I did not think that this would be about Sanders as
much, because I am assuming - and it may be a stretch - that modern socialists
are more likely to seek change through elections and legal means rather than
rising up and shooting the nobility.
At the same time, Susan Sarandon's comment that some
people think Trump's election would bring about the revolution, implying that
is a good thing, brings it close to home.
There are enough problems in the world that I can
see why there are people who feel like burning the whole place down is the only
answer. Under these circumstances, the popularity of both Trump and Sanders
makes sense, as they channel anger with the establishment. I still can't find
that to be the right answer.
When you burn the whole place down, people get
injured. They get left homeless. They have difficulty finding food. That's
staying within the metaphor, but I see literal devastating consequences to an
actual revolution and to the Trump presidency that could inspire it.
If there were a temporary period of hardship that
would resolve into this superior society where the workers control the
production and partake of the profits, that would be great, but there is no
reason to believe that.
There were abuses by the Czars in Russia, but then
there were abuses by the ones who replaced them too. There was still great
poverty and murder and dissidents being sent to Siberia. Then that seemed to get better,
and organized crime took over.
In France there was a
true spirit of revolution and equality. There was a firm resolve to end
slavery. Then a racist bourgeois type in the middle seizes power, and it led to
years of wars. Eventually they did get a more equitable society, but it was a
messy path.
There are many examples of this, and many of the
conflicts are deeply rooted in colonialism, and especially based in the desire
of some to be able to make lots of money in ways that require a lot of manual
labor, which they do not want to do.
That is certainly something capitalistic, and
opposing it is reasonable. It's just once that you turn a class into enemies,
that class has a funny way of getting bigger.
One thing that has been interesting to see with
Affirmative Action is that while it was widely assumed to be a program to help
Black people, the biggest beneficiaries have been white women. If that's what
happens when you are trying to make things more equal, what do you think might
happen when the people who are openly racist are in charge?
Related post:
http://sporkful.blogspot.com/2012/04/you-keep-using-that-word-i-do-not-think.html
Related post:
http://sporkful.blogspot.com/2012/04/you-keep-using-that-word-i-do-not-think.html
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