It’s OK to Be Angry About Capitalism

U.S. senator Sanders (Where We Go from Here) delivers a feisty if familiar takedown of “the uber-capitalist system in which we live.” Rehashing the talking points of his 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns in blunt terms, Sanders castigates “oligarchs” who tip the scales of democracy in their favor through campaign contributions and media ownership; attributes Donald Trump’s political rise to “the pain, desperation, and political alienation that millions of working-class Americans now experience”; and accuses the Democratic establishment of being beholden to Hollywood celebrities and Wall Street financiers. He also blames senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema (“both of them heavily financed by corporate interests”) for killing the momentum behind President Biden’s Build Back Better bill and proposes various strategies for “taxing the billionaire class down to size.” Elsewhere, Sanders highlights deficiencies in the healthcare systems and outlines his Medicare for All proposal, recounts how Reagan-era deregulation led to the decline of America’s working class, and calls for federal funding to desegregate public schools and a ban on for-profit charter schools. Throughout, Sanders’s arguments are forceful, specific, and urgent, though he seems more interested in preaching to the choir than changing minds. Still, Sanders voters will appreciate his commitment to keeping up the fight. (Feb.)