Hi Dave:Originally Posted by David Cotterell
Jim, Thanks for the research. The entire article puts my cherry-picked paragraph into a far more general context and very nicely states my argument that Democratic Socialism as practised in W. and N. Europe, Aus and NZ, Canada and a few other places is an admirable form of government.
Dave
I certainly will not argue that Democratic Socialism as practiced in Scandinavia seems to work well for them. Although, I think the word "Democratic Socialism" is being too broadly defined if it encompasses Australia, Canada and western Europe. What are the main differences between the economic and social systems of CA and the US? Centralized health care is the biggie of course, but other than that, the US and CA are a lot more similar than Canada and an actual socialist country. You know more about Canada than I do of course, so I might be missing something fundamental.
I personally do not want Democratic Socialism, as it is being promoted locally by Sanders, AOC and the rest of our own Democratic Socialists. Obviously most US voters agree with me, or Biden would not be the D nominee. I am comfortable that our system is right for us, even if Sweden's system is right for Sweden. This is one fundamental where I disagree with the author. He ignores the benefits of our system entirely.
Also, the arrogance and thick snobbery of his prose is a key factor in the election of Donald Trump. Rather than try to understand those who feel differently about governance the author merely insults them/us/me. "Americans are, of course, the most thoroughly and passively indoctrinated people on earth..." Puhleeze. The whole article is a "basket of deplorables" indictment of the US citizenry cloaked in academic language. The article speaks to exclusively to those who deem themselves to be of a specific and vastly superior intellectual and moral class. As such, it is a crummy starting point for any discussion.
Jim