Opinion: Bernie's movement
Bernie's movement is grounded in ambitious ideals that have the power to dramatically change the political system.
Bernie's movement is grounded in ambitious ideals that have the power to dramatically change the political system.
New York Times columnist Paul Krugman recently warned Bernie supporters that change doesn鈥檛 happen with 鈥渢ransformative rhetoric鈥� but with 鈥減olitical pragmatism鈥� 鈥� 鈥渁ccepting half loaves as being better than none.鈥� He writes that it鈥檚 dangerous to prefer 鈥渉appy dreams (by which he means Bernie) to hard thinking about means and ends (meaning Hillary).鈥�
Krugman doesn鈥檛 get it. I鈥檝e been in and around Washington for almost fifty years, including a stint in the cabinet, and I鈥檝e learned that real change happens only when a substantial share of the American public is mobilized, organized, energized, and determined to make it happen.聽
Political 鈥減ragmatism鈥� may require accepting 鈥渉alf loaves鈥� 鈥� but the full loaf has to be large and bold enough in the first place to make the half loaf meaningful. That鈥檚 why the movement must aim high 鈥� toward a single-payer universal health, free public higher education, and busting up the biggest banks, for example.聽
But not even a half loaf is possible unless or until we wrest back power from the executives of large corporations, Wall Street bankers, and billionaires who now control the whole bakery. Which means getting big money out of politics and severing the link between wealth and political power 鈥� the central goal of the movement Bernie is advancing.
This article first appeared at Robert Reich.