School Scope: The NY
Times Tackles Socialism – Oy!
By Norm Scott
When I read articles or talk to people not attuned to “the
left” or “progressivism” I find those who are not on the right are being lumped
into the same category of leftist – I even see the NY Times as being branded as
“left.” The major media has been mocked as being anti-left by the hard core
left since I first came in contact with active leftists in the early 70s. A guy
who had become my good friend, after only knowing him for a few months, told me
he was a communist and his parents were too – he was what is known as a red
diaper baby. I was astounded – I was a classic liberal at the time. Since
Stalin, liberals have generally been opposed to communism and socialism because
nations who called themselves such had histories of denials of individual
rights and suppression of critics. Liberals are savaged by many on the left.
The NY Times has had a recent spate of columns and articles
on the Bernie Sanders brand of socialism, known as social democracy. Paul
Krugman, far from being a radical leftist, had disparaged Bernie Sanders
throughout the 2016 election and beyond. His August 17, 2018 column (Something
Not Rotten in Denmark https://tinyurl.com/y9q8n4do)
was a reversal of sorts where he examined the state of Denmark, a paragon of
social democracy, which had been lumped in on FOX News to Venezuela. Calling
that fake news would be a kindness. Krugman gave Denmark a very favorable
report. Here’s a small portion:
American politics has
been dominated by a crusade against big government; Denmark has embraced an
expansive government role, with public spending more than half of G.D.P. American politicians
fear talk about redistribution of income from the rich to the less well-off;
Denmark engages in such redistribution on a scale unimaginable here. American
policy has been increasingly hostile to organized labor, and unions have
virtually disappeared from the private sector; two-thirds of Danish workers are
unionized.
Apparently the election of Alexandria Ocasio Cortez has
galvanized attention for social democrats. I guess Bernie was looked as an old
lefty grouch, but when a pretty 28-year old says she is a socialist, the media
goes nuts. Chris Cuomo was no less aggressive than his brother in questioning
her on CNN and her intelligent response on the costs of health care shut him
up. See the video: https://tinyurl.com/y8w5ejk9.
Social Democrats are viewed by segments of the radical left
as being to the right because they support liberal democracy and multi-party
systems and elements of capitalism. Last week I touched on some of the
differences between Marxists, Leninists and others with the SDs and I’ve been
reading historical works going back to the last half of the 19th
century and up to the 1917 Russian Revolution on the differences.
Understanding historical context on almost every issue on
the table today is crucial to gaining a deeper understanding. When history and
context are ignored or swept under the rug, we are dealing with versions of
tainted news. We may disagree on interpretation, but let’s at least have all
the facts - as long as we can agree when
a fact is in fact a fact, which in today’s world of “truth not being truth” may
be a hard case to prove.
Read Norm’s version of The Truth at ednotesonline.com
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