for your article. The fight isn't over. Instead of a Bleeding Heart Liberal I'm seeing myself as a Democratic Socialist after 76 years. Cutting off social programs to build monuments to the monster in charge and his flying monkeys, is unconscionable. Attacking hard working immigrants, alienating our allies with words and tariffs, starting new forever wars, and listening to the malignancy that is Stephen Miller is destroying the country I love. So I send my money and protest in the streets and pray that this period of hatred and violence will pass.
Protesting since the Sixities and still on the streets. God Bless America and All who call her home
Karen, I think of you as a Pragmatic Capitalist, what we find in the Scandinavian countries where a fair tax system helps the governments provide for all of the citizens, resulting in the "Happiest People in the World." The governments are not Socialistic - the means of production are held by the private sector, unlike Socialism. I think that Bernie and Mamdani, as well as Alexandria, make a mistake calling themselves "Socialists." In fact, they aren't. In the final analyst it is up to us.
Ugh, where's the dislike button when needed! First let's allow people to chose their own labels. As someone who would tend toward wearing the label of Democratic Socialist, it would be an insult to equate Pragmatic Capitalist with my beliefs. Capitalism cares not for workers, considers them as tools and a necessary evil for shaping the raw materials into a finished product; slavery is the purest form of capitalism. Socialism considers the societal impact of production, how it affects everyone. Those "happy" Scandinavian countries do not allow "its capitalists" to run roughshod over workers. They impose the kind of taxation and worker rights that would give businesses in this country apoplexy, if that's what you're calling pragmatic. Words have meaning and impact. Do not try to soften them with misleading modifiers.
Words have meaning and they should be used according to their definitions. The capitalism in the Scandinavian countries is still capitalism. When the oligarchs gain control, it becomes abusive capitalism instead of pragmatic capitalism. It's still capitalism by definition. The Scandinavian countries are not Socialist.
If you think Scandinavians do not have old wealth and oligarchs, you haven't looked deeply. Like so many, you confuse/equate socialism with communism. Socialism does not require the means of production to be held by and dictated the state, as in communism. Socialism is about production benefiting society as a whole. A simplified example. In a traditional tribal society, the best hunter may have been given first dibs on his kill's prime cuts, nevertheless the kill was "owned" by the tribe to be distributed to nourish the entire tribe. Capitalism would allow the hunter to keep the entire kill, regardless of the tribe's collective part in securing the forest where the hunting took place, in others providing the veggies and starches necessary for a proper diet, providing education to all the children, textiles for clothing, and moral guidance of the elders. From this natural state of development, humans devolved into our current market driven, capitalistic, paternalistic societies.
Socialism is a political and economic system where the community or the government owns and manages major businesses, factories and resources instead of private owners. The goal is to share wealth equitably. The New Deal did this but the U.S. never adopted Socialism. What we now have is an oligarchy, where a few ultra wealthy individuals control how the government functions. We're seeing that now as the impoverished and powerless are pushed further into despair.
So says Google AI, an apt encapsulation without the nuances and complexity of the Socialist concept. The New Deal did a lot to relieve the poverty of the Depression with public works projects and Social Security, but it would be an exaggeration to call it Socialism, especially amongst all the capitalists who multiplied their wealth prior to and during WWII. What we have now is what we have had since antiquity. We have simply replaced words like royalty and robber barons with tech bros and oligarchs.
Oh, that was good! Now: how do we get enough people to see the truth? Closed minds will have to be pried open.
If people do not notice somethings are very wrong, they are not paying attention or are dead. Nobody is home when you look into their eyes. Think about them and ask them to vote for change. If you can help them register to vote and get a mail in ballot, then help them fill it out. Take them to lunch to do it. See the Truth? They did and it killed them. Help bring them back to life, if possible. It may gain you a friend and a voter for life. Not just their life, all Life.
Always Spot On.
Too kind.
Corbin, I think you have a great talent as a speech writer!
"Nobody’s describing a better version of America. Describing it would mean admitting we’re not standing in it yet."
This is likely the biggest problem to overcome. We all know people IRL who can never, ever be wrong. About anything. They've never admitted a single mistake or given an apology - at least not without DARVO-ing the $#!+ out of it. The president is perhaps the most glaring example, but this pathology - and yes, I am very deliberately calling it A PATHOLOGY because of the harm it invariably causes - affects enormous swaths of our population. Worse, it appears to be damned near a prerequisite for those who succeed in seeking power and wealth.
