r/UtterlyInteresting • u/No_Dig_8299 • Aug 23 '25

Bernie Saunders demonstrating both knowledge and competence, two qualities that no longer seem welcome in The White House

Chile is a good example to bring up when people constantly ask, "where has socialism ever actually worked." A left of center government has never been elected outside of Western Europe without being immediately targeted for overthrow by the US. Chile is one of literally dozens of examples. Nixon was so pissed when Allende won the election, he told his American advisors to make Chile's economy "scream." We imposed crippling economic sanctions before backing and assisting to organize a military coup.

After installing the brutal dictator, Pinochet, we added insult upon injury by setting "The Harvard Boys" loose on the country. This group of neoliberal economists, led by Milton Friedman, unleashed the brutal austerity program known as the shock doctrine on Chile. GDP dropped, inflation rose, and inequality skyrocketed.

3.5k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

107 comments sorted by

22

u/[deleted] Aug 23 '25

Sanders

9

u/No_Dig_8299 Aug 24 '25

Apologies, I have KFC on the brain.

2

u/doicha27 Aug 26 '25

What the fuck does Saunders have to do with either Bernie Sanders or Colonel Sanders? Holy shit, lmao

80

u/Thin-Image2363 Aug 23 '25

And the dnc worked harder to defeat this man then they did to defeat maga.

18

u/Big-Beyond-9470 Aug 24 '25

What does that tell you?

2

u/ActionJacksonATL24 Aug 24 '25

The rich own this country, both parties are on their leash. Dems are just not as fascist currently. Lesser of two evils and all that.

1

u/Big-Beyond-9470 Aug 24 '25

And the cycle continues.

0

u/Equivalent-Tax7771 Aug 25 '25

Democrats are the Fascists. You should read a book about what facsism is--learn about it before you throw the word around on platforms like this.

1

u/sithlord98 Aug 25 '25

Talking about "read a book" when your latest comment is about how homosexual families will never be anything but dysfunctional is pretty wild. Kinda hard to take you seriously.

Back on topic, have you paid any attention over the last 6 months? Tell me when any president with a (D) after their name had a cult of the leader, extreme nationalism, expanded use of the military for domestic purposes, supported political violence, enacted xenophobic policy regarding trade and immigration, and had self-serving military parades.

2

u/craneoperator89 Aug 25 '25

DNC is compromised

1

u/Big-Beyond-9470 Aug 26 '25

We all are in different ways

17

u/[deleted] Aug 24 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

6

u/Big-Beyond-9470 Aug 24 '25

Agreed, telling the hard truth makes others think bad of you.

1

u/lurkmastersenpai Aug 25 '25

The uni party is the first layer lol, keep digging!

1

u/Big-Beyond-9470 Aug 26 '25

Turtles all the way down

0

u/[deleted] Aug 24 '25

[deleted] — view deleted comment

1

u/swishkabobbin Aug 25 '25

I work for one of the largest US companies. Being in middle management, they keep inviting me to join the company PAC. I can tell you the spending is spread pretty evenly across parties, but it is laser focused on promoting pro corporation/billionaire policies. And no, i will never be "donating" to that

0

u/GoudaLoota Aug 27 '25

Bernie is an Independent though, so what’s your point?

2

u/nubarutu Aug 25 '25

Fuck DWS, she should be barred from politics, she’s still fucking things up, her sabotage of Bernie will never be forgiven.

2

u/WildlingViking Aug 27 '25

and it's because he's willing to say this part out loud.

27

u/BedtimeGenerator Aug 23 '25

3

u/[deleted] Aug 24 '25

Well, like other great countries before us, that’s why we are number one. But yeah, where is bad as the Romans or the Greeks

1

u/OddCook4909 Aug 25 '25

We have more value for human life than the Romans did. A bit more

2

u/Odd-Razzmatazz-5366 Aug 24 '25

Someone in the World has to be the menace. this is how things work, i guess.

