Axar.az presents an article, "Vision and Hope” by John Samuel Tieman.

The author of “The Little Prince”, Antoine De Saint-Exupéry, said, “If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.” That's what the Democratic Party needs, a longing for “the endless immensity of the sea.” I would, as a practical matter, take issue with Saint-Exupéry on this detail. The Democratic Party needs to long for an immense vision, but one that, like the sea, has fixed ports and shores.

Donald Trump and his Project 2025 give people a vision, a vision of a society that is white, Christian, authoritarian, and nationalist, a society in which everyone not only thinks alike but looks alike. The MAGA vision is of a society freed from the complications of compromise, coalition building, inclusion, equality, and the norms of governance. Today, we are a nation overtaken by cruelty and the worst impulses of capitalism.

Democrats feel lost. Thus does the Democratic Party need a new vision. How about this one? It's not that this vision is new. It's more like some of these ideas are tried and some are untried here. Among the tried ideas, the republic for one, and democracy for another. I'd like to get back to a normal democratic republic. But what is untried is understanding Jefferson in a nation informed by Freud. What is untried is social democracy.

Let's start with psychology. We know and understand, even as some abandon them, the forms of the democratic republic. We know and understand that we don't want a king, a dictator, an oligarchy, or authoritarianism. What we don't understand is how the government is always a narcissistic wound. No one is omnipotent. No one gets everything they want. I often joke that if you come to City Hall with a list of ten things you want, and if you leave having gotten two, you've had one hell of a great day! That narcissistic wound is a loss. But it's a necessary loss. You can't get everything you want just by wanting it. That's the narcissistic wound. In a sense, you lose your selfishness, but you gain a community, a democratic republic. Think of the Rolling Stones lyric. “You can't always get what you want. But if you try sometimes, you just might find that you get what you need.”

Today, we still have the democratic republic, albeit scarred by Trump and his white Christian nationalists. We have made the boat, but upon what sea do we now sail?

A friend from Argentina asks about Bernie Sanders. He's curious why Americans are so taken by this “old-fashioned socialist”. I'm struck by “old-fashioned socialist”. But I get it. Senator Sanders' ideals have been around for well over a century. The socialist Eugene Debs ran for president of the U. S. in 1904, 1908, 1912, and 1920. The British elected their first Labour Member of Parliament, Keir Hardie, in 1892. It's true. The socialism of Sanders is old-fashioned. In 1883, Otto Von Bismark introduced legislation that founded Germany's national health insurance system.

In a poll a few years ago, 50% of Americans said they wouldn't vote for a socialist. Therein is the hope. Therein is the vision. I'm amazed that perhaps half would vote for a socialist.

Can we have a wing of the Democratic Party akin to the British Labour Party? Can we envision a future in which diversity, equity, and inclusion are not evil words? Can we envision a future in which national policy does not include cruelty as a stated goal? I speak of a vision in which social democracy mitigates against the worst impulses of greed while embracing the best facets of economic progress for all classes. Such reforms can embrace a universal social safety net that includes free universities, a clean environment, a higher standard of living for all, better schools, less poverty, greater equality, more diversity, more inclusion, gay rights, a higher voter turnout, strong unions, and, yes, universal health insurance.

I speak of a vision in which social democracy promotes responsible capitalism. Banks should be prohibited from predatory lending and the kinds of irresponsibility that led to the 2008 financial crisis. Energy companies should be prohibited from irresponsible pollution. Companies should be required to pay a living wage. But be clear. Social democracy is not anti-capitalist. It is anti-predator. Social democracy seeks to create an environment in which responsible capitalism can thrive. Such regulation of capitalism creates a stronger market.

People need a vision for the future. Pres. Trump and Project 2025 do have a vision, a vision of white Christian nationalism. But it's not a fixed vision. The rich want more riches. The white people want more white people. Christians want more Christians. As the theme song to “The Vikings” says, “More, give me more, give me more.” In another sense, MAGA doesn't have any vision. It simply wants more racism, more homophobia, more xenophobia, more religious bigotry, more greed. Social democracy is a clear vision because it binds itself to fixed ideological points. It says that we believe from here on the left to there on the right, this is no more and no less. It says we have ideals that fulfill the day-to-day needs of all. Of all. And for all. “With liberty and justice for all.”