[lbo-talk] 36% of Americans have a positive image of socialism

Bhaskar Sunkara bhaskar.sunkara at gmail.com
Fri Feb 5 06:27:53 PST 2010


Agreed. It's certainly better that more and more people are associating socialism with Sweden rather than East Germany. The line between quasi-social democratic politics of the left-wing of mainstream liberals and democratic socialism is simply that that latter advocates structural change.

This shows there is an audience for such a politics, if only the left got its act together and decided to start building an opposition movement.

Without a party with the working class is everything and with one it is everything. I'm all for the strategy Fletcher lays out at the end of this speech (minute 18ish): http://theactivist.org/blog/its-time-for-the-left-to-get-serious

On Fri, Feb 5, 2010 at 9:09 AM, Lenin's Tomb <leninstombblog at googlemail.com>wrote:


> On Fri, Feb 5, 2010 at 12:08 PM, Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com> wrote:
>
> >
> >
> > So when 95% of Americans say they like small biz they don't really mean
> > it, but when 36% say they like socialism they really do?
> >
> > Doug
> >
>
> No, you've missed my point. I don't take either finding at face value.
> Most of those who say they like socialism don't mean what you or I do by
> the
> term. But that's not the point. The fact that liberals - even in the
> capitalist media, I note - have been provoked into defending socialism by a
> right-wing hysteria campaign over healthcare has meant that as a political
> term it is more acceptable. That's a propaganda opportunity for the Left.
> As someone once said somewhere at some time - if they give you a handle,
> turn it.
>
>
>
> --
> Richard Seymour
> Writer and blogger
> Email: leninstombblog at googlemail.com
> Website: http://www.leninology.blogspot.com
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>
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