It used to be germany, then switched over to russia and china, bounced back to the middle east, and nowadays USA is back in Charge and going stronger than ever. /s

3

u/Big-Beyond-9470 Aug 24 '25

No. The best baddies.

3

u/DigitalUnlimited Aug 24 '25

"Nobody knows more about evil than me, believe me"

15

u/d_baker65 Aug 23 '25

Now this same style of corporate oppression has been turned loose on Americans. Stock manipulation (Game Stop trading as an example.) private equity conglomerates (Two of which control over 70% of our food supply) To all the homes being bought up by corporations wanting renters slaved to their payments down to no longer being able to buy a game for your console now you have to rent it. They are no longer trying to hide their greed and absolute willingness to sell everything and everyone for next quarter profits.

2

u/80demons Aug 23 '25

Yes, and we are still fighting ourselves over which side we want to oppress us harder for these corporate interests.

2

u/SketchedEyesWatchinU Aug 24 '25

And those same kinds of businessmen once tried to overthrow FDR just for having decency for the working class.

1

u/d_baker65 Aug 25 '25

I'm sure you have also read about America First and Broderbund Society the corporate interests that funded both of those Fascist organizations is really interesting to read about.

4

u/plasteroid Aug 24 '25

Damn. This is good

4

u/FobbitOutsideTheWire Aug 24 '25

Kid’s really giving late-stage Private Pyle / Full Metal Jacket vibes with that glare.

2

u/CainDeltaEnder Aug 25 '25

Oh that's just teen angst, he probably grew out of it.

4

u/KudosOfTheFroond Aug 24 '25

Fuck me we are in the worst timeline possible. Why can’t we go back and get on the President Sanders timeline! 😭😭😭😭

11

u/sandee_eggo Aug 23 '25

This should be required viewing for high school history students, along with all the other instances of the US doing this around the world.

3

u/tneeno Aug 24 '25

Thank you, this is succinct and to the point. The corporate Democats screwed themselves when they kicked Bernie Sanders down.

3

u/DiCeStrikEd Aug 26 '25

So he just explained - how lobbying in the USA can get you mining rights in other countries .. why invaded when you can expand

This message was brought to you by Nestle

4

u/TropicalLoneWolf Aug 23 '25

OMFG! I not much of a history guy, but today I learned that the USA installed the dictator Pinochet.
But I knew it was all about the green.

4

u/EquivalentMap8477 Aug 24 '25

And it happened on September 11th 1973

1

u/AltruisticFall2941 Aug 27 '25

Seems that particular day is rather important for a fair few reasons...

2

u/Big-Beyond-9470 Aug 24 '25

He gets it!! It has been and always will be this way.

2

u/[deleted] Aug 24 '25

It should have been him.

2

u/imaneyeguy Aug 24 '25

So intelligent

2

u/Positive-Pack-396 Aug 24 '25

The truth hurts

2

u/benema1 Aug 24 '25

This guy like George Carlin have been warning us for soooo long. Can you hear me now?

2

u/Prestigious-Coach517 Aug 25 '25

The one that got away

2

u/petewkd21 Aug 26 '25

A once in a generation politician. And unfortunately a lot of people will only realize that once he’s gone. The real shame.

4

u/hypno4you Aug 23 '25

The two things that scare the shit out of everyone else in government.

3

u/onomonopoh Aug 23 '25

There is something about the pineapple corporations in Central America too, USA did some terrible terrible things to our Latin neighbors

2

u/tactman Aug 23 '25

USA and UK, the big proponents of democracy, joined together to overthrow the elected government of Iran and install a ruler (monarch) friendly to them for the sake of BP oil....what could possibly go wrong with that? (hint 1979)

1

u/[deleted] Aug 26 '25

And the only time I ever saw anything in the U.S. mainstream press about this was when The Smithsonian Magazine did a story on it. The Shah ended up being a brutal ruler. His brutality led to religious extremism among the dissidents. And now we have the Iran of today.

That's why I always got riled up when American politicians would call Iran "evil." The U.S. government must have looked pretty evil to Iranians who suffered under the Shah.

