Winners and Losers of this 4T

[Eric the Green]

(09-04-2020, 08:38 AM)sbarrera Wrote: With the race to the White House coming down to a contest between the Mafia state run by the Trump organization, and the remnants of neoliberalism as embodied by O'Biden, I would say the Progressive dream has come to an end. The blue wave will at best be a bluish-purple wave if it successfully washes the GOP out of power. However, certain Progressive agenda items have successfully taken root and won't be going away even if the GOP maintains control of the government. Either way, the pandemic continues to have its effect on society and the economy, which will be more consolidation of the digital economy and a more precarious life for those outside of it.

Here is my list of winners and losers.

Winner: Big Business, Loser: Small Business
Winner: Capital, Loser: Labor
Winner: Digital workers, Loser: Essential workers
Winner: Gays, Loser: Transgenders
Winner: Marijuana users, Loser: Opioid users
Winner: AR-15 collectors, Loser: Gun control advocates
Winner: Whites, Loser: non-Whites
and because I can't resist...
Winner: Coronavirus, Loser: Humanity

Steve, I agree that we can't underestimate the capacity of the USA people to waffle and dawdle and go blind as the planet and civilization burns. Unfortunately, it's too early to say for sure who the winners and losers will be. Biden seems to be losing his grip on Florida, which will put the election outcome more in doubt. I still can't predict the election. Even if Trump wins, we still won't know how the 4T turns out, but the odds will be against any progressive winners in that case. Maybe marijuana users, although Trump's former Attorney General tried to wipe them out too. If Trump wins, he will consolidate authoritarian power, unless there is such strong resistance that the midterms do happen as planned, and Trump/Pence is reduced to a figurehead by them by 2023 and the somewhat-progressive Democrats take over from there.

First of all, though, Democrats are not neo-liberals. That is the Republican program, completely. The worst you can say about Democrats in that regard is that they were humbled by Republican neo-liberal (aka Reaganomics, free-market fundamentalist) power, and compromised with it too much (e.g. repeal of Glass-Steagall). But they didn't go all the way. Wages were raised and many regulations were still in place. By the way, calling Democrats "neo-liberals" is as inaccurate as calling any Republican a "populist."

What Biden will do about progressive dreams is still unknown. He may waffle and buckle-under, or he may take a lot of advice from Sanders and Warren. It does not depend so much on Biden, as on the people and what the political winds are. Politicians are blown by them. So, it depends on the people. Demographically, the people are further left now than they were during the height of neo-liberalism in the 1980s through the 2000s. So I would not say the dream is dead, even if it only makes moderate strides forward. In the conservative USA, that's all we can usually expect. But we the USA aren't as conservative a country as we were a few decades ago.