Democrats have an opportunity to champion a confident, forward-looking market liberalism given that the GOP has fully returned to its reactionary roots
Everyone on the Left who ignores the authoritarian actions of those on the Left and only points their fingers at the Right can't be taken seriously.
And election 47 proves it.
Without true accountability for shortcomings, there can be no rehabilitation of the Democratic party. Even Trump is acting VERY differently this term than he was the last, but the Dems seem to be blowing the same horn for a decade now.
I love the diversity of perspectives we get here in this newsletter!
I also very much appreciate Mr. Wood's offering here.
I am however skeptical of the ability for many Democrats to come to the rescue of our market economy because they may dislike what is being done by the reactionaries they deep down wish they had the power to attain the their own agenda.
The culture war aspects of the conflict between these polar populisms really are a distraction. The Right's war on woke and the Left's defense of everything DEI diverts attention away from the devastating consequences they would on the economy.
The Right populists want to liberate the oligarchs from any shred of social responsibility and the Left populists want to eat the oligarchs for breakfast.
Whenever Democrats start talking about "Medicare for All" it seems like they really believe that they can by the sheer power of political will transform 14% of the American economy from one paradigm to another. Imagine the other political and economic interests that would need to be crushed in order to achieve just that item on their agenda. I think only a Blue Caesar could pull it off. As long as a significant portion of the Democratic Party thinks this way about governing I don't see them as leading the cause of defending the market economy.
In the end I think that 21st Century Fascism is pretty much here to stay because enough American voters are sick of politics and yearn to be liberated from the responsibility of the serious work of democracy. They are disillusioned by politicians of all parties over promising and under delivering.
When the dictator comes they may not like what he does but they appreciate that he takes action and actually DOES things.
There are HUGE holes in this analysis. To start, the author does not even mention the oligarchy that is driving and supporting Trumpism as it has Putinism. The all-purpose and increasingly meaningless term “populism” is stretched to paper over the reality of billionaires like the one in the White House, the one who drove DOGE and all the ones in the background of Trump’s inauguration happy to get their massive tax cuts while the populace they sell their phony “populism” to gets their health care, food stamps and infrastructure slashed. The only “populism” this regime is selling is the cultural kind, e.g., small town jealousy of big city, college educated folks sippng lattes, which is mostly just a distraction from the billionaires robbing us blind. I have nothing against the abundance discussion, which can be useful, but not if we close our eyes to the ugly class realities driving the Trump/Fox fascist propaganda machine.
Calling Bernie Sanders an unserious radical grossly downplays his appeal to a large section of the population. Is it radical to say that everyone in America should receive healthcare if they pay their taxes? Is it radical to say that billionaires and large corporations have a responsibility to pay more into the system than the poor? If so, then there are a lot of people who agree with and embrace this "radicalism." It's possible to support these kinds of common-sense reforms while embracing the free market at the same time. People need something to aspire to, the common good of the country and their fellow Americans. A philosophy focused around worshiping the free market without a social component will not inspire people to come together for their country. We need something more holistic.
Agree. People who point to radical left political policies don't give any examples I consider way out. It used to be that the main differences between the parties was spending priorities. Social issues always were the problem, I guess.
Michael Wood is the type of Democrat I could enthusiastically get behind. His overview of the current political landscape is deadly accurate and his values align closely with my own. I fear most Democrats don't see it that way - please prove me wrong.
Everyone on the Left who ignores the authoritarian actions of those on the Left and only points their fingers at the Right can't be taken seriously.
And election 47 proves it.
Without true accountability for shortcomings, there can be no rehabilitation of the Democratic party. Even Trump is acting VERY differently this term than he was the last, but the Dems seem to be blowing the same horn for a decade now.
I love the diversity of perspectives we get here in this newsletter!
I also very much appreciate Mr. Wood's offering here.
I am however skeptical of the ability for many Democrats to come to the rescue of our market economy because they may dislike what is being done by the reactionaries they deep down wish they had the power to attain the their own agenda.
The culture war aspects of the conflict between these polar populisms really are a distraction. The Right's war on woke and the Left's defense of everything DEI diverts attention away from the devastating consequences they would on the economy.
The Right populists want to liberate the oligarchs from any shred of social responsibility and the Left populists want to eat the oligarchs for breakfast.
Whenever Democrats start talking about "Medicare for All" it seems like they really believe that they can by the sheer power of political will transform 14% of the American economy from one paradigm to another. Imagine the other political and economic interests that would need to be crushed in order to achieve just that item on their agenda. I think only a Blue Caesar could pull it off. As long as a significant portion of the Democratic Party thinks this way about governing I don't see them as leading the cause of defending the market economy.
In the end I think that 21st Century Fascism is pretty much here to stay because enough American voters are sick of politics and yearn to be liberated from the responsibility of the serious work of democracy. They are disillusioned by politicians of all parties over promising and under delivering.
When the dictator comes they may not like what he does but they appreciate that he takes action and actually DOES things.
You mention that there is one party that supports state ownership, and that it's not the Dems. Which party is it? Should I read more carefully?
There are HUGE holes in this analysis. To start, the author does not even mention the oligarchy that is driving and supporting Trumpism as it has Putinism. The all-purpose and increasingly meaningless term “populism” is stretched to paper over the reality of billionaires like the one in the White House, the one who drove DOGE and all the ones in the background of Trump’s inauguration happy to get their massive tax cuts while the populace they sell their phony “populism” to gets their health care, food stamps and infrastructure slashed. The only “populism” this regime is selling is the cultural kind, e.g., small town jealousy of big city, college educated folks sippng lattes, which is mostly just a distraction from the billionaires robbing us blind. I have nothing against the abundance discussion, which can be useful, but not if we close our eyes to the ugly class realities driving the Trump/Fox fascist propaganda machine.
Are you stating that there are NO Dems operating in the 'ogilarchy'?
As if big money is not washing their hands on the Left? All of this 'bogey man is around the corner' sensationalism is now just empty and hollow.
Didn't they dump over $1BIL into Kamala's campaign?
Did you hear about how much the spaces cost in the Democratic convention in Chicago?
Let's stop with all of the partisan glasses and start realizing that it's not a 'one party problem'.
Calling Bernie Sanders an unserious radical grossly downplays his appeal to a large section of the population. Is it radical to say that everyone in America should receive healthcare if they pay their taxes? Is it radical to say that billionaires and large corporations have a responsibility to pay more into the system than the poor? If so, then there are a lot of people who agree with and embrace this "radicalism." It's possible to support these kinds of common-sense reforms while embracing the free market at the same time. People need something to aspire to, the common good of the country and their fellow Americans. A philosophy focused around worshiping the free market without a social component will not inspire people to come together for their country. We need something more holistic.
Agree. People who point to radical left political policies don't give any examples I consider way out. It used to be that the main differences between the parties was spending priorities. Social issues always were the problem, I guess.
Wow. Such a thoroughly thoughtful piece with clear, concise, and ultimately winning arguments! I’m going to share this across all my feeds!
Michael Wood is the type of Democrat I could enthusiastically get behind. His overview of the current political landscape is deadly accurate and his values align closely with my own. I fear most Democrats don't see it that way - please prove me wrong.