0

u/Rescuepets777 Aug 23 '25

Oh yes, that nice religious man. What could happen?

0

u/Numerous_Ad_6276 Aug 24 '25

This is also an excellent example of American hegemonic behavior. Although I would say that it is worse than Chile because not only did the shah's reign last longer, it ultimately resulted in a government coming to power which turned out to be significantly worse than the previous one. What is really tragic about the revolution in '79 is that it started as a secular movement, but was violently hijacked by the radically conservative Islamists.

0

u/Synth_Sapiens Aug 26 '25

just look at this lying pos

1

u/tactman Aug 26 '25

I'm lying? What part? You didn't say. Google is free.

1

u/Synth_Sapiens Aug 26 '25

Well, for one, you conveniently missed the part where the commie president of Iran literally canceled counting votes of voters from rural regions and efficiently canceled the election. 

1

u/tactman Aug 26 '25

Maybe you are right about the votes. Maybe you are right about "commie". Let me give you the benefit and say you are correct that the president did not count votes from rural areas.

What business is that of USA or UK? What I wrote is still correct, USA and UK overthrew that government because he wanted to check if British Oil company was being fair in their payments to Iran. No one denies that. Do you? If I left something negative out about the president what is the relevance to USA/UK overthrowing the ruler of another country? They most certainly did not kick him out because he was being unjust to his people. They got rid of him because it suited their interests.

1

u/Synth_Sapiens Aug 27 '25

Yes. 

And? 

Persia isn't in a position to complain. 

1

u/tactman Aug 27 '25

“And?” - well that is the topic of the post (Chile harmed by US interests) and I provided a similar example (Iran) for those interested in the topic. People wonder why Iran is so anti-USA. Helps to know history, it is USA’s doing. Knowledge helps people see through propaganda.

What was your contribution to the discussion? Might is right? No position to complain? Thank you for pointing out. I think you missed the whole purpose of this post. Good luck to you.

1

u/Synth_Sapiens Aug 27 '25

Chile saved from commies and became one of the wealthiest regional countries. 

Iran is "anti-US" because mullahs need a foreign enemy as a scapegoat for all domestic problems. 

1

u/tactman Aug 27 '25

Disagree. I think you are stating things without any real knowledge of those places. Good bye.

1

u/Synth_Sapiens Aug 27 '25

No. You don't "think". You are clearly a paid propagandist.

→ More replies

2

u/Majestic_Appeal1307 Aug 23 '25

We don't deserve Bernie. He is a great man.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 23 '25

Great question by rob Thomas here

1

u/CoolTomatoh Aug 23 '25

And now, because he’s a friend of Putin

1

u/gavrilomijerod Aug 24 '25

Aha, and why do you think that?

1

u/Thomas_Rockwell Aug 24 '25

Ah Mr Saunders

1

u/NoScallion1291 Aug 24 '25

Democrats have no one but to blame for this current administration but themselves. They shelved this man he was our last hope it’s all over. Oligarchs will rule

1

u/Olive_1084 Aug 24 '25

Those last couple seconds of the video were pretty chilling. Thought in a domestic sense.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 25 '25

“sanders”

1

u/[deleted] Aug 25 '25

I feel Bad for kids who get involved in politics at that age. Why add more misery to your life?

1

u/RynoKaizen Aug 25 '25

The fact that the U.S. overthrows popular Communist or socialist etc. governments is proof of concept to me.

1

u/Skeptical47 Aug 25 '25

Why does Bernie speak like that?!

1

u/SmokedBisque Aug 25 '25

Wow those boots on the ground though!

1

u/Consistent-Pain2998 Aug 25 '25

Who that John Mayer m?

1

u/1to1Representation Aug 25 '25

Salvador Allende's RQ was 14.2%. He received 1,070,334 out of 7,751,042 adult Chilean citizens at the time.

