Is Democratic Socialism The Right Path For America?
Integration Paper
Instructions
The purpose of this assignment is to strengthen your political knowledge base, which will give you a better understanding of the terms and concepts presented in the lecture outlines and textbook. It will also assist in preparing you for the exams and in-class writing assignments. Please read carefully and closely follow the format below:
I. Summary
Under this heading, write 2-3 paragraphs summarizing the news programs you watched for this assignment. The paragraphs should be a detailed synopsis (meaning concise but not vague) of a 2-3 week period of political news. In your summary, include the name of the news programs you watched and the dates you viewed them. Does not have to be 2-3 weeks period of news, it can be as much as you can.
II. Integration
Under this heading, write roughly 4-6 paragraphs connecting the terms in the textbook and lecture outlines to the political news included in your summary. As an example:
The confidential Justice Department document about the president’s use of drones, which was recently leaked to the press, relates to numerous concepts outlined in the textbook. First, there are questions of executive authority. Article I of the Constitution states that the power to declare war belongs to Congress (A-4). While the Justice Department document does not authorize the president to declare war, it gives him unchecked power to take lethal measures. One of the reasons for the Bill of Rights is to limit the power of government. In fact, preventing government from amassing too much power was on the forefront of the framers’ minds as they drafted the new constitution (47-50). Still, presidents have historically circumvented checks on the executive branch with devices such as executive orders and signing statements (53).
All information should come from either the textbook or the class lecture outlines. Do not utilize outside books or online sources to complete this assignment. Therefore, in terms of citation, including the page number(s) where you found the information in the text is sufficient. If you reference a lecture outline, cite the title of the lecture outline that you used.
III. Commentary
Under this heading, write 1-2 paragraphs expressing your personal views about the political topics you included in the summary.
You are required to write two papers. Follow this format twice, with each paper depicting different news and chapters from the text. Each paper is to be typed, single-spaced, and stapled together with news notes attached. I will not accept loose/unsecured papers. This assignment is worth 25 points.
Integration Paper
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Institutional Affiliation:
Date
Is Democratic Socialism The Right Path For America?
Summary
Recently, CNN updated on 2111 GMT (0511 HKT) October 28, 2015, a live broadcast on political news on whether democratic socialism was the right path for the Americans to follow. Sen, Bernie Sanders who is known to many of the Americans on his program known as "Democratic Socialism" touched base on just what the term meant and why Americans have traditionally reacted to the socialist label poorly. CNN Opinion in lieu with this took the opportunity to invite political scientists, economists as well as other experts to determine the weight of this matter. Peter Drier one of the political analysists was asked to give the views an understanding of democratic socialism the American way. The analyst provides a brief history of how the socialists in 1900 led different movements in relations to child labor laws, women suffrage, progressive income tax and the protection of consumer laws. According to him, most American in this modern age including the conservative believes that the element of Social Security is essential in any government.
In line with this, the socialists have therefore been in the forefront since 1909 through the Voting Rights Act of 1965 trying to push for the universal health insurance plan, a factor that was achieved in the tenure of President Obama who begun the Obamacare. Peter alleged that Sanders views that America needed a grassroots political revolution was misleading since she was actually a reformer and not a revolutionary. He therefore seeks social democracy to make capitalism more humane in America. On the other hand, the other political analysts also alleged to the fact that the people who accommodate different political persuasions view themselves as socialists. The political theorists in the 19th century used this word to denote a system that only allowed communal property. According to the analysts, the term was later appropriated to mean a system that would allow no private property, a factor that lead to inequality, evil and injustices. It is under this era that Marx and Engle’s used the term socialism and communism interchangeably, leaving the people blank on how they would transform capitalism and arrive at socialism.
Integration
Sanders ideology on not trading the future and how democratic socialism would change the capitalist economy in America received mixed reactions during the debate. It is essential to note that in as much as it may be perceived that even if a revolution occurred and the socialist party took over the powers of the state, the current constitution of the United States of America would still lack the compatibility with the element of democratic socialism, Bernie Sanders views may still find support in the campaigns.
Sen. Bernie Sanders claims on running as a Democratic and a self-supported and styled democratic socialist therefore needs a lot to be desired as can be weighed in the lenses of the concepts outlined in the textbook. Considering the fact that Sen. Sanders belongs to the Republican Party, the American political views are candidate Centred, a factor that clearly means that the candidate is independent in his own campaign ideologies and themes. This therefore gives the senator that authority of rejecting the party’s traditional ideologies.
Additionally, considering the fact that the Republicans and the Democratic parties have organized themselves as coalitions pursuing to woe more voters with the aim of prevailing in the winner-take-all, single-member-district elections, pressures have always mounted on the two parties on toning down on matters of ideology. The parties including the state legislatures determine the best strategy to win the elections within the states, with the leader’s obligations standing on uniting and mobilizing the party’s base. It is therefore essential to ascertain that muting the ideologies of other leaders such as those of Sanders in a bid to win the elections may alienate the party’s partisans thus decreasing their turnout. This therefore forms base for the ideologies of Sen. Sanders.
Commentary
In my view, there are no fixed visions on the concepts of socialism that the proponents of different ideologies may agree to. Despite Bernie Sanders chosen label as a democratic socialist, he would want to see that every individual; in America has access to housing, education, healthcare, transportation and meaningful employment. He would also want considered the elements of gender equality and tolerance of differences within America. Sander advocates for three p...