We do need to get back to the government building some things and running some things, because some common goods and services are *not* best served by private enterprise, ***BUT*** that does NOT mean having the government just contract it out (more opportunities for looting). It means the government hiring W2 government employees to do the work. Yes, some might loaf, but the losses will be retail, not the wholesale that happens with government contractors.
Bravo. Unless there’s a vision of what we are fighting for it’s all broken English. It’s been a 60 year effort to break the New Deal and Great Society programs. Bringing this vision back is remembering what these combined eras brought us and understanding in their dismantling the pathway to a more solid foundation for society e.g. we are not just fighting to restore Medicaid and Medicare but single payer publicly funded healthcare . . .
I 100% agree! As an organizer, I've been asking people what we are fighting against and what we are fighting for and very few have a clear, focused answer. The deepening political chaos is an incredible opportunity to re-invent a better American democracy but taking advantage of this opportunity demands a unifying vision. A unifying vision that isn't hanging on the shoulders of a few potential martyrs but a vision that engages the imagination of the people.
That vision cannot be simplistic. It must take all the lessons of human history and psychology into account. Montesquieu said "institutions form people" and the worldwide institutions of capitalism, be it state capitalism as in Russia and China or corporate capitalism as in the US & Western Europe, have lured us into the insanity of self-destructive overproduction and overconsumption built on a psyche consuming fear of never having enough fueling an insatiable lust for evermore. The consequences of this institutionalized selfishness and greed on individuals, communities and the natural environment are literally destroying us.
Marx argued that the foundation of human society is economic, and the legal and political structures are built on that. The poisonous maelstrom of economic corruption that has been building for centuries and is now tearing our political system and country apart confirm Marx's argument.
We need a new vision of democracy and that vision must be built democratically. It must be built with the diversity, equity and inclusiveness that capitalism so desperately fears. And it must reject the elitism that is used to justify the tyranny that pervades every hierarchy.
We aren't even mentioning what we need to be fighting right now which is to abolish citizen's united. As long as it's easy to buy politicians oligarchs will continue to rule by proxy.
Here’s what I want: 1) universal health care 2) no income taxes on social security benefits 3) lift the cap on social security contributions 4) return to the tax brackets on the 1950s 5) a constitutional amendment that establishes that corporations are not people, that only human beings are people, and only people may contribute to political campaigns, with strict limits 6) corporate income taxes abolished and replaced with a tax on sales that will not be less than 25% and can only be offset by wages paid to employees working on US soil. Should I go on?
Agree. Agree. Agree!! 1000%. And almost everyday I communicate with a group of people who are saying the same. But where is the action? Why are we not moving on these ideas? Why are we not projecting a vision at every rally, every town hall, and everywhere?
What was the Green New Deal? What were all the concrete policy and program proposals in Sanders 2020 platform and the legislation promoted by Sanders and other real progressives in Congress? If you want to see something you have to look or at least not ignore it. Ironically, this entire article ends up being a complaint about the left with no concrete proposals of its own. This is how conservatives snd centrists talk when they are trying to marginalize the left.
I agree with everything you have written EXCEPT that Obama was a great president. I'm struggling to believe in your credibility after likening him to FDR. When first elected he controlled the house and senate and did virtually nothing with that advantage. His lack of action, and the democratic parties blocking Sanders in favor of Clinton is why we ended up with dump the first time around. He was a 'party' democrat, he kissed the ring and stayed in his lane. He had the opportunity to make sweeping changes like FDR and failed.
Whew! Finally someone who realizes what a scam Obama was…and still is! So many of us drank that koolaid, only to find out he was just a slick politician under it all, and yet has been all but deified by so many. Just think of his record regarding immigrants, the continuation and expansion of Guantanamo, not to mention foreign policy so very reflective of this country’s arrogant hegemony.
There is worth in much of this post, yet again it names the issues without going on to the actual process needed to make these changes in a political system that has become so deeply entrenched. Socialism would offer much of what is being described, while—as noted—capitalism has been a destructive force we were indoctrinated from our very childhood to equate with democracy—which couldn’t be farther from the truth….
But real unions—in other words those not crippled by capitalist management beholden to government agency instead of the rank and file, could offer the basics of a method for moving forward. Think of the public as the rank and file—there are far more of us than that 1%…. The unity of understanding the far greater commonalities we share would make for an enormous advantage over capitalism’s history of “divide and conquer”, and “every man for himself”, to deny all this potential power of the commons….
