Sarah Lazare: Thanks to Sanders, Democratic Party Just Debated Capitalism

Sarah Lazare writes that Thanks to Sanders, Democratic Party Just Debated Capitalism.

Breaking the usual parameters of election season discourse, Democratic presidential hopefuls Tuesday night debated the merits of capitalism on the national stage—a development that many attribute to the candidacy of self-described socialist U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and rising inequality and discontent.

When CNN‘s Anderson Cooper asked Sanders whether he considers himself a capitalist, the Vermont Senator replied: “Do I consider myself part of the casino capitalist process by which so few have so much and so many have so little, by which Wall Street’s greed and recklessness wrecked this economy? No, I don’t.”

“I believe in a society where all people do well,” he continued, “not just a handful of billionaires.”

Cooper then asked the panel: “Is there anybody else on the stage who is not a capitalist?”

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton responded with a vague defense of the capitalist system.

Emphasis Mine

The Capitalists have been weakened by years of not having to defend Capitalism. The Capitalist apologists were more robust back in the 1960's.