markinkansas · 61-69, M
just a thought of the past
In the course of the past five years, there has been an enormous shift in political discourse in the U.S. on the left. The huge popularity of Bernie Sanders’ campaigns for president and the re-popularization of the term “socialism” are perhaps the largest indication of this shift.
Exactly what is meant by socialism and what ideas fall under this category is a matter of intense discussion. In important speeches in 2015 and 2019, Sanders identified his view of socialism with “tak[ing] up the unfinished business of the New Deal and carry[ing] it to completion.” Sanders identified the New Deal and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s administration (FDR) as a step toward socialism. While many of the New Deal programs and reforms are important even today – such as Social Security – the New Deal was not a step toward socialism, nor did FDR see it that way. In fact, it was a set of programs designed to save capitalism from itself in the depths of the Great Depression.
In the course of the past five years, there has been an enormous shift in political discourse in the U.S. on the left. The huge popularity of Bernie Sanders’ campaigns for president and the re-popularization of the term “socialism” are perhaps the largest indication of this shift.
Exactly what is meant by socialism and what ideas fall under this category is a matter of intense discussion. In important speeches in 2015 and 2019, Sanders identified his view of socialism with “tak[ing] up the unfinished business of the New Deal and carry[ing] it to completion.” Sanders identified the New Deal and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s administration (FDR) as a step toward socialism. While many of the New Deal programs and reforms are important even today – such as Social Security – the New Deal was not a step toward socialism, nor did FDR see it that way. In fact, it was a set of programs designed to save capitalism from itself in the depths of the Great Depression.
