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My Take | America is a global empire run on a bipartisan ‘warfare state’
- US Senator Bernie Sanders has called for a “revolution” in American foreign policy to be based on humanitarianism, not militarism; it’s an admirable pipe dream
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Bernie Sanders is an admirable idealist. The Democratic senator in fact represents some of what is best about America – or at least the idea of it – and its enduring attraction to many people around the world for more than two centuries. It is also why the former presidential candidate will never be in power.
In a new essay in Foreign Affairs, he calls for “a revolution in American foreign policy” to replace “greed, militarism, and hypocrisy with solidarity, diplomacy, and human rights”.
It’s an endearing call to arms. It’s also why it will never happen.
A few key figures about the state of America would suffice to prove my point. As it happens, I have also been reading “The Warfare State: How Funding for Militarism Compromises Our Welfare”, by the Washington-based Institute for Policy Studies. The numbers provided show at a glance why Sanders’ vision, however laudable, is unrealistic.
But first, what is his grand vision?
“A sad fact about the politics of Washington is that some of the most important issues facing the United States and the world are rarely debated in a serious manner,” he wrote.
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