More on Folk Marxism

Sheldon Drobny, a co-founder of Air America recently posted on Huffington. He says some things that are fairly common to liberals.

However, most Democrats stand for positions that are best for 80-90% of Americans. The problem is that corporate propaganda is disseminated through filters and spin that demonize Democrats, liberals and progressives. Clearly the business class does not want to have Democrats in control unless the economic situation is so negative that they have no choice.

Wow! Position favorable for nearly everyone. But what are they? He doesn't say but we can infer from this:

The problem that the Democrats always have when they are the minority party is that they have no powerful constituency. The Democrats have always been the party that represents working America which now includes the middle class. That constituency is virtually powerless especially since the decline of organized labor. The Republican Party is the party of "big business" and their constituency are the rich and powerful in this country.

Oh - they represent working Americans including the middle class. They have policies that would be best for 90% of Americans and their constituency comprises the majority of the population but they have no powerful constituency. What's going on here?

Drobny is looking at the world through the prism of folk marxism. He sees labor and business as being advesaries - workers can only advance by tearing down business.

Two problems here. First - the biggest expense for most businesses is its payroll. Anything that hurts employers is going to hurt employment, meaning working Americans. Drobny fails to understand this because folk marxism sees business as a bottomless pool of money.

The second problem - a large percentage of Americans have a stake in big business, either because they own stocks themselves or because their retirement funds depend on the stock market.

So much for the Democrats' constituency. They want to hurt the people they claim to represent and they don't see it because of folk marxism.

Doubtless Drobny is also thinking of universal health coverage but the lesson of Canada is that this will lead to decreased care and long waits.

Many Democrats think that all they have to do is properly package their policies. Not Drobny. He is reduced to hoping for disaster.

America is definitely heading toward economic and political collapse as a result of the decisions made by Republican Administrations over the last 25 years. The collapse of the American Empire will be the necessary step that will once again bring people back to the sanity necessary to change the political and economic crisis we are facing today. It will take no less than a "Depression" type calamity like it did in the 1930s to bring America and its leaders back to their senses. And this time I believe it will be the "last hurrah" for Republicans and the wealthy elite they represent.

He gives no reasons why we are heading for economic or political collapse. Probably he thinks it is self-evident. Marx predicted revolution in the 19th century so folk marxism predicts collapse in the 21st.

While Republicans need to get their act together, the Democrats aren't doing any better.