I just finished reading Why Bernie Sanders Matters by Harry Jaffe. I had requested an Advance Reading Copy (ARC) from Netgalley because it sounded interesting so I thought I would give it a try. I’m glad I did. I understand it is out today so the ARC gave me a few days head start.
If you have been following the presidential primaries, you know there are 3 candidates left in the democratic field. Bernie Sanders is one. It is seems like Hillary Clinton will be the nominee, but Bernie Sanders is presenting a serious challenge.
So, who is Bernie Sanders and why does he matter?
If I was picking a title I would have thought about including both questions in the title. After all, the book does discuss both. But maybe the author felt the second was more important. He was probably correct.
Anyway it seems that Bernie Sanders does not much talk about his early life. He is more interested in telling us about his beliefs.
So this book combines a very readable account of his early life and experiences and tells us how they shape his beliefs. It tells us about his early unsuccessful years.
Actually just unsuccessful in the sense that he lost elections badly. But he had a public platform to share his ideas about income inequality, social justice, and disparities in wealth and power.
Then he ran for mayor and won and had to learn how to govern. Terms in the House of Representatives and Senate followed. And now a try for President.
What Bernie Sanders believe ?
For all of his adult life Bernie has been a socialist. But it is important to note that this is not the classical socialism that Americans hate where the government owns the means of production. To clarify what he means by socialism, he often used the term “democratic socialism”.
He has a strong sense of social justice. He favors a living wage, national health insurance, reforming our political system, expanding Social Security, and much more. After all, this is a book review. I could not do justice to his candidacy in this small space. If you want to read a bit more see http://berniesanders.com
Why Bernie Sanders matters
He is the Democratic alternative to Hillary Clinton.
His ideas are worth looking at. He has consistently presented these ideas over many decades. Even when unpopular. This is a refreshing change from politicians who seem to tailor their positions to the latest poll. And then if a new poll comes along, the position must be modified.
The book discusses Bernie Sanders’ positions on both those things that he has consistently advocated, new issues that have arisen lately (for example, ISIS), and both his strengths and weaknesses.
Amazon puts the paperback at 240 pages. I read it on my Kindle and it did not seem that long. So it reads well and faster than I would expect for a book of that length.
Yes, Bernie Sanders matters and so does this book.