The Conspiracy is Capitalism's Reviews > Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In

Feel the Bern, and beyond…

The Good:
--First half is Bernie’s autobiography and 2016 campaign; Bernie is definitely at his best engaging with everyday Americans and bridging surface divisions to address structural divides (the US political theatre circus serves the ruling class via distractions, blackout censorship, and divide-and-rule). Bernie narrates this part in the audiobook version and even adds a few radical name-drops (Eugene V. Debs, Michael Parenti!).
--Second half goes through Bernie’s political stances, a Social Democrat (i.e. political democracy while economic capitalism... although there would be more socialism if US establishment wasn't so extremist)/Progressive platform; this is the strongest people’s platform offered by the 2-party political circus serving Wall Street/the petrodollar/the greatest military in human history (summing up the geopolitical economy that calls itself the "U.S.A.").
...In other words, a comprehensive resistance plan to start from (to provide space for grassroots demands to lead, rather than creating sole dependency on leadership from politicians), and this is all we should expect from politicians who must entangle with such concentrated private powers (finance/military/industry). Actual transformative ideas are sprinkled in here and there (public banking, worker co-ops; see later).
--This harsh reality-check is to prevent illusions that result in unnecessary disappointments (Obama). Compare US presidential talking-points with world public opinion; US politics is framed from the perspective of the 0.1%, and the scraps-from-the-table they are willing to entertain.

The Missing:
--In terms of long-term viability, the Social Democracy train starts to run out of track… Let’s break down the contradictions of Social Democracy (i.e. political democracy with economic capitalism):

“USA is the wealthiest country in human history, so why can’t it pay for [insert social need]”: this may as well be the slogan for US Progressives, and it is repeated for many of Bernie’s identified issues. This also relates to “why does the US spend trillions on its military (when it is already spending more than the next 8 countries combined) while pretending it cannot spend on social services (which includes veteran needs)”.

If we take geopolitical economy and history seriously, we can actually answer these rhetorical questions. Private wealth is not benign; it transforms power relations and has a social cost. The core contradiction of Social Democracy is that (a) capitalism runs on one-dollar-one-vote, whereas (b) democracy (mostly referring to political elections, but really should extend to workplace democracy, active participation, etc.) requires one-person-one-vote.

Private wealth of such extremes pays for military domination of foreign lands and shirks on domestic social needs because these are the principles for its very existence. This class dimension is not clearly laid out by Social Democrats. Characterizations like “wasteful spending” and foreign policy "blunders" obscure the strategic act of enforcing the global division of labor, where rich countries write the trade deals to provide their own corporations cheap inputs and secure, profitable outputs (protected markets, high-productivity sectors):
-The Divide: A Brief Guide to Global Inequality and its Solutions
-Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism
-Super Imperialism: The Origin and Fundamentals of U.S. World Dominance

Wars and arms sales are rational for short-term profiteering by the military industrial complex for the 1%, while the 99% pay for it with their taxes/lack of social services/lives: War is a Racket: The Antiwar Classic by America's Most Decorated Soldier.

Thus, the realm of global power relations is where Social Democrats unravel. For example, Social Democrats can assume a framework of benevolent, “free” competition between nations to point the finger at poor countries having a competitive edge in attracting corporations due to low regulatory standards (cheap labor, environment, etc.)! Once again, flawed assumptions lead to skewed perceptions of power relations. Global capitalist laws (unequal and destructive trade deals, intellectual property laws, debt and privatization traps) are dictated by rich countries to enable their corporations to continue the over-exploitation of “post-colonial” lands. Capitalist intervention smashes alternative recovery/development: Capital and Imperialism: Theory, History, and the Present

Illusions of “New Deal” era policies, the "Golden Age" of Capitalism/Welfare State/Social Democracy, creating a vibrant American “middle class” conveniently bypass the real driver that pulled US out of the Great Depression: vast military industrialization and profiteering during WWII while the rest of the world was decimated, followed by writing the international economic system. Transformative progress requires seeing and addressing America’s Military Keynesianism, not simply rewriting its surface disguise.
-The Global Minotaur: America, the True Origins of the Financial Crisis and the Future of the World Economy
-And the Weak Suffer What They Must? Europe's Crisis and America's Economic Future
-The Darker Nations: A People's History of the Third World
-The Poorer Nations: A Possible History of the Global South

Update: for Bernie's reflections on his 2nd presidential loss sabotage, see Bernie's 2023 It's OK to Be Angry About Capitalism