I've always thought Sanders brazenly adopted it because his opponents were going to label him that way anyway. A lot of progressives of the past have had to either spend a lot of time side-stepping labels of socialism, or have to confront it constantly. Conservatives called Obama a socialist for 8 years, remember? And here comes Sanders with a noticeably more progressive platform, a history of connection to leftist figures like Parenti, and he's on camera praising Cuba. He had already been calling himself a socialist as mayor of Vermont for decades too.
Also I don't believe Sanders was running in 2016 expecting to win or even do well. He had the advantage then of running against notoriously unpopular Hillary Clinton and complete unknowns Jim Webb and Lincoln Chafee.
Before 2016 all I knew about him was that one weird Senator from that tiny New England state that shouldn't be a state anyway, listed as (I) whenever it was voting time. But he voted with the Dems anyway. On the rare occasion he came up, it was stated he was a socialist, and I chalked it up to a lily-white state's liberals just being what they are.
I first heard about Sanders from this 1986 Murray Bookchin essay. I think I read it around 2009? Bookchin is really harsh and calls Sanders a Reaganite of all things.
really just confused the already furrow browed American public even more.
I think it's always more useful to talk about what you want to get done, how you want to get it done, when you want to get it done, and why you want to get it done. Goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound, and part of a bigger project. If it's more expedient to eschew labels altogether in order to gain allies to what is fundamentally a cause that you share while disagreeing about what to call it, then do so. Loyalty to a signifier can only get you so far.
Much of politics is vague, unmeasurable goals and evading responsibility for not achieving them. Look at Trump, he promised to build the wall, didn't do it, and people still scream at his campaign rallies like they're European techno music festivals.
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I've always thought Sanders brazenly adopted it because his opponents were going to label him that way anyway. A lot of progressives of the past have had to either spend a lot of time side-stepping labels of socialism, or have to confront it constantly. Conservatives called Obama a socialist for 8 years, remember? And here comes Sanders with a noticeably more progressive platform, a history of connection to leftist figures like Parenti, and he's on camera praising Cuba. He had already been calling himself a socialist as mayor of Vermont for decades too.
Also I don't believe Sanders was running in 2016 expecting to win or even do well. He had the advantage then of running against notoriously unpopular Hillary Clinton and complete unknowns Jim Webb and Lincoln Chafee.
deleted by creator
Before 2016 all I knew about him was that one weird Senator from that tiny New England state that shouldn't be a state anyway, listed as (I) whenever it was voting time. But he voted with the Dems anyway. On the rare occasion he came up, it was stated he was a socialist, and I chalked it up to a lily-white state's liberals just being what they are.
I first heard about Sanders from this 1986 Murray Bookchin essay. I think I read it around 2009? Bookchin is really harsh and calls Sanders a Reaganite of all things.
I think it's always more useful to talk about what you want to get done, how you want to get it done, when you want to get it done, and why you want to get it done. Goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound, and part of a bigger project. If it's more expedient to eschew labels altogether in order to gain allies to what is fundamentally a cause that you share while disagreeing about what to call it, then do so. Loyalty to a signifier can only get you so far.
Oh god oh no SMART goals escaped my workplace and made it to hexbear
They do work though
Much of politics is vague, unmeasurable goals and evading responsibility for not achieving them. Look at Trump, he promised to build the wall, didn't do it, and people still scream at his campaign rallies like they're European techno music festivals.
He had a past as an open and proud Trot and he had to try to launder it to be even remotely feasible as a candidate.