Setting aside any policy specifics, I want to clear up a term that’s thrown around a lot without a ton of explanation.
“The establishment.”
The political struggle in this country is usually framed as left vs right, or Democrat vs Republican, but the truth is much more insidious. Both parties are bankrolled by the same people for the same goals. The parties may be ideologically different, but they frequently work toward the same goal, such as opposing universal healthcare, or fighting against a radical change in our energy infrastructure. Leadership of both parties are fully opposed to Medicare for All, but it’s not because they have a deep-seated belief that it’s bad for their constituents; it’s because they take a ton of money from the health insurance industry to hold that position. Sure, the Republicans are trying to strip all healthcare away, and Democrats are fighting to bolster the ACA, but they’re both fighting against universal healthcare because it would destroy health insurance profits. WalMart and Amazon donate huge sums of money to fight against increasing minimum wage and unionizing efforts. Same goes for basically every industry that’s harming the planet or oppressing 99% of us for profit.
We have to look at the power structures that are maintaining the status quo, and it’s bigger than political parties; they’re just the tools. We do live in a capitalist society, but people misunderstand what that means. I’m not a capitalist, and if you’re reading this, you’re almost definitely not a capitalist. You might think you are, but what you really are is a consumer and worker in false class solidarity with capitalists. Capitalists are the ones who can seize your possessions if you don’t pay your bills. Capitalists are the ones who can set the rates you earn on your investments. Capitalists are the ones who lead the industries. Capitalists are the ones who can crash the world economy with no repercussions. Capitalists are the 1%. We’re not even playing the same game. Capitalism is one form of power structure fighting to maintain the status quo.
Another form of an oppressive power structure is systemic racism. This country, and nearly every institution we rely on, were built by racists, and are intended to maintain minority rule. This shows in the electoral college and caucus systems where delegates are weighted to give disproportional representation to rural areas where white slave owners relied on slaves, and thus had less population for representation in elections. This shows in the design of cities where low-income people are geographically segregated from the economic centers and faced with transportation challenges, and have depressed property values that make it difficult to generate generational wealth. This shows in past practices like redlining and Jim Crow, and current policies like our criminal justice system that disproportionately incarcerates people of color. I could write an entire article about racist power structures.
There are many power structures in play that are bigger than political parties, but the obstacle to overcoming them is the same for almost all of them; money in politics. The people with money who corrupt our political system to work for their benefit.
When Sanders is talking about taking on “the establishment,” this is who he’s talking about. Sure, there’s the Democratic establishment; the corporate Democrats who are fighting to maintain the status quo, there’s the Republican establishment doing the same thing, but they all serve the same corporate donors. They’re all working toward the same overarching goal of profiting at all cost, no matter the harm to the people or the world at large. The only way we defeat them is by choosing politicians who reject that money and make decisions based on what’s good for the people.
When you hear corporate media pushing a narrative that Bernie Sanders is divisive, they’re not wrong, they’re just lying to you about who he’s dividing. He’s driving a wedge between the people and the entrenched power structures, not between Americans; that’s what the establishment is doing. A divided country is easy to control; one united in solidarity is not. Intersectionality is a topic for another post, but it’s rooted in the belief that no matter what your struggle with oppression, we’re all in this fight together. The Sanders campaign is intersectional; it’s bringing together people from every walk of life because we’re all fighting the same war. Make no mistake, we’ve been in a class war our entire lives, but the 1% has been winning. It’s time we changed that.
To showcase what I mean about the parties both serving the same corporate masters, take a look for yourself. Sure, in some cases an industry donates more to one party than the other, but they all donate to both parties, and often, in almost equal amounts. Always look at who's financing the opposition to policies that would benefit you.
Koch Industries
Pharmaceutical and health product industries
Fossil fuels
Health Insurance
NRA
Defense
Amazon
Google (Alphabet)
Apple
WalMart
Finance/Insurance
News Corp (Fox, WSJ, New York Post, Harper Collins)
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