Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Why no socialism in America ?

Can Bernie Sanders keep socialism alive ?
As a long time democratic Socialist myself-and a registered Democrat in Rhode Island- I can easily give " critical support " to the " socialist " Democrat Bernie Sanders. The collapse of the Stalinist corrupted Soviet Union a generation ago was not the " death of socialism ". What keeps the idea alive is not a popular Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont but a more simple explanation- like TRUTH. Type in the question " Was Marx right ? " on Google and see what a rich and positive response you get.
It seems to me that if any one person is, in fact , " keeping socialism alive " it is the Catholic P
ope Francis. I always thought somewhat humorously that if Catholic social philosophy were taken seriously-just by millions of devout Catholics-most socialist parties and organizations would be superfluous..
Socialist scholar Irving Howe explains in his political autobiography " A Margin of Hope " why socialism never became a mass movement HERE in 20th century. But he rejected the idea that real socialists should drop the seemingly toxic label.
So many very influential writers were devoted to a socialist ideal. I still read George Orwell and Albert Camus for inspiration. In hotter moods I read Leon Trotsky's " In Defense of Marxism " and " Against Individual Terrorism ".
But " why no socialism in America " ? Read Albert's Einstein instructive essay " Why Socialism ? ".
American novelists influenced by " socialism " are too numerous to list here. A surprise: F Scott Fitzgerald :  Read the last chapter of " This Side of Paradise ". Yes, the rich are different.

A surprising sympathy for socialism in F.Scott Fitzgerald first novel

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Ron