Jeremy Corbyn: a name that a great deal of you reading probably have never heard before. Jeremy Corbyn just won the leadership election for the British Labour Party, as a hard-line socialist. For the first time since 1997, the left wing took control of the party in light of the failed Blairite principals of past. With the defeat of the center-right of Labour, the left-of-center finally stands tall once more in their party. These principals are coming close to what we see in America, and that is, a return of the left to the Democratic party.
Meet Bernie Sanders, someone we've all probably seen or heard of at this point. The left-wing democratic socialist Senator from Vermont is gaining steam against the established Democratic Party. Just like in the UK, the Democratic party moved to the center in the 1990s, far away from the left-orientation it had during the '70s. The establishment grew close to the center, and used such to gain electoral victories short of the main one until 2008. If we had a Westminster system, Bush wouldn't have survived to 2004; he would've been forced to resign and John Kerry would've become President.
With that in mind, it's easy to see the parallels being formed between the Corbynite Labour members and the Sanders Democratic members. Both of these camps are loud and fed up with establishment politics, as well as willing to work hard for an electoral victory. Corbyn came out with 59.9% of the vote (BBC report) while the other three candidates failed to get more than 20% of the vote. This massive slide, even paired with the mass expulsions from the Labour Party, tells a story that the left has risen again in Britain. This left, however, is built from college students like ourselves. Which movement over here is like that? I'd hazard a guess at Bernie Sanders's proposed political revolution.
The purpose of this is to show that the parallels are shifting favorably to the left. It seems that the people have grown tired of the establishment, and want to see people who talk straight. This can be seen by politicians and candidates like Nigel Farage (UK Independence Party) and Donald Trump (Republican Party). Nigel Farage is as racist as Trump appears to be, but their crass natures and unapologetic attitudes lead them to electoral popularity and national media attention. Without the media, Nigel Farage would be a discount Nick Griffin with libertarian views. Without the media, Donald Trump is just another loudmouth CEO with a bone to pick with the working class.
The truth is that we can learn from this upheaval in the UK, and take that to our own politics. People are fed up with the establishment. The dark horse candidate coming out of the ashes of nothingness, only to seemingly clinch victory from the clutches of the centerist politician. It seems that a political revolution is only inevitable at this juncture. That being said, one question remains:
Will it be Sanders, or Trump?