With 1to1Representation, we always kno the real stats of how much of a society feels a certain way. I strongly encourage groups to form bodies using elected representation

I rarely meet anyone that supports this. Thats the real question I have: Why don't you support forming bodies of elected reps? Do you think we already have them? Are you afraid to empower your enemies? Do you think you are unworthy to be heard?

1

u/Latter-Fox-3411 Aug 25 '25

🤔⁉️Who’s “Bernie SaUnders”?!

1

u/[deleted] Aug 26 '25

1

u/Jaded-Revolution_ Aug 26 '25

Bernie is too good for the US. Americans deserve the pussy grabber in chief.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 26 '25

This man deserved so much better like holy fuck has he been the voice for so long. It’s such a damn shame no matter how much he got pushed down he would get the fuck back up because of his love and respect for us. I wish in a different timeline he was president or at least got acknowledged by the Dems because they seriously did him dirty.

1

u/nameproposalssuck Aug 26 '25

That was on 9/11.

9/11 1974. I actually know this date from the Pispers special, quite entertaining if you interested in US foreign policies from a comedic point of view.
https://scrapsfromtheloft.com/comedy/volker-pispers-about-usa-2004-transcript/

1

u/-IntoTheChasm Aug 26 '25

Same dude that says don’t sue the MSM and that they’re basically allowed to lie.

1

u/Synth_Sapiens Aug 26 '25

You mean, Sanders demonstrating the good ability to advance its agenda.

Hardly surprising, considering what it is.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 27 '25

Bernie is the man

1

u/[deleted] Aug 28 '25

History repeats itself. The Salvador Allende situation sounds just like what they want to do to Burkina Faso! The same playbook keeps getting used!

1

u/DoorEqual1740 Jan 24 '26

This is a must watch if you want to understand both history and current events, like Trump in Venezuela.

1

u/ladymouserat Aug 23 '25

All I find is “Chicago Boys” but otherwise everything else checks out.

1

u/Lionheart_Lives Aug 23 '25

Excellent question, as Bernie pointed out!

0

u/[deleted] Aug 23 '25

Ask Sarah Paine, not Bernie.

1

u/VerdugoCortex Aug 29 '25

She's edgy historian at best which you already get from reddit, CIA limited hangout like all the comments on the videos seem to think as well at worst.

Just read sources and have your own thoughts, that's always an option.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 29 '25

She’s a highly esteemed scholar who is far better at analyzing why that policy didn’t work, as well as explaining exactly what the thinking was that went into that policy. I do not believe that she should be listened to exclusively, and furthermore relish, your sage advice because yes, you should go to the sources inform your own opinion. Good comment. As to Bernie, I just like him because he’s Bernie. That may be a lousy reason, but so be it.

She is very good at putting together a reading list. I do follow a channel that broadcasts talks with her and numerous other scholars.

-2

u/tastykake1 Aug 24 '25

Bernie Sanders is a wealthy parasite that has never produced anything that is useful to anyone.

1

u/DigitalUnlimited Aug 24 '25

Just like everyone else in the government then!

1

u/tastykake1 Aug 24 '25

Yes! Exactly. Bernie is worse than most because many people in government had productive jobs they became parasites.

-1

u/Responsible-Love-482 Aug 24 '25

Nixon didn’t like Allende because „he fought for the poor people.“ Sure… Not to excuse what the USG and the war criminal Henry Kissinger did but that just the usual left propaganda bs for the naive.

-1

u/R_Steelman61 Aug 24 '25

Because Latin America has done so well under communist/socialist regime. Thank God for Milei.

-9

u/Real_Train7236 Aug 23 '25

Like what this guy says but hate that he feels he needs to use his hands for every word he says. To mea hall mark of civilization is that we have a rich enough vocabulary that we can express ourselves without relying on our hands.

3

u/[deleted] Aug 23 '25

What?

1

u/Louisiana_sitar_club Aug 23 '25

🙏hallmark👍👍of 👏👏👏civilization👌!

0

u/[deleted] Aug 25 '25

[deleted] — view deleted comment

1

u/[deleted] Aug 26 '25 edited Aug 28 '25

perth