What can we learn from Denmark? Bernie Sanders.

Many Democrats miss the point about Bernie Sanders' brand of democratic socialism

Though there is a long tradition of wolves wearing sheep's clothing in this country, what with even Leninists, anarchists, and socialists calling themselves "progressives" and "liberals," Chris Matthews makes an entirely accurate and valid point about the difference between Democrats, liberals, and progressives on the one side and actual socialists on the other.

The former favor a system that is fundamentally capitalist and market driven, overwhelmingly dominated by privately owned and controlled property up to and including the means of production, while the latter oppose exactly that.

Still, Matthews does ignore that while socialists favor public ownership of the means of production, to the right of that beginning with social democrats and extending all the way to but not including the most rigid and doctrinaire libertarians, everyone favors some measure not only of public control of the economy but public ownership of enterprises like schools, hospitals, and universities, though that need not exclude private ownership of enterprises of the same sort.

And in this way he may be exaggerating the difference between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, as well as between Bernie and other leading Democrats.

Much depends on whether we are talking about the Bernie of old or the current Bernie, the agenda of the pragmatic Bernie who practices the art of the possible or the maximum agenda in his heart of hearts.

As for Willies' equation of democratic socialism with a kind of LBJ/FDR outlook, he is either horrifically ignorant or simply a liar doing his best not to scare the horses with the truth.

Of course, Bernie got there before him, what with own his chronic fuzziness, over the years and to this day, about the real and large difference between socialism, democratic or not, and social democracy.

And about his own personal views and agenda.

Chuck Todd fails at attempt to ambush DNC Chair on Bernie Sanders Democratic Socialism

Todd was pretty clearly obfuscating the historic and large difference between a social democrat and an outright socialist, capitalizing on Bernie's own fudging of the difference in his personal positions, over the years, and in his self-descriptions.

Still, Bernie's own version of social democracy, which we might characterize as American progressivism with a mild dose of steroids, has considerable appeal.

What Can We Learn From Denmark?