The bold, forward choice

The (siren) song remains the same. Whether it’s Two Americas or one Bolivarian revolution, the same belief system and broken logic (based on the marxist cult/religion) permeates socialist rhetoric worldwide. The bold forward future is one in which we ditch greedy and selfish capitalist society for one that is imbued with the power of togetherness and communal decision making, (which coincidentally requires total and complete government control over every aspect of life in order to ensure holy and blessed equality).

The choice we must make is as important as it is clear.

It is a choice between looking back and looking forward.

A choice between the way we’ve always done it and the way we could do it if we dared.

A choice between corporate power and the power of democracy.

Between a corrupt and corroded system and a government that works for us again.

It is caution versus courage. Old versus new. Calculation versus principle. ~johnedwards.com

Hugo Chavez talking about moving on to the next stage of 21st Century Socialism? or Democratic politician (John Edwards) talking about moving on to the next stage of 21st Century Socialism? Does it really matter?

John “the future is now” Edwards tries to make the case that America’s political system is corrupt and corroded by the ‘moneyed interests’ of the Bourgeoisie. This is really old stuff, heavily borrowed from the marxist/progressive meme.

…It is the establishment elites versus the American people.

It is a choice between the failed compromises of the past and the bright possibilities of our future. Between resigning ourselves to Two Americas or fighting for the One America we all believe in. ~johnedwards.com

The narrative that John Edwards has chosen (it’s not at all clear to me that he actually believes in it) is essentially marxist theory. Class warfare between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie necessitates a radical change of the economic system in order to create an egalitarian society.

But socialism is more than being well paid for the work one does. It truly revolutionizes how society operates. The capitalist system, in which a small number of capitalists are allowed to subordinate everyone else’s interests to their own - sometimes perverse - pleasures, is replaced with a democratic structure in which the working class itself collectively directs the economy according to a conscious plan that was chosen after a full debate with all the relevant information and a democratic vote. In other words, a whole new culture will be created in which all of the members of society will become informed and encouraged to participate in determining the fundamental policies that will guide the direction of society. And such a transformation will allow us to leap forward to a qualitatively better life. It will enable us to create a superior economy by substituting the anarchy of capitalism, where every individual capitalist pursues his own individual self-interest, with an economy that is carefully planned so as to meet the vast majority of the population’s needs efficiently. Here, people will have the opportunity to identify and promote productive enterprises that maximize everyone’s well-being while eliminating sectors of the economy which undermine this goal. ~marxist.com

John Edwards vision is remarkably similiar to the promises of socialists the world over.

Q. What Will Socialist Society Look Like?

A. Although no one can provide a blueprint in advance of what such a society would look like, we can say that this form of social ownership and democracy would mean the beginning of the end of the class division of society, and indeed of the social division of labor. The working class having taken power will proceed to radically transform the way the economy and society is run. Socialism is democratic or it is nothing. This refers not to some formal democracy on paper - more accurately bourgeois democracy where you are allowed to vote every few years for a committee (parliament) who then run things in the interests of capitalism - but a democracy where we all play a full and active part not just in voting but in actually running our communities, our workplaces, and our society. Once the modern economy, industry, science, and technology, is in the hands of all members of society, we will be able to achieve full employment and shorter working hours - giving us the time as well as the resources we need to really begin to realize our talents. We could see the economy forge ahead at 10 or even 20% a year! This would be entirely possible once we have done away with the anarchy of private ownership and the profit motive. Such growth could double the wealth of society in five years!

John Edwards is using the rhetoric of societal transformation to imbue his campaign with legitimacy and woo the support of the left-wing of the Democratic Party. He s preaching the gospel of Marx.

The reduction of the working day, and an increase in the productivity of society are the prerequisites for the disappearance of the class division of society, and for the birth of socialism. It would be, as Marx put it, a society where everyone contributes according to their abilities and receives according to their needs. Such a society is no utopia but the only alternative to a slow and painful descent into barbarism. But it will not come about automatically even in a million years. Only a socialist revolution, that is, the conscious movement of the working class to take control over their own lives, can effect this change. This requires the building in advance of a trained and educated leadership that can ensure its success. For the last hundred years, at least since World War I, the capitalist system has ceased to play an historically progressive role. It stands like a roadblock in the path of human progress. We cannot wait for its instability to drive us back into the dark ages. There will be many opportunities for us in the coming years. But the success of socialism is not inevitable, it can only be guaranteed in advance by the extent to which we begin preparing for it today. ~marxist.com

John Edwards:

Will corporate greed be all we value as we move further into the global economy, or will we put workers and families first, so that all jobs pay fair wages, every American has health care and corporate profits work for democracy and not the other way around?

Will we face our future as individuals, each of us asking, “What’s in it for me?” Or will we return to the central value that makes our nation great? That we are all in this together and each of has a responsibility to the common good.

The choices we make will determine not just the quality of life our children will inherit, but the fate of the world we leave behind.

To succeed for our children where we have too often failed for ourselves, we must choose a new course. Those wedded to the policies of the 70s, 80s, or 90s are wedded to the past — ideas and policies that are tired, shop worn and obsolete. We will find no answers there.  ~johnedwards.com

John Edwards:

But small thinking and outdated answers aren’t the only problems with a vision for the future that is rooted in nostalgia. The trouble with nostalgia is that you tend to remember what you liked and forget what you didn’t. It’s not just that the answers of the past aren’t up to the job today, it’s that the system that produced them was corrupt — and still is. It’s controlled by big corporations, the lobbyists they hire to protect their bottom line and the politicians who curry their favor and carry their water. And it’s perpetuated by a media that too often fawns over the establishment, but fails to seriously cover the challenges we face or the solutions being proposed. This is the game of American politics and in this game, the interests of regular Americans don’t stand a chance.    ~johnedwards.com

Shoved into the internet 'tubes' on August 25, 2007, by Hegemonic Pundit, under the following categories: 21st century socialism, John the future is now Edwards, anti-capitalism, democrats, hegemony, hugo chavez, idiotarians, leftists, liberal agenda, liberals, tax increases, the left, universal healthscare

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