Bernie's Movement (And Why Krugman & Co. Don't Get It)
New York Times columnist Paul Krugman on Friday warned Bernie supporters that change doesn't happen with "transformative rhetoric" but with "political pragmatism" - "accepting half loaves as being better than none." He writes that it's dangerous to prefer "happy dreams (by which he means Bernie) to hard thinking about means and ends (meaning Hillary)."
Political "pragmatism" may require accepting "half loaves" - but the full loaf has to be large and bold enough in the first place to make the half loaf meaningful.
New York Times columnist Paul Krugman on Friday warned Bernie supporters that change doesn't happen with "transformative rhetoric" but with "political pragmatism" - "accepting half loaves as being better than none." He writes that it's dangerous to prefer "happy dreams (by which he means Bernie) to hard thinking about means and ends (meaning Hillary)."
Political "pragmatism" may require accepting "half loaves" - but the full loaf has to be large and bold enough in the first place to make the half loaf meaningful.
Krugman doesn't get it. I've been in and around Washington for almost fifty years, including a stint in the cabinet, and I've learned that real change happens only when a substantial share of the American public is mobilized, organized, energized, and determined to make it happen.
Political "pragmatism" may require accepting "half loaves" - but the full loaf has to be large and bold enough in the first place to make the half loaf meaningful. That's why the movement must aim high - toward a single-payer universal health, free public higher education, and busting up the biggest banks, for example.
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 - the central goal of the movement Bernie is advancing.
Urgent. It's never been this bad.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just three days to go in our Spring Campaign, we're falling short of our make-or-break goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
New York Times columnist Paul Krugman on Friday warned Bernie supporters that change doesn't happen with "transformative rhetoric" but with "political pragmatism" - "accepting half loaves as being better than none." He writes that it's dangerous to prefer "happy dreams (by which he means Bernie) to hard thinking about means and ends (meaning Hillary)."
Political "pragmatism" may require accepting "half loaves" - but the full loaf has to be large and bold enough in the first place to make the half loaf meaningful.
Krugman doesn't get it. I've been in and around Washington for almost fifty years, including a stint in the cabinet, and I've learned that real change happens only when a substantial share of the American public is mobilized, organized, energized, and determined to make it happen.
Political "pragmatism" may require accepting "half loaves" - but the full loaf has to be large and bold enough in the first place to make the half loaf meaningful. That's why the movement must aim high - toward a single-payer universal health, free public higher education, and busting up the biggest banks, for example.
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 - the central goal of the movement Bernie is advancing.
New York Times columnist Paul Krugman on Friday warned Bernie supporters that change doesn't happen with "transformative rhetoric" but with "political pragmatism" - "accepting half loaves as being better than none." He writes that it's dangerous to prefer "happy dreams (by which he means Bernie) to hard thinking about means and ends (meaning Hillary)."
Political "pragmatism" may require accepting "half loaves" - but the full loaf has to be large and bold enough in the first place to make the half loaf meaningful.
Krugman doesn't get it. I've been in and around Washington for almost fifty years, including a stint in the cabinet, and I've learned that real change happens only when a substantial share of the American public is mobilized, organized, energized, and determined to make it happen.
Political "pragmatism" may require accepting "half loaves" - but the full loaf has to be large and bold enough in the first place to make the half loaf meaningful. That's why the movement must aim high - toward a single-payer universal health, free public higher education, and busting up the biggest banks, for example.
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 - the central goal of the movement Bernie is advancing.