they just have a measure of economic safety for their citizens
That’s an enormous “just.” “Just” giving people healthcare instead of letting them go bankrupt when they have appendicitis is a huge material improvement, and by itself makes those countries significantly further left than we are. Then look at labor protections, unionization, criminal justice, how far left you can be and have any shot at political power, etc. They’re not leftist, but they’re substantially further left than we are.
Baby leftists in the US are barely calling for m4a and welfare
They commonly talk about the Green New Deal, free college, ending mass incarceration, making it easier to unionize, etc., and Bernie even talked about getting worker representation on corporate boards.
a less heavy boot on your back doesn’t mean anything if there isn’t an org taking advantage of it. If we had one concrete movement/party which was pushing for demands like m4a and worker protections and was able to force concessions from the government
This is exactly the DSA’s strategy, and they’re not far from realizing at least part of it.
I’m similarly skeptical of its enforcement mechanisms, but I would describe it as cautious optimism and I would say they deserve the benefit of the doubt. There was that Chicago City Council vote a month or two ago, for instance, where they immediately started disciplinary procedures when a representative broke ranks on a vote.