I have thought about this for a very long time. I think it's directly traceable, at least in large part, to the unbridled, immoral capitalism you describe so well, Corbin. The hierarchical worldview it necessarily engenders (requires to function?) is dog-eat-dog/every man for himself. Once you're seeing the world through this lens, and especially if it's working for you personally, you're so invested in it that it's very easy to lose sight of the fact that humans are a social species, utterly and inextricably interdependent, with everything that implies. We ARE all in this together.
Interestingly, it seems that universal/single-payer healthcare has a unique power to recalibrate that warped lens. At the very least, it's as good a place as any to start building.
"I think it's directly traceable, at least in large part, to the unbridled, immoral capitalism you describe so well, Corbin."
It absolutely is. The Heritage Foundation (and like think tanks) were founded and funded by mega wealthy corporate capitalists (aka Coors) whose primary objective was to undo the New Deal. They objected to a large middle class because it was too expensive -- it took wealth away from them. Thus began the great "undoing" -- anti-trust, labor unions, deregulation of Reagan, a continuation of the same under Clinton's "New Democrat" (WTO which allowed corporations who "built" to flee to cheap labor markets) and gross privatization under Bush II and Obama. Privatization of the commons is what gave us Musk, Thiel, etc. Their wealth is all derived from U.S. tax-funded gov't grants and contracts, upon which they reap profits that (due to buying gov't via Citizen's United) they then pay no taxes.
Here is a simple fact, Janet. If the U.S. population were only 3.4 million people, we may not have even one billionaire; but because our population is 340 million people, we have about 1100 billionaires. So, what's the takeaway? It's the people who produce the wealth. I subscribe to the theory of government espoused by FDR's Sec of Labor, Frances Perkins, the person most responsible for our having Social Security: "The people are what matter to government, and a government should aim to facilitate the means by which all the people under its jurisdiction can access the best possible life." The Chinese have an old saying: "An inch of gold cannot buy an inch of time." None of the billionaires served a single day in the U.S. military, yet huge cuts to Veterans' medical services have been put in place. I served four years, a significant percentage of my adult life. Others gave a whole lot more. The indifference and the cruelty by those in power is beyond description.
100%.
yep! best thing i've read lately. I too have a visceral loathing for democratic so called leadership & republicans have become evil & at 71, having been a political & social activist since protesting the vietnam war as a teenager, it is hard not to just give up, write it off as done & exit stage left. Yet i won't, because i care too much, so here we are, just trying to make a difference in what feels like a dead thing. Keep writing please...
Here in rural Western Wisconsin, we too benefited from the Progressive era (Bob LaFollette), the New Deal’s rural electrification program, our parks built by the CCC, our swimming pools built by the WPA, and our hospital was built by the county.
Corbin’s voice on these things, in these times where people in my area feel that our lives and history, both good and bad, is no longer part of America’s conversation, is a much needed and welcome one!
THANK YOU
Really well said, Corbin! Monday's not too soon to start sowing again. But the link at the bottom doesn't work. All dressed up, but nowhere to go!
argh. I keep promising myself I won't finish a piece at 1 am...
This is so spot on. We’ve always had our warts - that is not the point - but we are now ossified by greed, hatred, and self absorption.
Corporations have taken over. Citizens United helped open the flood gates to the purchasing of our Congress. AIPAC is bad, but Wall Street Health Care, Big Pharma, and particularly the Military Industrial Merchants of Death steal taxpayer dollars - LEGALLY. You want to run for office ? Better have some deep pockets.
https://davcer.substack.com/p/wha-hoppen-purchasing-power
https://davcer.substack.com/p/so-you-want-to-run-for-office
https://davcer.substack.com/p/wall-street-healthcare-will-never
The Help us spread it link 🔗 doesn’t seem to work or go anywhere for me.
https://secure.actblue.com/donate/corbintrent
Fixed it thank you!
Yet one more little "item" that of course the fossil fuel industry was aware of. Sadly, the financial loss (methane) is not coming out of their pocket!
I'm sure you are aware of the attempt to remove the buffer zone around Chaco Canyon. After reading Heather Cox richardson's letter this morning, we all should realize that's only the start of this asinine bunch's attempt to do as they please!
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/july-25-2026?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=20533&post_id=208523155&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=false&r=b9ign&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
I wish more people understood this. It is a shame you don't want to run.
⁶
At second glance, I am puzzled as to what that memo has to do with your essay (and certainly why you thought it was the best thing to lead with).
As a lifelong blue collar worker you and I are on the same page. Sharing with my subscribers tomorrow.