A subtext to the “Vatican” trip by Bernie is that the conference he is going to give a 10 minute talk (yes, just 10 minutes for all of that Vatican distancing) also prominently features Jeffrey Sachs. In fact, Sachs, the head of Columbia University’s Earth Institute has acknowledged that he played a key role in getting the Pontifical academy to reach out to Sanders for this meeting. The way this Pontifical academy visit is playing out for Sanders is less than optimal, given that an understandably enthusiastic Bernie was apparently not informed by his campaign that it was not the Pope inviting him but the semiautonomous Pontifical Academy. Speculations abound about infighting between Weaver and Devine on this fiasco:
But I want to do a very quick reminder to the young people following Bernie about just who Jeffrey Sachs is. Remember how Naomi Klein is supporting Bernie?
www.dailykos.com/…
Remember how Naomi Klein was catapulted, justifiably, to fame for writing the brilliant book, The Shock Doctrine? If you search in that book for Jeffrey Sachs, you will find this:
Why?
Because Jeffrey Sachs was perhaps
the most prominent “Shock Doctor” in his days as a Harvard professor.
Yep! I know you love to harsh on neoliberal economics, but Bernie’s BEFF (Best Economic Friend Forever) was one of the foremost practitioners of the Shock Doctrine. Whenever there was an economic crisis abroad, the evening news breathlessly reported the arrival of Jeffrey Sachs on the scene, this one for example, from 1998 in The Nation (which has endorsed Bernie, you know?). Sachs has reinvented himself as a friend of the earth and lover of the downtrodden, eager to slam Hillary for starting wars (which she could not do without secretly being commander in chief)
So, dear Bernie fans — your candidate has adopted the Uberest of Shock Doctors to advise him, and that partnership has helped lead to the PR disaster of the “Vatican” meeting, and also must I think for the sake of consistency call you to ask Bernie to distance himself from this neoliberal, no?
UPDATE: Modified title to reflect intention that Sachs helped invite Bernie, not organize the meeting per Integritty suggestion.
Also — another comment suggests there is a problem calling Sachs an informal adviser. It is actually pretty formal, as this CNN post makes clear
Tuesday, Apr 12, 2016 · 4:09:08 PM +00:00 · dlcox1958
Some commenters seem to think Jeffrey Sachs has renounced his shock therapy past. This is not so. From no less an expert than Naomi Klein there is this:
You mention the shift from shock therapy to shock-and-awe, but there are also attempts to soften the image of neoliberalism. Jeffrey Sachs, the economist who pioneered shock therapy, wrote his latest book on The End of Poverty. Is there any more to this than a rebranding exercise?
A lot of people are under the impression that Jeffrey Sachs has renounced his past as a shock therapist and is doing penance now. But if you read The End of Poverty more closely he continues to defend these policies, but simply says there should be a greater cushion for the people at the bottom.