I’ve had an evening of political realization, thanks to Benjamin Studebaker, an American PhD candidate in Politics and International Studies at Cambridge. This post helped me understand that Bernie is my candidate and this next one convinced me that it is strategic to fight now for his vision: “a future to believe in.” That sounds vacuous, but it’s not because for too long I’ve believed in egalitarianism — without having a name for it — but not seen so clearly how to realize it in a future, more equitable society in the U.S.
Will we defend the now-decrepit monster [neoliberalism] they [the 1%] gave us until they inflict a new and more terrible monster upon us, or will we stick up for our own ideology and put up a real fight against Trump and Cruz [the right nationalists]?
In taking on this fight, it seems advantageous to use the term “egalitarian” to emphasize that we value a more equitable society. This value underlies some recent phenomena like the WTO protests and Occupy movement. And it might also be accurate and savvy to call ourselves Social Democrats, rather than Democratic Socialists.