Bernie Sanders

I think it was George Orwell who said something like - "The best books are those that tell you what you already know" . Already being quite angry about capitalism, as a global system that threatens our very existence, I found much in this book that I was familiar with, but it was still a terrific read. Like other reviewers, I found Bernie's description of his part in the last two Democratic Party's presidential selections and US election campaigns slightly tedious, (some would say show more self-serving, but I think that's unfair), but his passionate and closely-argued denouncements of the dominance of US politics and media by the super-rich and multinational corporations really hit home. Growing inequality, poor health care and education, the marginalisation of large swathes of the population from politics, and the dangers of climate collapse can all be sheeted home to the dominance of the wealthy few, particularly in opposing fairness in taxation and social reforms that favour the poor - or even the middle class - over the super-rich.
Greed and corruption, even within the Democratic Party which Bernie sought to lead, are main the obstacles he rails about, and he deserves huge credit for the relative success he has had in making these issues central to the political debate - against enormous odds.
There is much that I don't fully understand about the American political system, and at times Bernie seems to presume knowledge about how things work there (what is a "super-PAC" for example?) but the policy solutions he presents are crystal-clear - and transferable to any country with a free-market economy and a functioning democracy - distorted though that often is.
From an Australian perspective, Bernie's battles with the corporate elites and the upper echelons of the US Democratic Party echo similar battles between the leaders of the ruling Australian Labor Party and their fractious allies on the left, including the Australian Greens.
I was a little surprised though to see how little emphasis Bernie gives to the real and ever-present dangers of climate change and global warming - a clear case of corporate greed trumping the common good, environmental hazards and even human survival. Gun control in the USA is another issue he barely mentions (the role of the NRA, etc.?) . show less

Although this book is so short as to almost be an essay, it is wonderful to hear Bernie given the chance to really lay out his arguments.

Things are really, really bad. You might ask, "are we really in an oligarchy?" Yes we are.

Did you know that Elon Musk, a single person, has more wealth than the bottom half of Americans combined?

Did you know that, in Russia, the top 500 oligarch have more wealth than the bottom 99.8% of Russians?

Sixty percent of Americans have zero savings. Although Bernie show more doesn't mention it in the book, a recent survey found that 40% of women would like to emigrate from the US if they had a way out.

The most powerful quote from the book comes from Frederick Douglass, in 1857. "The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress." Douglass isn't blaming slaves for being pushovers here. But he is saying that oligarchs will take whatever they can get their hands on, and it is up to us to draw (and hold) the line.

The book has you realize: crime is an economic issue. Looking at police as a solution to crime is like say, "blood is getting all over my nice white carpet; could someone get a bucket so less blood is spurting out on my lovely carpet?" Maybe you should stop to ask, did you notice the person getting stabbed? Why are they getting stabbed? If you stop the stabbing, your white carpet will be just fine, and the bucket is just a stopgap measure. Police are the bucket. Economic equity stops the stabbing.

Bernie drives home a really key point: there are two classes of political issues. Tier I: Economic Inequality. Tier II: everything else. You might care about racism. You might care about gender equality. You might care about climate change. All of these things matter; they matter a lot. But we're not going to address any of them in any lasting way if we don't address the Tier I issue. show less

I’m not a huge follower of American politics by my own standards (unless you count watching the 2020 election coverage non-stop) but it’s hard not to hear about it and have an idea of what’s going on. Bernie Sanders, long term US senator, friend of the band The Strokes and meme king, is hard to ignore because the man just talks sense. He has good ideas – make education free, universal health care and worker unions to name a few – and I just don’t always understand why people are show more so against them. (Particularly universal health care. As Bernie points out, it works in the rest of the world, why not the US?) In this book, Bernie discusses where and how capitalism has failed the average person.

