The Day America Rejected Social Democracy and Chose More Collapse

Some (Grim) Lessons From Super Tuesday

That was quite a wild ride. Super Tuesday. After all was said and done, in a stunning upset — since he was on the ropes just a few weeks ago — Biden crushed the rest. What does it all mean? I want to quickly distill a handful of lessons. It’s not going to be pretty. Let me say up front that I like Biden. He’s a good guy. He gave a great speech after his win, about the need for character and decency — excellent. But he’s the wrong man for the job of social transformation (I’ll come to precisely why.)

The first lesson goes like this.

This was the day America rejected what was probably it’s last and best chance at social democracy. The contest between Bernie vs Biden is a classic one of center vs left. In this case, the center took a resounding victory. But what is “the center” in America? It’s neoliberalism, of the Obama school — which Biden continues to promise.That is, markets for everything, privatization, deregulation — a theme I’ll return to. And what’s the “left”? It’s barely social democracy — though Bernie’s painted as a socialist, he’s barely a lightweight social democrat, in truth. What’s the difference? Everything.