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Bernie Sanders candidacy pushes Democrats to left

Melvin B. Miller
Bernie Sanders candidacy pushes Democrats to left
“I care less about the political label than the quality of the proposals.” (Photo: Dan Drew)

The political campaign has begun to elect the successor to President Barack Obama. It is still much too early to engage the interest of the voters, and the decisive election is not until November 2016. But before then, the candidacy of Sen. Bernie Sanders should arouse considerable press coverage. While most campaigns are between Democrats and Republicans of varying stripes, Sanders is an avowed democratic socialist who is running as a Democrat.

Most Americans have little understanding about socialism. However, the plutocrats understand it very well. Socialism is the economic philosophy most diametrically opposed to capitalism. With the excessive disparity of personal wealth and income in the nation, people are likely to be attentive to Sanders’ political comments. Although the pundits predict that he has little chance to move to the White House, it is nonetheless likely that conservatives will still attack his views aggressively.

Simply stated, the objective of a socialist economy is to maximally benefit the citizens rather than enrich the business owners. Under private enterprise, it is believed that businesses operating in a free market will produce the greatest benefits. There is an ongoing debate in the U.S. and other industrialized democracies about what is the proper balance between rugged individualism and citizens’ entitlements.

In Western European countries, depending on their cultures, the governments provide varying benefits for their citizens. The Scandinavian countries are known for cradle-to-grave support for the people. The wealthy residents have to accept substantial tax assessments in order to provide those generous benefits.

Included among the benefits are universal health care (19 states in the U.S. have rejected expanded Medicaid), paid vacations and sick leave, free college education, affordable child care for working families, and government pensions similar to U.S. Social Security. U.S. conservatives believe that such generosity will deteriorate the individual’s will to work and frustrate capitalists’ endeavor by reducing the profit incentive.

With Sanders in the race, a broad range of political issues will be debated. It is important for voters of more modest means to remain well-informed. Rejection of support for issues to benefit the public will doubtless be in play.