2016 Postmortem

Last edited Mon Jul 27, 2015, 08:39 AM - Edit history (1)

if you study the broader topic of social justice, you can see it might include economic parts like distributive justice and retributive justice. Bernie tends to take the socialist position and concentrate on the economic problems and fixes. The world is so complex that other issues can become most important in the eyes of some groups with less focus on the economic piece.

Almost any inequity can become a cause that people will refer to as social justice. Racism, gender bias, age discrimination, health care, perceptions of "class", educational opportunity, voting rights, legal/criminal fairness, power, child protection/advocacy, and disability/special education rights have all become common topics. Even the right to "bear arms" is an issue of "justice" to some people, while some think gun control is "right" to be safe. Certainly, birth control and choice has entered the women's rights stage. Do you have a right to die with dignity? Do we have a "right" to protect the environment?

The progressive movement could be said to have started with women's right to vote, labor rights, and political reform. There was an economic effect, but that was not the original focus. There certainly is a socialist component to progressives, but the modern progressive movement covers a lot of ground!

Socialism, where Bernie comes from, is mostly focused on economic issues and fair distribution of wealth.

Liberalism usually concentrates on "freedoms" like speech, religion, or even free markets.

All these ideas, as you point out, interact with each other and overlap. I think it's fair to say that Bernie comes from the socialist perspective and puts less emphasis on other ideas. It's also fair to point out that Bernie comes at issues from a different view than others who perceive economic justice as less important than some other problem that they face.

There are LOTS of examples, but here in Florida you may be undocumented. Your child was born in the US. You have a job, money, and family. The child is a citizen and goes to school. You can't vote, drive, participate in SS, or anything else because if you are deported - what happens to the child?? Go with you back to a foreign land? Break up the family? That is the exact thing that happened to two employees I know the last year here. You could care less about TPP, Wall Street, or minimum wage. Half your family is here and are citizens. You only vote on one issue: path to citizenship!

Another real example. You are a black physician. You move to Florida and immediately find segregated schools. The real estate agents "steer" you into black neighborhoods. The country club and yacht club can't find anyone to endorse you for membership! You even get pulled over on the main road into the neighborhood. I'm talking about a black doctor who lives in my neighborhood TODAY! You don't care about economic inequity!! You are very interested that the University of Florida is 95% white, the school board is 95% white, and voting districts are gerrymandered! You want legal and political justice.

In other words, Bernie speaks to a segment of America, but he needs to broaden his message as he moves to the sunbelt states. Frankly, Hillary tends to be less dynamic, but fits a larger set of issues in the eyes of many people. I think the Democratic party problem is that it's hard to put all the ideas in one basket.

Labels (like progressive, liberal, and social justice) don't help if they become a reason for name calling. I'm sure Bernie will face GOP attacks as a "socialist" or even "communist" if he gets to a general election. The recent criticisms of Bernie's platform as "missing the boat on my issue" were predictable (and some on DU mentioned it long before Netroots). If Bernie adapts, he will do better - but it will be tough because he has been labeled already by his own history. All candidates have to live with the past even if it's not fair.

It's interesting that Obama avoided a lot of criticism because he had a short and limited history, so the GOP had to resort to making up stuff (like birth certificates). It helped Obama that people could not find a reason to vote against him. As an economist, Obama has been moderate at best, but that was not clear going into his original election.