(Reviewed by JD Jung)
“Trump is a tumor, not the cancer. He can do deadly harm if we don’t stop him, but we also have to treat the deeper sickness.”
So how did we get to this point? How was Trump able to connect with “ enraged male impotence”? This is what socialist Danny Katch attempts to explain in his recent book, Why Bad Governments Happen to Good People.
The Electoral College is a big problem, but there’s more to it. Citizens are sick of the choices in the two- party system. The Democratic machine, the elitists and “starfuckers” run the party instead of the voters.
Democrats didn’t come out to vote. Democrats promote compromise and realism, but it demoralizes the voters. The popularity of Bernie Sanders revealed this.
If Democrats cared so much about voter suppression, why didn’t they do more to stop it? What does the Democratic party really stand for stand for?
I believe in preserving social security and instituting universal health care, though I don’t share most of his socialist views. Though Marxism 101 in the current Trump era is woven into this book, I don’t think he provides a convincing argument for socialism. What he does accomplish is to expose the problems and offer some solutions.
It’s not just generalizations. He get into the nitty-gritty, and analyzes notable events and people.
He believes that we need to define a solid agenda for the new left and have an “open battle of ideas”. To defeat Trump we need to have concrete plans and not abstract ones like “love everybody”.
I recommend Why Bad Governments Happen to Good People to Americans who feel helpless, are concerned about the future of our country and want to do something about it.
