Even after the Democratic Party’s internal presidential nomination election, Bernie Sanders and many of his supporters still set their vision on a change in the current socio-economic system, by encouraging its voters to stand for office 18 , and directly invigorate them to be part of politics, if they are unwilling to compromise status- quo. Regardless of one’s political stance, we should view this as a positive and constructive movement, as not only does it stimulate more active political participation, it also renders politically-driven anger and disillusionment into forces of incremental changes.
Clinton might have clinched the Presidential nomination after all, by winning 389 more pledged delegates votes from different states’ elections and having nearly 500 more super delegates votes. However, from what we have seen in the tight race, we could not simply dismiss Sanders’ popularity, who is a man who have received 13 million popular votes across the US, nor should we dismiss much of the credible substance in his policies, particularly when his progressive rhetoric and economic stance is aligned to the will of the many of people from the middle and lower classes. Obama came to power through posing a clear attitude of “Change”, yet it might be Bernie Sanders who translated his words into motivation for massive public movements that might continue to influence the White House and the American society in the near future.
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R OHAN M ISTRY
Should economists rule the world?
When people are asked what makes a good politician, it is a fair assumption that the key attributes a good politician should strive for is being caring, compassionate and socially aware. This means, for instance, when making an income tax system more progressive they are aware of the social implications on the rich who will feel the tax more than the poor. They may even adapt their policies in order to better fit the public verdict. When a policy is unpopular then sometimes politicians take back that policy. It could be argued that this kind of policy setting and destroying is how democracy functions; if the majority are unhappy with a political decision then it can be overturned. It is not a dictatorship as there is not an objectively perfect way in which the government should be run. Economists on the other hand come to conclusions using vigorous analytical and scientific methods, be it running models or collecting data. Economists aim to quantify variables into data which can be manipulated and studied. This is not to say that there is no science to politics; think tanks test ideas, studies are carried out and so on. But when it comes to running a country, there is room to argue that both sides make a convincing case for power. Nowadays, politicians and economists are not two distinct beings. In fact Politics, Philosophy and Economics (or PPE) is commonly considered a degree which can act as ‘a passport to power’, according to The Guardian, thus highlighting the growing importance of economics in modern day politics. Of course there have always
18 https://www.facebook.com/notes/bernie-sanders/the-political-revolution-continues/1073165189405151
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