Bernie Sander’s Affection for Soviet Socialism

SANDERS’ SOCIALISM MAY BE LIGHT ON “DEMOCRATIC”

by Paul Mirengoff   at  PowerLine:

“Bernie Sanders calls himself a “democratic socialist.” But when it came time to pick a honeymoon destination, Sanders didn’t select Denmark. He honeymooned in the Soviet Union.

In my mind, this raises the possibility for Sanders, socialism is the imperative, and “democratic” is just a preference — “superstructure,” as a Marxist might say.

Nor do we have to rely on Sanders’ honeymoon to entertain this suspicion. Stanley Kurtzbelieves that Sanders’s 1979 documentary on socialist presidential candidate Eugene V. Debs may offer a revealing glimpse of Sanders’ socialist vision.

The vision isn’t pleasant. According to Stanley:

[T]he Debs documentary suggests that Sanders’s ultimate goal lies beyond even European social democracy. The man who made this documentary was pretty clearly a classic socialist: committed to relentless class struggle, complete overthrow of the capitalist system — preferably by the vote, but by violence if necessary — and full worker control of the means of production via the government. . . .

These days, Sanders calls for a “political revolution,” and the Debs documentary clearly admires labor unions and politicians who seek to bring about revolution by peaceful democratic means. Yet just as clearly, Sanders admires Debs for saying that, in the last resort, violent revolution remains an option……”   Read on:

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2015/10/sanders-socialism-may-be-light-on-democratic.php