Here’s one of many stories discussing his 1980s era praise of the USSR. I suggest working the google for more, plentiful links.
Sander’s support for the USSR was pretty broad, full throated and unqualified. And he was very vocal about it for a long time. It wasn’t until a decade and a half after the USSR fell as he became a Presidential candidate that he started to walk back his support.
In the modern era he has had similar support for Casto era Cuba and Chavez era Venezuela.
The closest thing this article has to a quote of Bernie Sanders was.
Sanders was amazed at the open “self-criticism” of his Soviet hosts, who admitted that the USSR was 10 or 15 years behind America in medical technology.
Which is not necessarily praising the ideology of the USSR. Just that self-criticism is not something you would see in a government like the USSR and it was refreshing.
Googling: “What is Bernie Sanders position on USSR” gets me:
Sanders has often emphasized the difference between his views as a democratic socialist and communist dogma, noting that he supports democratic elections and business enterprises that were inimical to the Soviet system.
I can see how a lot of people can mistakenly thing Bernie Sanders has a full throated positive option of the USSR because of all the propaganda. Remember if Bernie Sanders says something like “I like that the USSR provides health care for it’s citizens” or “I like that Casto era Cuba has the highest literacy rates in the world”, that does not mean that Bernie Sanders is in favor of doing everything that the USSR or Casto era Cuba has done. I didn’t search for Chavez era Venezuela because USSR and Cuba things seem like a bust and I just assumed that the Venezuela thing would be more of the same. If not, let me know.
If you have a quote from Bernie Sanders saying specifically we should become authoritarian or something like that. I would like to know about it.
Yes Bernie, the defacto thought leader of the “normal” left wing in the United States, has offered wide support for the USSR, Venezula, Cuba and other Socialists dictatorships; but he’s never explicitly said that we should become authoritarians; he’s just supported the policies, outcomes and goals of the nations that left wing authoritarians have built. So it’s completely unreasonable for Centrits in America to worry that he’d support a left wing authoritarian?
Think about it like this. Most people think boy scouts in the US are a good thing right? Let’s say we didn’t have boy scouts. And some guy said, “Hey, Nazi Germany had boy scouts and that did a lot of good things, and some bad things. Let’s make something like that, but not do the bad stuff”. Using your logic, you would say, “This guy is a Nazi because boy scouts are a Nazi thing and this will lead the US to become fascist and authoritarian”. But the thing is, you can create boy scouts without the fascism. Just like you can create single payer health care without an authoritarian leader, and you can create high literacy rates without being communist or whatever Cuba was.
I mean, if you can explain how single payer health care and literacy programs lead to authoritarian outcomes. I am very interested in hearing about that because I can’t see it.
P.S. I don’t think Bernie is the defacto though leader of the “normal” left wing, but I think he is close enough.
Think about it like this. Most people think boy scouts in the US are a good thing right? Let’s say we didn’t have boy scouts. And some guy said, “Hey, Nazi Germany had boy scouts and that did a lot of good things, and some bad things. Let’s make something like that, but not do the bad stuff”. Using your logic, you would say, “This guy is a Nazi because boy scouts are a Nazi thing and this will lead the US to become fascist and authoritarian”
What if the guy trying to set up the Boy Scouts regularly called themselves a fascist? Bernie, AOC and others in that sphere have “leaned in” to the Socialist label. Using your logic if a Fascist was like those “Nazi’s Boy Scouts did good shit we should do that same shit.” Would you consider it reasonable to worry about that movement becoming more widely fascist?
I mean, if you can explain how single payer health care and literacy programs lead to authoritarian outcomes. I am very interested in hearing about that because I can’t see it.
Remember when Bernie was the Senate’s overviewer of the VA, the largest Single Payer Healthcare system in North America? And he called reports given to his office of the wait list scandal (where the VA would internationally and systemically let vets die without care to avoid caring for them) a right wing conspiracy and dismissed them. Which prolonged the time before the scandal was dealt with.
That immediate belief that “things that go against my world view are anti-socialist conspiracies” is exactly the pattern that causes the societal decline in Socialist societies. And that’s the mindset that causes those societies to jail and punish people bringing complaints or opposing views rather than attempting to improve their societies.
So it’s not, single payer healthcare causes authoritarian societies. It’s centralized control of formerly private production administered by people with a Socialist mindset causes increasingly authoritarian societies.
What if the guy trying to set up the Boy Scouts regularly called themselves a fascist?
Well, if they called themselves a fascist or did things with fascist outcomes I would be very concerned. I would probably try to vote that guy out or try some other way to get them removed and hope someone else could create a boy scouts program with out being fascist.
