122 online
 
Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 53 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing Summarizing
OpEdNews Op Eds    H2'ed 6/19/16

The best is yet to come

By       (Page 1 of 1 pages)   4 comments

Naomi Klein
Message Naomi Klein
Become a Fan
  (55 fans)

Reprinted from New Republic


(Image by Mark Peterson / Redux)   Details   DMCA
>

On the surface, the battle between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders looks like a deep rift, one that threatens to splinter the Democratic Party. But viewed in the sweep of history, it is evidence of something far more positive for the party's base and beyond: not a rift but a shift -- the first tremors of a profound ideological realignment from which a transformative new politics could emerge.

Many of Bernie's closest advisers -- and perhaps even Bernie himself -- never imagined the campaign would do so well. And yet it did. The U.S. left -- and not some pale imitation of it -- actually tasted electoral victory, in state after state after state. The campaign came so close to winning that many of us allowed ourselves to imagine, if only for a few, furtive moments, what the world would look like with a President Sanders.

Even writing those words seems crazy. After all, the working assumption for decades has been that genuinely redistributive policies are so unpopular in the U.S. that they could only be smuggled past the American public if they were wrapped in some sort of centrist disguise. "Fee and dividend" instead of a carbon tax. "Health care reform" instead of universal public health care.

Only now it turns out that left ideas are popular just as they are, utterly unadorned. Really popular -- and in the most pro-capitalist country in the world.

It's not just that Sanders has won 20-plus contests, all while never disavowing his democratic socialism. It's also that, to keep Sanders from hijacking the nomination, Clinton has been forced to pivot sharply to the left and disavow her own history as a market-friendly centrist. Even Donald Trump threw out the economic playbook entrenched since Reagan -- coming out against corporate-friendly trade deals, vowing to protect what's left of the social safety net, and railing against the influence of money in politics.

Click Here to Read Whole Article

Inspiring 4   Must Read 3   Well Said 3  
Rate It | View Ratings

Naomi Klein Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Naomi Klein is the author of The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism, now out in paperback. To read all her latest writing visit www.naomiklein.org

Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

Our Lives Are Under Threat From Some of the Most Powerful and Richest Entities -- Here's How We Can Fight Back and Win

Gulf oil spill: A hole in the world

Occupy Wall Street: The Most Important Thing in the World Now

Hurricane Sandy: beware of America's disaster capitalists

HopeOver, HopeLash, HopeBreak: A Lexicon of Disappointment

Capitalism vs. the Climate

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend