As you may have seen, Chris Matthews asked Debbie Wasserman Schultz a really good question. (He is the television personality, as you know; she is the congresswoman and head of the Democratic National Committee.) That question was, “What’s the difference between a Democrat and a socialist?” The question is especially relevant because Bernie Sanders is running for president — for the Democratic nomination.
Wasserman Schultz couldn’t answer the question, or wouldn’t answer it. To read an article about this matter, go here.
The whole thing made me smile somewhat, and it sparked a memory. There was a famous historian — Ernest May — teaching a class on the Cold War, or involving the Cold War. He outlined schools of thought on the origins of the Cold War. Something tells me there were four, but I only remember three.
You had the traditional American view. (In a nutshell, Stalin did it.) You had the Soviet view. And you had the “progressive” or “revisionist” view, represented by William Appleman Williams, Gar Alperovitz, et al.
A student — guess which one! — raised his hand and said, “I’m having trouble understanding the difference between the Soviet view and the revisionist view. Could you help me?”
Ernie May smiled the most wonderful smile. I think he found a polite way of saying, “They’re basically the same.” I don’t mean to put words in his mouth — he passed away several years ago — but I believe that’s what he did. (And the smile, again, was wonderful.)
P.S. Later in life, I was interested to see Patrick J. Buchanan, the great conservative, citing Williams, Alperovitz, et al. in his writings on foreign policy and history. Strange bedfellows, but not so strange, when you think about it.
P.P.S. I think the most charming thing Obama ever said pertained to the Sanders campaign: “Apparently people really want to see a pot-smoking socialist in the White House. We could get a third Obama term after all.”
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