I am a socialist. I am also a Democrat. I suppose that makes me a “Democratic Socialist” – drum roll please! I will be voting for Bernie Sanders in the primary, but I concede it is possible and perhaps even likely that Hillary Clinton will win the primary. If that is the case, I will vote for Hillary Clinton in the general --- even though she is not a socialist --- because her brand of ‘compassionate’ capitalism is more palatable to me than the raw social Darwinism that the Republican Party is selling. However, as is often the case, the approaching election has caused me to engage in some musings that I’ve been inspired to share.
First Topic: The Cult of Personality
I think we’re all a little susceptible to this one, although of course some people are more prone to enrapture than others. Nevertheless, we all have people we like and dislike in this world, and while there may be solid reasons behind this, it is easier to like someone with whom your personality “meshes” and harder to like, at least as strongly, a person with whom you don’t…or imagine you wouldn’t…enjoy an easy rapport. However there’s someone out there for everyone and we don’t all like strawberry… by this I mean preferring any candidate’s personality is a matter of taste. While it can influence us, in the best of all possible worlds we wouldn’t base our political decisions on this alone.
Second Topic: Identity
Everyone has identities, and yes I mean to use the plural because none of us has just one. You can be a white male or a black female, for instance, but in either case one is always simultaneously both --- while also simultaneously being either rich or poor, liberal or conservative, athletic or obese, a teacher or a cop, parent or/and child, American or French, ect, ect. One can choose a primary identity for oneself, and society may choose to only emphasize one of your identities at any given time for its own reasons, but those other identities are always there. Luckily, since we all have so many identities, indentifying with other people isn’t always as difficult as society’s tendency to emphasize only a handful of potential identities as important might lead us to believe --- at least on an individual to individual basis. Still we tend to gravitate towards people that we can “identify” with.
Third Topic: Policy
Having conceded that we’re not creatures of pure reason, I’d argue we are creatures of some reason. Therefore one’s preferred policy initiatives should have a bearing on who one votes for, beyond just the considerations of personality and identity. Just because a man or woman has a personality which brings us joy, and an identity which is simpatico with one of our own, it doesn’t mean they’d steer the ship of state in the direction our reasoned will desires it to go. It is feasible that a complete outsider, who is as dull as the week is long, could be driving the bus headed towards our policy Shangri-La --- and if that were the case, would we be wise or fools to hop on?
Fourth Topic: Time, Finite and Immortal
I’ve found most political conversation revolves around the first three topics, but I’d like to add a fourth – time. Nothing happens instantly, Rome wasn’t built in a day…or so I’m told. And, despite the usual election year hyperbole, I plan on living a few more election cycles so I doubt this will really be “the most important election in my lifetime.” That will probably be the last election I vote in before I die, in the sad knowledge that the election after that one will be more important than any election I ever got the chance to vote in… But I’ve resigned myself, or more appropriately embraced the belief that politics is not a sprint, but a never ending marathon….the price of freedom is eternal vigilance and all that jazz….and fellow Bernie supporters….I feel the wind at our backs, in this the first mile.
Hell, I’m proudly calling myself a socialist. I have been one for years, but I didn’t trumpet it…but now I walk free in my politics unashamed…and I can thank Bernie for that. Maybe the Democratic Party can become the vehicle for socialism to enter into the halls of power in this country. Maybe that will be next year, or eight years from now…as long as we don’t make the mistake of turning American Socialism into a cult of personality. Hillary, and whatever she represents, whether it be personality, identity, or policy, had to wait 8 years longer than she imagined for her time in the sun…assuming she wins the nomination. She could afford to, because of her relative youth, be a personification. Because of Bernie’s age, however, American Socialism doesn’t have the luxury of waiting out a loss with a personification. American Socialism needs to begin transcending personification at this moment, ironically, so that it can once again be personified in new individuals…able to pick up the flag and carry further whether Bernie gets to the top of the ramparts himself or not. Indeed, I’d argue that due to the obstacles anti-capitalists face in this country, we must be more vigilant than other political factions may need to be in keeping our focus on policy and eschewing emphasis on personalities and identities…. Diversity at the top is unquestionably a good thing, and something to be strived for, but while the triumph of socialism would include more diversity, diversity is not by itself the triumph of socialism….and neither is the election of any one man. Conversely, neither is any one defeat its end. For while flesh and fate is fickle, ideas can tame the stars.
So my departing thought is this:
I would hope that what is transpiring with the Bernie Sanders campaign is a movement, and not a cult of personality formed around a 74 years old man, and he could be 24 for all that it matters, for in a democracy the people must save themselves --- they cannot rely on heroes to do it for them, and have already foresworn the hope others placed in good kings and noble tyrants. And we have already been reminded of the limits of the power of the Cherry Blossom Throne in the absence of a compliant Congress. Long after both Sanders and Clinton have gone to their graves, politically and literally, I am sure there will be more compassionate capitalists waiting in the wings to carry the Clintonian flag into offices both high and low. It would be shame if we weren't already working to ensure the people a socialist option instead. Moreover, if this campaign has proved nothing else, it should be that the best way to keep a compassionate capitalist from experimenting with less-compassionate forms of capitalism is to station some watchful socialists at her door.