Remember when Bernie was the Senate’s overviewer of the VA, the largest Single Payer Healthcare system in North America? And he called reports given to his office of the wait list scandal (where the VA would internationally and systemically let vets die without care to avoid caring for them) a right wing conspiracy and dismissed them. Which prolonged the time before the scandal was dealt with.
Is your position that Bernie hates all US Vets and wants them to die? If so, how does killing vets help get the US to socialism? If anything, it makes Bernie look really bad.
So it’s not, single payer healthcare causes authoritarian societies. It’s centralized control of formerly private production administered by people with a Socialist mindset causes increasingly authoritarian societies.
How does centralized control government control of things result in authoritarian societies? I would agree with you, if we didn’t have a democracy, is that what you are getting at?
Well, if they called themselves a fascist or did things with fascist outcomes I would be very concerned. I would probably try to vote that guy out or try some other way to get them removed and hope someone else could create a boy scouts program with out being fascist.
In this instance, the people doing the needful are calling themselves socialists.Hence the reason the centrists are concerned.
Is your position that Bernie hates all US Vets and wants them to die? If so, how does killing vets help get the US to socialism? If anything, it makes Bernie look really bad.
My point is that Bernie believes in socialism so much that he’s willing to ignore US Vets dying
How does centralized control government control of things result in authoritarian societies? I would agree with you, if we didn’t have a democracy, is that what you are getting at?
Centralizing control centralizes control. It creates one single point of failure to create an authoritarian society. Venezuela is currently experiencing how well democracies protect from authoritarians.
My point is that Bernie believes in socialism so much that he’s willing to ignore US Vets dying
If Bernie cared about socialism so much he wouldn’t have ignored the US Vets dying. That made him and anything he stood for look really bad, if anything you could say that Bernie doing this was an OP against leftism.
Centralizing control centralizes control. It creates one single point of failure to create an authoritarian society. Venezuela is currently experiencing how well democracies protect from authoritarians.
Ok, so it sounds like your definition of authoritarian is any power given to any government. You don’t just have a problem with socialism. You have a problem with democracy as well.
So then do you dislike everyone? Leftists, Centrists, and Conservatives? Democrats, Republicans, and Liberals? Are these all authoritarians?
If Bernie cared about socialism so much he wouldn’t have ignored the US Vets dying. That made him and anything he stood for look really bad, if anything you could say that Bernie doing this was an OP against leftism.
Sander’s is likely the most sincere public figure in his support of his policies. It’s clear to me, and everyone who watches him (even those who are in opposition to him) that he truly cares and believes in the causes he supports. Especially those that are part of his core platform.
If your plan is to “no true Scotsman” Sanders I can assure you that not only is that an “incorrect” position to have; but it’s absolutely not one that will be seen as believable by the Centrists in the top level meme.
Ok, so it sounds like your definition of authoritarian is any power given to any government. You don’t just have a problem with socialism.
Every form of government comes with a risk of an Authoritarian takeover. Certain actions (like centralization vs. decentralization being just one of many things that helps decide that). But Socialism explicitly calls for creating a heavily centralize givernment that makes it very straightforward for a dictatorship to arise. Quashing the sort of dissent needed to avoid dictatorship and even going as far as endorsing the idea of a “Dictatorship of the Proletariat” to modify society into the ideal Communist population.
In a sense you’re correct that I have problems with most forms of governence when evaluating the chance of an authoritarian taking over. But Socialism endorses that so it’s pretty well at the top of the list.
Here’s one of many stories discussing his 1980s era praise of the USSR. I suggest working the google for more, plentiful links.
Sander’s support for the USSR was pretty broad, full throated and unqualified. And he was very vocal about it for a long time. It wasn’t until a decade and a half after the USSR fell as he became a Presidential candidate that he started to walk back his support.
In the modern era he has had similar support for Casto era Cuba and Chavez era Venezuela.
The closest thing this article has to a quote of Bernie Sanders was.
Which is not necessarily praising the ideology of the USSR. Just that self-criticism is not something you would see in a government like the USSR and it was refreshing.
Googling: “What is Bernie Sanders position on USSR” gets me:
I can see how a lot of people can mistakenly thing Bernie Sanders has a full throated positive option of the USSR because of all the propaganda. Remember if Bernie Sanders says something like “I like that the USSR provides health care for it’s citizens” or “I like that Casto era Cuba has the highest literacy rates in the world”, that does not mean that Bernie Sanders is in favor of doing everything that the USSR or Casto era Cuba has done. I didn’t search for Chavez era Venezuela because USSR and Cuba things seem like a bust and I just assumed that the Venezuela thing would be more of the same. If not, let me know.
