Just a few years ago, socialism was synonymous with "liar," and "hypocrite." However, Bernie Sanders emerges as a self proclaimed democratic socialist, and he's doing really well in the polls. Which begs the question, what has changed about the political views of america? David Weigel and David Fahrethold state in their article, "What is a democratic socialist" that Bernie is able to redefine the meaning of a socialist because "twenty-four years after the end of the Cold War, many Americans no longer associate socialism with fear or missiles - or with failure, food lines or empty Soviet supermarkets. A word their elders saw as a slur had become a blank..." Bernie defines democratic socialism as "a pursuit of fairness in a country now rigged by the rich." But the popularity of Bernie Sanders and his democratic socialism can be explained by the younger generation's outrage at the unfair treatment of the lower/ working class. Bernie Sanders promises a "government which represents all people, rather than just the wealthiest people," and maybe, that's what people need.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/what-is-a-democratic-socialist-bernie-sanders-tries-to-redefine-the-name/2015/10/17/d722ba80-7370-11e5-9cbb-790369643cf9_story.html
-Hailey Lam
I think it's interesting how Sanders can subvert what has typically been considered a negatively-stigmatized word to his favor, and I think it all has to do with context. Sanders speaks about Socialism in "modest, solidly American terms," and, by framing it and justifying it as "the pursuit of fairness in a country now rigged by the rich" and by appealing to the public with both his image and plans, the American people will be far more receptive to his ideas. Although Sanders still has to fight off accusations of being a communist (http://www.politico.com/story/2015/10/bernie-sanders-donald-trump-taxes-214906) and although American distrust of Socialism remains, I think Sanders has done quite nicely in playing the role of a Democratic Socialist in an American context.
ReplyDeleteI find the fact that Sanders can describe himself as a socialist and still gain a lot of support from the Americans interesting. Like with what you said, the word socialist has had a negative connotation for the past years. But the fact that Sanders can redefine this word in order to appeal to the common people and gain support is pretty amazing. I also find it interesting that he gets the most support from the younger generations despite being the oldest candidate in the presidential race, because of his policies to support the poorer, working class people. However, I find them a bit too idealistic. I'm certain that the costs to implement these policies would be very high, and would also face a lot of opposition from the other politicians.
ReplyDeleteConsidering the disparity between the upper class and middle class economically right now, I think it is natural for people to like Sanders. The "99%" don't like the fact that the "1%" has grown exponentially in terms of how much capital they have. So when Sanders advocates for "democratic socialism", people flock to him because they are realizing the lack of success they themselves have in the current system.
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