The book opens with a recap of his presidential campaign in 2020 and how they transferred their grass roots campaign to Joe Biden. Some of this I found a little boring (what, no references to Four Seasons Landscaping? Bernie is too honest a man for that) but that’s probably because I knew a reasonable amount already. It also sets up the main themes, that the average worker is disadvantaged financially despite increased productivity and that the very, very wealthy hold the cards to government policy through their ability to lobby and promote their agenda. The strength of the book comes with the following chapters dedicated to how America (and really, many other countries, including Australia) can improve healthcare, education, media and working conditions by actively rejecting the least desirable parts of capitalism. Naturally, I enjoyed the healthcare chapter the most. America’s system of lack of access, multitudes of insurers, changing formularies and tying healthcare to employers is just odd to me. Even the fractures within what Medicare does and doesn’t cover, and how they don’t actively negotiate prices (despite the VA doing so) baffles me. There are so many additional cogs in the system, as Bernie describes and they don’t need to be there to make America’s health run even better.

I also enjoyed the blunt assessment of the Democratic party and how they have lost their way as being a party for the common worker, appealing to people who have money, but don’t like the GOP for whatever reason. It’s bold and it made me realise that politics, not just in America but here too, needs more bold ideas that look after the majority rather than a select few. Bernie’s policies also make sense in that they can be achieved using the current workforce, training and the money that needs to be spent will produce better outcomes for many. It’s good bang for your buck.

If it wasn’t so expensive to send parcels these days, I’d send this book to the prime minister in the hope of real change.

http://samstillreading.wordpress.com show less

Bernie splits this book into two sections, with the first focusing on his political career, his decision to run in 2016, and the ensuing campaign for President. The second portion of the book focuses on the issues that he believes affect us most greatly as Americans. He dedicates chapters to such concerns as the disappearance of the middle class, our 'rigged' economy, healthcare, climate change, social justice, racial inequities, immigration, public schools, higher education, Wall Street, show more corporate media, and protecting society's most vulnerable.

It's an ambitious agenda, and what I appreciate most is that Bernie seems to believe in governance from a place of compassion and a desire to honor the inherent dignity of all Americans. Then, because governance rarely leads with these ideals, he also backs his beliefs up with how his policies and ideas make good fiscal sense, or simple common sense for the welfare of America's future. He speaks of his colleagues and leaders with respect, always willing to disagree, but never deride.

It helps that I agree with the Senator on about 80% of these issues. Certainly, if I were listening to a Ted Cruz audiobook, I'd have a harder time connecting, so I come in with my own political biases, as will you.

The two setbacks of this audiobook for me are not ones that should dissuade you from listening: (1) The book is narrated by Senator Sanders in the first section, then actor Mark Ruffalo takes over for the second section, with Bernie reading the final chapter. I really enjoyed hearing Bernie tell his story, and would've been happy to continue hearing him speak on the issues. I really like Mark Ruffalo, so don't get me wrong, but I felt a bit disconnected from the narrative when listening to him reading Bernie's thoughts. He certainly commits to the material (and it helps that he is a Bernie supporter who agrees with him as well - you can hear the passion). But at times, I was distracted by Mark. Nonetheless, good job - just missed Bernie's endearing voice in that second half of the book. But, hey, he's got a state to help govern.

Secondly, and more importantly, this book is a bitter pill to swallow in the aftermath of the 2016 election. Certainly, Bernie wrote it when Secretary Clinton has cinched the nomination, but he obviously wrote from a belief that many of the issues he holds dear would be making progress under her leadership as President. He's not a fan of her Wall Street insider approach, but he respects her and seemed to believe that progress on many issues would be inevitable with her as President. I don't think he saw the fatal bullet coming any more than a lot of us did. With President Trump dismantling so much of the Obama Administration's work that put America in a respected role with the rest of the world, and at the forefront of leadership on issues like Climate Change, it's a bit like listening to a eulogy of ideals. It takes a lot of fortitude to get through the book, as each aspiration presented has been rolled back, beaten down, or mocked by the current administration. I found it easiest to take the book in small bites (at least the second half) so that I could dust myself off a bit before jumping back in. But I know Bernie would say to not let discouragement win, but rather, dust off and jump into the activist role to create the change we need, now more than ever. In fact, the book might just require a 2017 epilogue with that very notion to put a coda on it.

If you admire Bernie Sanders and what he's tried to accomplish, I highly recommend this book. If you think he's too idealistic or too socialistic, I invite you to explore his beliefs to see if they are really as "far out" as you believe. Personally, I'm a believer in the notion that America's ideals are rooted in our compassion, not our greed, and that a rising tide should, indeed, lift all boats. show less