Charles ^^^^^^^^ From: Wojtek Sokolowski
That pretty much sums up my position. I would like to add, however, that this is not some sort of betrayal by the Democratic Party, but the outcome of the class power relations in the US and globally, which at the moment is very unfavorable for anything social democratic. I do not think that, say, the Greens would do much better than Dems if by some cosmic accident they gained the presidency.
The dissolution of the x-USSR made the world much safer for the US capital, because it killed the specter of nationalization which was the main obstacle to capital mobility. The ability to shift vast amounts of capital across national borders without fear that national governments will nationalize foreign assets in retaliation give the US capitalist class unmatched power and influence of national economic policy, here and abroad.
The dissolution of x-USSR also gravely wounded (if not killed) the main political and ideological competitor of the US capitalist class. The fact that they can credibly cry and feel TINA emboldens them to take back the concessions they gave when they feared the "specter of communism."
Methinks that US liberals and lefties should kiss the footsteps of Lenin, Stalin and Khruschev in gratitude for the social gains the US got during the Cold War, and pray for a quick return of a powerful socialist state in Europe or Asia. Otherwise the US capitalist class will swallow us all raw and spit out the remains before they will eat the social gains of the 20th century for desert.
Wojtek