Editor: This is an interesting interview on the subject of how democratic socialism might be advanced.
May 2, 2021
Azadeh Reisdana interviews Sam Gindin on the recent growth of democratic socialism in developing countries and as an ideology which attracts a new younger generation of socialists. They also discuss the expansion of democratic socialism to not only a political theory but also as an economic application. This was recorded online during the Covid lockdown, March 2021.
“Whatever our world leaders are 'doing' to reduce emissions, they are doing it wrong … Our political leaders have failed us … We have to understand what the older generation has dealt to us, what mess they have created that we have to clean up and live with.” — Greta Thunberg
The primary force overheating our planet, destabilizing our climate, and acidifying our oceans is the CO2 humans are dumping into the atmosphere.
Though set in the UK, the article below applies equally to other countries, where the illusion that we can "persuade" elected champions of corporate profiteering to support progressive causes is a self-defeating diversion from our real task. As stated in the article, this is "the building of alternative institutions of collective power and decision making, outside of the state." With most politicians it's not a question of not comprehending reality or of worrying that more radical policies will alienate middle-of-the-road voters.
If the analysis in this article is accurate, the chances of winning even temporary reforms of capitalism are becoming smaller and smaller. This, along with the cascading crises caused by pandemics and environmental disruption, highlights the increasing urgency of completely replacing capitalism with democratic social and economic planning.
It was a big week. The Conservatives’ long-awaited climate plan is getting a lot of attention. But most Canadians probably didn’t notice that it was also report card week.
