Is Bernie A Socialist?

With Sanders' lead in both the polls and in delegates, the question becomes whether America is ready for Socialism. At least that is how Republicans want to frame Sanders' campaign. And of course, with the Republican view of Socialism and Marxism, the answer should be 'no.' The trouble is that the Republicans often have no clue as to what Socialism from the Marxist tradition are. And the reason for that is that they are content to read about Marxism from their own their own people. And that is like expecting to learn all about Christianity by listening to Bill Mahrer.

To learn about Socialism, especially the Marxist brand of Socialism, one should read Karl Marx. And one could include Frederich Engels as well. But one should first read Marx.

Perhaps the primary document one could use is the Communist Manifesto (click here for the document). Their primary concern, as expressed in that document, revolves around how the bourgeoisie, the owners of capital, rule over the state and society. Their solution is not described as big government that tries to control every aspect of life. Rather their solution is to change the ruling class from the bourgeoisie to the proletariat. Marx called that the proletariat dictatorship. The name is a bit of a misnomer because Marx and Engels believed in democracy. They just believed in a kind of democracy that would be the proletariat in charge.

It is from the rule of the proletariat that Marx expected his utopia to emerge. Why is that? It is because he expected the proletariat, with the help of his analysis of Capitalism, to arrange for the distribution of wealth in ways that, with their control, would eliminate the injustices that arose from the distribution of wealth from the Capitalism of his day. And here we should note that this is where Republicans misunderstand Socialism from the Marxist tradition is at this point. While Republicans strictly limit Socialism to how it redistributes wealth and big government; Socialism from Marx's view teaches that Socialism is first about the redistribution of power, both at work and in the government, from the bourgeoisie to the proletariat. And it isn't just Republicans who make that mistake, even those who have called themselves Socialists do so many times as innocent mistakes and at other times opportunistically.

So read through Bernie Sanders' website (click here for his website). Is he promoting the redistribution of power, even in part, to the proletariat both at the work place and in government? Does Sanders' proposals on strengthening unions really do justice to what Marx and Engels said about getting the proletariat to become the ruling class? Does Sanders's views help the proletariat gain control over the government?

My own views on Sanders is that though he is a breath of fresh air when it comes to major political party candidates, he is more of an FDR New Deal candidate who is promising to act as a vanguard for the vulnerable and workers. And though we should always appreciate candidates and elected officials who share Sanders' concerns, in the end Sanders provides an inadequate approach to what Marx and Engels promoted as well as to any meaningful hybrid approach that combines Capitalism with Socialism. Under Sanders, we won't see workers gaining enough power in the work place, and definitely not in government, to change the status quo.

Here we should note that the prevailing belief passed on to society from the free market is that the pursuit of self-interest is one's only moral obligation. Thus, what we need are for different groups, like the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, to share power and collaborate. A structure that forces those two groups to sufficiently share power in the work place can be found in Germany's codetermination laws. Those laws state that, based on the number of employees, a business's executive board must contain a  certain percentage of workers so that workers are also represented in those boards. Such does not occur with the promotion of union despite how unions can help workers. And there is nothing in Sanders' visions to increase the number of proletariat representation in government.

It is sad that there is much deliberate ignorance regarding Socialism from a Marxist tradition. The ignorance is deliberate because it allows people to use the label 'Socialism' either as a pejorative or as a moral appeal. In either case, the ignorance prevents people from learning what Marxist Socialism has to offer and what it has that can be detrimental.