Is Bernie a Marxist?

[SN2903]

It's a legitimate question.

[AGA]

Does he sympathize with Marxism? Probably. Is he an actual marxist? No.

[dax00]

Does he sympathize with Marxism? Probably. Is he an actual marxist? No.

[Diabolical Materialism]

He seems to have been influenced at some level by academic Marxism, because he recognizes the centrality of class issues and production ownership moreso than any other major American politician right now. Is his campaign Marxist? No, not really. But he does seem to be dogwhistling to us dirty reds and I love it.

[LAKISYLVANIA]

My political party is marxist. They're quite a bit to the left of both me and Bernie. But I do sympathize with Marxism.

[Ljube]

Marxist-Leninist-Maoist

[Tender Branson]

He’s a Social Democrat.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

Dems are Marxist party, I am proud to say I follow Karl Marx. But Hoover and the R party had contacts with KGB in the 60s

[Arizona Iced Tea]

He’s a Social Democrat.

He calls himself a democratic socialist though.

[Xing]

A better question is whether or not people who use Marxism/Socialism/Communism/etc. as a smear actually know what it means.

[Cassandra]

I hope so.

[Babeuf]

Sadly, no.

[PSOL]

He left the Marxist LUP for the social democratic, fusionist Progressive party, and is now running on the Democratic nomination. No, no he is not.

[OSR stands with Israel]

He isnt a Marxist by he absolutely sympathizes with Commie Dictators

[coloradocowboi]

A better question is whether or not people who use Marxism/Socialism/Communism/etc. as a smear actually know what it means.

Yeah, as if Marxist were like a club that you can join.

Bernie obviously has read and agrees with Marx. He probably agrees with most of the key tenets of Marxism: surplus value, base and superstructure, class struggle. To that extent he is a Marxist.

If you mean is he a Marxist-Leninist or what we commonly think of as a "communist," obviously not. He's arguably the most libertarian candidate (as opposed to authoritarian) running.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

He isnt a Marxist by he absolutely sympathizes with Commie Dictators

Trump and Putin and the KGB are all connected, Trump is associated with

[Stranger in a strange land]

Deep down in his heart of hearts, he probably is, but he pretty clearly isn't a Marxist-Leninist, and probably embraces a Libertarian, somewhat loose (rather than doctrinaire) reading of Marx.

[Yellowhammer]

This is almost like asking if Jeff Bezos is a capitalist.

[SN2903]

Does he sympathize with Marxism? Probably. Is he an actual marxist? No.

Same thing

[Libertas Vel Mors]

I'd say yes. I don't think his policy statements are outright Marxism *yet*, though I think it's pretty clear where they would lead and are more comparable to Venezuela than any place else. With that said though, his older statements, political record, and framing of the issues definitely does make me think he personally is a communist. Nationalizing the energy sector is just a short hop, jump, and a skip away from Wall Street or something.

[Statilius the Epicurean]

"Whatever I am, I am not a Marxist" - Bernie, probably.

[Pyro]

I hope so.

[Third Party]

He’s a Social Democrat.

Exactly. He is a garden variety Western European style social-democrat. In fact, his views on health care are mainstream even within most of Western Europe's centrist and center-right parties. However, in the United States, that makes you "a communist/Marxist/radical/extremist/Muslim/etc." And, as a result, the DNC will never allow him to win.

[KaiserDave]

Obviously not

He's a social democrat in the European sense

[Arizona Iced Tea]

Obviously not

He's a social democrat in the European sense

Sadly, he calls himself a Democratic Socialist like I have said earlier. His policies could be Social Democrat, but if so he doesn't know what he is talking about.