{"id":1137,"date":"2009-05-02T03:56:33","date_gmt":"2009-05-02T08:56:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/thickculture\/?p=1137"},"modified":"2009-05-02T14:12:27","modified_gmt":"2009-05-02T19:12:27","slug":"are-we-ready-for-socialism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/thickculture\/2009\/05\/02\/are-we-ready-for-socialism\/","title":{"rendered":"Are We Ready for Socialism?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"S\u00e9gol\u00e8ne
S\u00e9gol\u00e8ne Royal-French Socialist & probable French Presidential Candidate in 2012<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It was May Day here in Ontario. \u00a0I just Tweeted<\/a><\/strong> about a program I saw on TVO<\/a><\/strong> with\u00a0socialism as a theme\u00a0<\/a><\/strong>with Ontario NDP<\/a><\/strong> leader, Andrea Horwath<\/a><\/strong>, and political scientist at York University, Leo Panitch<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The discussions were interesting, but what really stuck with me was whether or not good politicians <\/strong>follow the votes or get the electorate to see things differently. \u00a0For example, given the anti-corporate climate, will politicians pander to where they think the electorate is or will they try to shape thinking about the economy?<\/p>\n

Sell the sizzle, not the steak<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a shameless attempt to drive more pageviews, I included a pic. and cartoon of S\u00e9gol\u00e8ne Royal\u00a0{S\u00e9gol\u00e8ne is a ThickCulture crowd-pleaser<\/a><\/strong>, according to our Google Analytics}, a French socialist {Parti Socialiste, PS} centre-left politician who ran for President in 2007 {losing to Sarkozy} and may run in 2012. \u00a0 \u00a0Say what you will about S\u00e9gol\u00e8ne, she manages to capture attention.<\/a><\/strong> \u00a0She has been known to have a quirky, evangelical style and has been accused by some as having a Joan of Arc complex. \u00a0Well, this sounds familiar (see Glenn Beck video from last fall).<\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

The comparison isn’t accidental. \u00a0Obama with his power of persuasion, thus far, and the state of the economy may be providing a perfect storm for a change in the political zeitgeist. Will the Democrats see this as an opportunity to embrace that dreaded third-rail word, socialism, in terms of either rhetoric or\u00a0implemented policy -or- would that just bring about a Gingrichian revolt akin to 1994? \u00a0Change? \u00a0What kind of change? \u00a0New Deal change? \u00a0New Frontier change? \u00a0Great Society change? \u00a0Is it a matter of the public looking for it -or- will savvy politicians frame a “new” economic order for them? \u00a0I think we’re in for seeing plenty of sizzle sold, but at some point, steak will have to be on the table, specifically, in terms of economic recovery.<\/p>\n

The upcoming election in British Columbia is pitting the centre-left \u00a0(NDP) versus the centre-right (BC Liberal) {e.g.<\/em>, see blog on the BC Carbon Tax issue}<\/a><\/strong>, where the centre-left has a shot of controlling the provincial government. \u00a0Nationwide, the NDP support has risen 1 point since December to 13%, while the Liberals and Tories swapped positions and are polling 36 and 33%<\/a><\/strong>, respectively. \u00a0Perhaps regionally, there may a shift to the left {Canada has had NDP provincial governments in the past}, but I wonder as joblessness continues and bailouts persist, will national-scene politics in Canada and the US move towards a more socialist agenda? \u00a0While Barack is far from a socialist, he’s gaining comfort in his centre-left stance::<\/p>\n

“The economic philosophy that Mr. Obama developed during the presidential campaign drew from across the ideological spectrum even as it remained rooted on the center-left. As that philosophy has been tested in practice through his early months in office, the president has if anything become more comfortable with an occasionally intrusive government as a counterweight to market forces that are now so powerful and fast-moving that they cannot be counted on to be self-correcting when things go wrong.”<\/p>\n

–“Obamanomics:\u00a0Redefining Capitalism After the Fall<\/a><\/strong>,” NYT, Richard W. Stevenson<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So, are you ready for some socialism? \u00a0Will we see the selling of socialism? \u00a0Sounds like an oxymoron, but it may be a matter of time before we see\u00a0something like this<\/a><\/strong>. \u00a0What’s Springsteen up to this summer?<\/p>\n

I welcome any and all thoughts.<\/p>\n

OK S\u00e9go fans, while not entirely flattering, the following cartoon should help you with your fix.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"s_go_caricature_7554_f520_1_\"<\/a>
Caption - Fran\u00e7ois Hollande (fellow Socialist & now ex-partner): "S\u00e9gol\u00e8ne, what are you doing in my wardrobe?" S\u00e9gol\u00e8ne Royal: "Frankly, don't you find it looks better on me than on you?") Via Hillblogger3<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Twitterversion::<\/strong>\u00a0EpicFail for capitalism? Given current econ & political climate, is US\/Canada ready for socialism? Will politicns pander or reshape thinkng?<\/p>\n

Song:: \u00a0<\/strong><\/object><\/p>\n
“cocaine socialism” by pulp<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 It was May Day here in Ontario. \u00a0I just Tweeted about a program I saw on TVO with\u00a0socialism as a theme\u00a0with Ontario NDP leader, Andrea Horwath, and political scientist at York University, Leo Panitch. The discussions were interesting, but what really stuck with me was whether or not good politicians follow the votes or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":160,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[685,1],"tags":[1427,356,98,682,1428,1388,194,684,1426],"class_list":["post-1137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-comparative-politics","category-uncategorized","tag-andrea-horwath","tag-canada","tag-capitalism","tag-framing","tag-leo-panitch","tag-ndp","tag-obama","tag-segolene-royal","tag-socialism"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/thickculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/thickculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/thickculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/thickculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/160"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/thickculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1137"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/thickculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1137\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1141,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/thickculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1137\/revisions\/1141"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/thickculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/thickculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/thickculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}