This is absolutely spot on. The things that need done are not capitalist ventures. They need done for the good of the country. Healthcare that works. Broadband for all. Meaningful jobs. Something to be proud of. Instead what we have is a broken healthcare system, disparity of basic necessities such as housing and broadband. Embarrassment of our politicians.
1. Excellent article; greatly appreciate your post. I will also restack. 2. The ideology you’re referring to is being built by a growing group of post-liberal post-conservative post-populist-only systems builders. It takes a little time, but there is no daylight between what you’re proposing and what I see being constructed and slowly socialized. (Some of this is so early, it really can’t be shared only because it’s basically not done.). 3. Thank you again for your article, it is awesome work! Keep writing, please!
I’m 87 and lived through wars and recessions. As a child, I laughed as we goose-stepped to kindergarten like we heard they did in Germany, In college I took several courses to learn what it really meant.
I have come to understand and believe that government in the U S A is there to make and agree on laws of equitable treatment and behavior between our people, businesses and states. As a nation, we raise a military and other things.
Basically, our government governs,
Once it tried to get beyond that, it gets into trouble. Every time.
I like this post a lot. I agree that in some respects the Democrats have been pretty bad...but nowhere near as bad as the Trump-toadying tech bros and other sycophants who are right now, ripping up our government, destroying democratic guardrails, and scorning our deepest alliances. April 19th is coming. (250th anniversary of Lexington and Concord) Our forefathers fought for a democracy and people died in multiple wars to defend it. The ones that are actively ripping it up right now are Trump and his cohorts. There is no way to leapfrog over this fact. However, having said that - I think you're making some important points here. We can support our democracy AND fight for a better economic vision for the country than most mainstream Dems are promoting.
Wow. This is where my thinking is heading. I’m not a Dem or Rep right now, I want to live in a better world. And you, well, nailed it. You have just given a vision. It’s one I feel we needed for a long time. We need a visionary leader right now that doesn’t identify with extremes or parties. They must identify with the people. I love this. Thank you. ❤️
We do need to get back to the government building some things and running some things, because some common goods and services are *not* best served by private enterprise, ***BUT*** that does NOT mean having the government just contract it out (more opportunities for looting). It means the government hiring W2 government employees to do the work. Yes, some might loaf, but the losses will be retail, not the wholesale that happens with government contractors.
I agree.
I'd also bring back the WPA and CCC. They made some amazing shit that survives to this day.
Bravo. Unless there’s a vision of what we are fighting for it’s all broken English. It’s been a 60 year effort to break the New Deal and Great Society programs. Bringing this vision back is remembering what these combined eras brought us and understanding in their dismantling the pathway to a more solid foundation for society e.g. we are not just fighting to restore Medicaid and Medicare but single payer publicly funded healthcare . . .
I 100% agree! As an organizer, I've been asking people what we are fighting against and what we are fighting for and very few have a clear, focused answer. The deepening political chaos is an incredible opportunity to re-invent a better American democracy but taking advantage of this opportunity demands a unifying vision. A unifying vision that isn't hanging on the shoulders of a few potential martyrs but a vision that engages the imagination of the people.
That vision cannot be simplistic. It must take all the lessons of human history and psychology into account. Montesquieu said "institutions form people" and the worldwide institutions of capitalism, be it state capitalism as in Russia and China or corporate capitalism as in the US & Western Europe, have lured us into the insanity of self-destructive overproduction and overconsumption built on a psyche consuming fear of never having enough fueling an insatiable lust for evermore. The consequences of this institutionalized selfishness and greed on individuals, communities and the natural environment are literally destroying us.
Marx argued that the foundation of human society is economic, and the legal and political structures are built on that. The poisonous maelstrom of economic corruption that has been building for centuries and is now tearing our political system and country apart confirm Marx's argument.
We need a new vision of democracy and that vision must be built democratically. It must be built with the diversity, equity and inclusiveness that capitalism so desperately fears. And it must reject the elitism that is used to justify the tyranny that pervades every hierarchy.
We aren't even mentioning what we need to be fighting right now which is to abolish citizen's united. As long as it's easy to buy politicians oligarchs will continue to rule by proxy.
Here’s what I want: 1) universal health care 2) no income taxes on social security benefits 3) lift the cap on social security contributions 4) return to the tax brackets on the 1950s 5) a constitutional amendment that establishes that corporations are not people, that only human beings are people, and only people may contribute to political campaigns, with strict limits 6) corporate income taxes abolished and replaced with a tax on sales that will not be less than 25% and can only be offset by wages paid to employees working on US soil. Should I go on?
