Левичарскиот академик Корнел Вест објави претседателска кандидатура

Горна линија

Cornel West, a left-wing activist and philosophy professor who has published a range of work on class and race, објави Monday he would run for president as a candidate for the People’s Party, billing himself as a populist alternative to the two-party system—which he has challenged throughout his career.

Клучни факти

West said he would prioritize fighting to end poverty by providing a “living wage” for all, health care for all and guaranteed housing.

He also mentioned fighting mass incarceration and climate change as part of his platform.

Included in his announcement video was a clip from a 2022 interview with comedian Bill Maher during which he bemoaned the fact Americans had to choose between “neofascists” like former President Donald Trump and “milquetoast neoliberals” like President Joe Biden.

He also accused Republicans and Democrats of not wanting to tell what he called the “truth” about the Ukraine war and the Pentagon, as well as Wall Street and Big Tech.

Главна позадина

West, 70, has been an outspoken proponent of the left, writing books and teaching at universities like Harvard and Yale to champion socialist ideas. He described himself as a non-Marxist socialist in his 2000 book Cornel West Reader, and aims to marry Christianity with socialism in his work. During the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, West was a vocal supporter of Democratic socialist candidate Bernie Sanders. West has critiqued mainstream politicians on both sides of the political spectrum for being elite and out-of-touch with working class struggles, which he said contributed to Trump’s presidency in 2016. He has been a critic of Barack Obama, who he believes was far too involved in international wars, and called Biden a “neoliberal disaster” who prioritizes identity politics over working class issues. Most recently, he has discussed a need for pushing progressive politics beyond domestic issues, like healthcare and wages, and into international issues, like war.

Што да внимавате

Third-party campaigns typically receive very little support in general elections but candidates who receive only a few percentage points have been blamed for swinging the results of elections in the past. Green Party candidates Jill Stein and Ralph Nader faced backlash from Democrats in 2016 and 2000, respectively, who blamed their left-wing campaigns for pulling enough votes from Democratic nominees to swing electoral votes to Republicans. Independent Ross Perot faced similar backlash from Republicans in 1992, who blamed him for keeping then-President George H.W. Bush from being reelected.

Што не знаеме

It’s not clear how much support West might have in a general election, as his name has not appeared in any major polls so far.

Дополнителни информации

Cornel West on Bernie, Trump, and Racism (The Intercept)

Cornel West: There Is No Progressive Politics Without Internationalism (The Jacobin)

Goodbye, American neoliberalism. A new era is here (The Guardian)