If you have a quote from Bernie Sanders saying specifically we should become authoritarian or something like that. I would like to know about it.
So your argument is:
Yes Bernie, the defacto thought leader of the “normal” left wing in the United States, has offered wide support for the USSR, Venezula, Cuba and other Socialists dictatorships; but he’s never explicitly said that we should become authoritarians; he’s just supported the policies, outcomes and goals of the nations that left wing authoritarians have built. So it’s completely unreasonable for Centrits in America to worry that he’d support a left wing authoritarian?
No, your interpretation is reactionary.
Think about it like this. Most people think boy scouts in the US are a good thing right? Let’s say we didn’t have boy scouts. And some guy said, “Hey, Nazi Germany had boy scouts and that did a lot of good things, and some bad things. Let’s make something like that, but not do the bad stuff”. Using your logic, you would say, “This guy is a Nazi because boy scouts are a Nazi thing and this will lead the US to become fascist and authoritarian”. But the thing is, you can create boy scouts without the fascism. Just like you can create single payer health care without an authoritarian leader, and you can create high literacy rates without being communist or whatever Cuba was.
I mean, if you can explain how single payer health care and literacy programs lead to authoritarian outcomes. I am very interested in hearing about that because I can’t see it.
P.S. I don’t think Bernie is the defacto though leader of the “normal” left wing, but I think he is close enough.
What if the guy trying to set up the Boy Scouts regularly called themselves a fascist? Bernie, AOC and others in that sphere have “leaned in” to the Socialist label. Using your logic if a Fascist was like those “Nazi’s Boy Scouts did good shit we should do that same shit.” Would you consider it reasonable to worry about that movement becoming more widely fascist?
Remember when Bernie was the Senate’s overviewer of the VA, the largest Single Payer Healthcare system in North America? And he called reports given to his office of the wait list scandal (where the VA would internationally and systemically let vets die without care to avoid caring for them) a right wing conspiracy and dismissed them. Which prolonged the time before the scandal was dealt with.
That immediate belief that “things that go against my world view are anti-socialist conspiracies” is exactly the pattern that causes the societal decline in Socialist societies. And that’s the mindset that causes those societies to jail and punish people bringing complaints or opposing views rather than attempting to improve their societies.
So it’s not, single payer healthcare causes authoritarian societies. It’s centralized control of formerly private production administered by people with a Socialist mindset causes increasingly authoritarian societies.
Well, if they called themselves a fascist or did things with fascist outcomes I would be very concerned. I would probably try to vote that guy out or try some other way to get them removed and hope someone else could create a boy scouts program with out being fascist.
Is your position that Bernie hates all US Vets and wants them to die? If so, how does killing vets help get the US to socialism? If anything, it makes Bernie look really bad.
How does centralized control government control of things result in authoritarian societies? I would agree with you, if we didn’t have a democracy, is that what you are getting at?
In this instance, the people doing the needful are calling themselves socialists.Hence the reason the centrists are concerned.
My point is that Bernie believes in socialism so much that he’s willing to ignore US Vets dying
Centralizing control centralizes control. It creates one single point of failure to create an authoritarian society. Venezuela is currently experiencing how well democracies protect from authoritarians.
If Bernie cared about socialism so much he wouldn’t have ignored the US Vets dying. That made him and anything he stood for look really bad, if anything you could say that Bernie doing this was an OP against leftism.
Ok, so it sounds like your definition of authoritarian is any power given to any government. You don’t just have a problem with socialism. You have a problem with democracy as well.
So then do you dislike everyone? Leftists, Centrists, and Conservatives? Democrats, Republicans, and Liberals? Are these all authoritarians?
Sander’s is likely the most sincere public figure in his support of his policies. It’s clear to me, and everyone who watches him (even those who are in opposition to him) that he truly cares and believes in the causes he supports. Especially those that are part of his core platform.
If your plan is to “no true Scotsman” Sanders I can assure you that not only is that an “incorrect” position to have; but it’s absolutely not one that will be seen as believable by the Centrists in the top level meme.
Every form of government comes with a risk of an Authoritarian takeover. Certain actions (like centralization vs. decentralization being just one of many things that helps decide that). But Socialism explicitly calls for creating a heavily centralize givernment that makes it very straightforward for a dictatorship to arise. Quashing the sort of dissent needed to avoid dictatorship and even going as far as endorsing the idea of a “Dictatorship of the Proletariat” to modify society into the ideal Communist population.
In a sense you’re correct that I have problems with most forms of governence when evaluating the chance of an authoritarian taking over. But Socialism endorses that so it’s pretty well at the top of the list.