My guess is we'd be hard-pressed to get a majority to agree on the goals laid out in the Preamble to the Constitution.
"You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”
Bucky Fuller
Agree. Agree. Agree!! 1000%. And almost everyday I communicate with a group of people who are saying the same. But where is the action? Why are we not moving on these ideas? Why are we not projecting a vision at every rally, every town hall, and everywhere?
If you think the answer lies in the Democratic Party you haven’t a fucking clue what is actually wrong in this country.
What was the Green New Deal? What were all the concrete policy and program proposals in Sanders 2020 platform and the legislation promoted by Sanders and other real progressives in Congress? If you want to see something you have to look or at least not ignore it. Ironically, this entire article ends up being a complaint about the left with no concrete proposals of its own. This is how conservatives snd centrists talk when they are trying to marginalize the left.
I agree with everything you have written EXCEPT that Obama was a great president. I'm struggling to believe in your credibility after likening him to FDR. When first elected he controlled the house and senate and did virtually nothing with that advantage. His lack of action, and the democratic parties blocking Sanders in favor of Clinton is why we ended up with dump the first time around. He was a 'party' democrat, he kissed the ring and stayed in his lane. He had the opportunity to make sweeping changes like FDR and failed.
Whew! Finally someone who realizes what a scam Obama was…and still is! So many of us drank that koolaid, only to find out he was just a slick politician under it all, and yet has been all but deified by so many. Just think of his record regarding immigrants, the continuation and expansion of Guantanamo, not to mention foreign policy so very reflective of this country’s arrogant hegemony.
There is worth in much of this post, yet again it names the issues without going on to the actual process needed to make these changes in a political system that has become so deeply entrenched. Socialism would offer much of what is being described, while—as noted—capitalism has been a destructive force we were indoctrinated from our very childhood to equate with democracy—which couldn’t be farther from the truth….
But real unions—in other words those not crippled by capitalist management beholden to government agency instead of the rank and file, could offer the basics of a method for moving forward. Think of the public as the rank and file—there are far more of us than that 1%…. The unity of understanding the far greater commonalities we share would make for an enormous advantage over capitalism’s history of “divide and conquer”, and “every man for himself”, to deny all this potential power of the commons….
This is absolutely spot on. The things that need done are not capitalist ventures. They need done for the good of the country. Healthcare that works. Broadband for all. Meaningful jobs. Something to be proud of. Instead what we have is a broken healthcare system, disparity of basic necessities such as housing and broadband. Embarrassment of our politicians.
1. Excellent article; greatly appreciate your post. I will also restack. 2. The ideology you’re referring to is being built by a growing group of post-liberal post-conservative post-populist-only systems builders. It takes a little time, but there is no daylight between what you’re proposing and what I see being constructed and slowly socialized. (Some of this is so early, it really can’t be shared only because it’s basically not done.). 3. Thank you again for your article, it is awesome work! Keep writing, please!
Outstanding.
I’m 87 and lived through wars and recessions. As a child, I laughed as we goose-stepped to kindergarten like we heard they did in Germany, In college I took several courses to learn what it really meant.
I have come to understand and believe that government in the U S A is there to make and agree on laws of equitable treatment and behavior between our people, businesses and states. As a nation, we raise a military and other things.
Basically, our government governs,
Once it tried to get beyond that, it gets into trouble. Every time.
I like this post a lot. I agree that in some respects the Democrats have been pretty bad...but nowhere near as bad as the Trump-toadying tech bros and other sycophants who are right now, ripping up our government, destroying democratic guardrails, and scorning our deepest alliances. April 19th is coming. (250th anniversary of Lexington and Concord) Our forefathers fought for a democracy and people died in multiple wars to defend it. The ones that are actively ripping it up right now are Trump and his cohorts. There is no way to leapfrog over this fact. However, having said that - I think you're making some important points here. We can support our democracy AND fight for a better economic vision for the country than most mainstream Dems are promoting.
Wow. This is where my thinking is heading. I’m not a Dem or Rep right now, I want to live in a better world. And you, well, nailed it. You have just given a vision. It’s one I feel we needed for a long time. We need a visionary leader right now that doesn’t identify with extremes or parties. They must identify with the people. I love this. Thank you. ❤️