Black Desert Mobile Runs Pre-Registration Event For New Dark Knight Class

Black Desert Mobile Runs Pre-Registration Event For New Dark Knight Class

Pearl Abyss today announced that Black Desert Mobile is running a pre-registration event for its upcoming Dark Knight class. Adventurers can now take an early look at Dark Knight, the seventh class and one of the most highly-anticipated classes to arrive in Black Desert Mobile.

Adventurers who log in and pre-register for the new Dark Knight class by March 24 will receive a Red Rose Chest and a Gold Rose Chest which can be opened on March 24. These items will give Adventurers exclusive rewards including Mystical grade items.

Black Desert Mobile's massive PvP feature, Siege War, has been updated. Siege War now has two time slots—7pm to 9pm and 9pm to 11pm—on each server. Adventurers who weren't able to participate in Siege Wars due to limited time slots now have more options to join the battlefield!

Moreover, camp structures can now be upgraded to a maximum level of 7. This gives Adventurers the ability to produce even more goods and operate at greater efficiency. In addition, the maximum amount of Boss Knowledge you can obtain has been increased, letting adventurers earn more special rewards.

• Find more information about Black Desert Mobile on the official website at www.world.blackdesertm.com.

About Black Desert

Black Desert is Pearl Abyss' open-world action MMORPG with cutting-edge visuals and skill-based combat that redefines the genre. With the most developed character customization system of any game currently on the market, users can break out of the norm and make unique characters that truly represent themselves. Its intuitive controls, beautifully designed world, and extensive lore will excite both newcomers and veterans of MMO games and action RPGs.

About Pearl Abyss

Best known for the MMORPG franchise Black Desert, Pearl Abyss is a leading developer in the game industry. Established in 2010, Pearl Abyss has since developed Black Desert for PC, mobile, and console, and is developing Shadow Arena for PC and console. 

All of Pearl Abyss' games are built on the company's own proprietary engine and are renowned for their cutting-edge graphics. 

The company is also developing Crimson Desert, DokeV, and PLAN 8 and is poised to continue its growth through 2020 and maintain its position as one of Asia's leaders in game development.

SOURCE: Pearl Abyss

Aza Comics Superheroes, The Keepers, Help Relieve Cabin Fever

Aza Comics

Aza Comics, known for its roster of multicultural female superheroes, is aiming to do all that it can to help save everyone from the Coronavirus blues. 

The company has assembled an assortment of online games, puzzles, superhero quizzes, music playlists, dance challenges, Women's History Month trivia and more to help entertain everyone as more and more people are finding it necessary to stay home due to the coronavirus. 

 "Schools are closing down, people are working from home, events are being cancelled...including our own events that we just announced. This thing is affecting all of us," says CEO and creator of Aza Comics, Jazmin Truesdale. "It's only a matter of time before we're all getting cabin fever sitting at home waiting this thing out."

Aza Comics is even hosting an online cosplay contest that adults and kids can participate in for prizes. People can dress up as Aza Characters or any other superhero that they wish, post images via social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) and tag Aza Comics. Participants with the best and most creative costumes can win gifts and cash prizes. 

 "It's like a virtual comic con that the world can participate in," says Truesdale. "I'm pretty excited to see what kinds of things people come up with. I mean, if we're all going to be stuck at home, we might as well make the most of it."

Aza Comics will also include tips for helping to fight the coronavirus as recommended by the CDC so that everyone can do their part and keep themselves and others safe. 

Aza Comics 

Games and entertainment will go live at 12am March 17th, 2020 via this link: azacomics.shop/blogs/news/aza-comics-home-fight-coronavirus

Aza Comics is a superhero brand based in Durham, North Carolina founded by serial entrepreneur and author Jazmin Truesdale. 

The company is known for its multicultural female superheroes and philanthropic initiatives that have been featured in Vogue, TIME, USA Today, and various other national and international publications.

SOURCE: Aza Comics

Wizard Startup "The Cauldron" Goes Into Investment Stealth Mode

"The Cauldron" - London (image via thecauldron.io)

The startup technology company whose mission it is to "bring fantasy to life with science, technology, and design" has entered into Investment Stealth Mode for its community of fantasy fans.

The company, which became known around the world for its immersive Potions Experience that blends IoT magic wands with molecular cocktails, has welcomed over 300,000 guests in London, New York City, Edinburgh, and Dublin.

"The Cauldron" - New York City (image via thecauldron.io)

Details of the investment round have not yet been released, but the company is aiming to turn its customers into owners, and offer exclusive rewards and benefits alongside shareholder status. The Cauldron has simply put up a registration page for interested parties to be included in its Private Investment Mode. (Date TBA.)

The Cauldron has also recently announced its newest concept in London -- Superheroes Bar, a superheroes pop-up experience that brings customers into the world of heroes, villains, and the comic book multiverse in an immersive cocktail class.

About The Cauldron Entertainment Group:

The Cauldron venues are located in London, New York, Dublin and Edinburgh and provide a wizard-themed immersive cocktail-making experience where guests brew magical potions by using interactive magic wands and molecular mixology. 

It is a magical, immersive experience which celebrates concepts from fantasy novels and magical lore, all brought to life by science, technology and design.

"The Cauldron" (image via thecauldron.io)

About The Magic of Things:

The Magic of Things is the imagineering studio that produces The Cauldron Magical Experience and other immersive concepts that bring fantasy to life with science, technology, and design. 

The studio is a mix of hardware and software engineers, prop and set designers, and experts in hospitality that are creating the next concepts in food and beverage that blend technology with the guest experience. 

The studio is led by co- founders Matthew Cortland and David Duckworth.

The Magic of Things - banner (image via thecauldron.io)

More About Superheroes Bar:

'Superheroes Bar’, a new interactive cocktail experience located in East London, is due to open as a limited pop-up on March 26th for only three months.

This new creation is brought to you by the makers of The Cauldron, the well-known wizard-inspired cocktail experience. Ordinary mortals will be taken on an immersive comic book-inspired experience through the superhero multiverse, where they will discover and unleash their new found abilities to create super-charged drinks as they train to become the World’s #1 Hero.

Once guests enter the hidden lair in Dalston, they will be suited with a mask and cape, and free to set out on their journey through the bar’s comic-inspired world, collecting elemental ‘Stones of Power’ that are used in the drink-making process. Before allowing their powers to be unleashed, guests must first learn how to wield the ‘Beer Stone’, ‘Cocktail Stone’ or ‘Mocktail Stone’ to pour a welcome drink. 

'Superheroes Bar’ - Glove of Power

Once the stone of their choice has been mastered, superheroes in training are led to their own interactive workstation, where, in a ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ style experience, the decisions that guests make will impact which powers they develop. Each new adventure draws inspiration from a different comic book style; Noir, Anime, Golden Age and Silver Age.

Superheroes will test out these new powers by concocting three interactive cocktails, which are inspired by comic book tropes and molecular mixology. 

'Superheroes Bar’

The Cauldron’s co-founders Matthew Cortland and David Duckworth designed ‘Superheroes Bar’ to surprise, delight, and strike at the heart of the comic fandom in London. While Duckworth leads cocktail creation and experimentation, Cortland brings his fascination and knowledge of science and technology, to create a one-of- a-kind interactive experience. 

Duckworth comments; “The menu at Superheroes Bar is the product of a team of expert mixologists and comic book geeks coming together to create an experience that will excite and astound fans of graphic novels and superheroes.” 

Cortland adds; “Just as we have created an immersive magical experience at The Cauldron, our in-house ideation studio, The Magic of Things, has brought the history of the comic book multiverse to life through interactive technology and science. As a result, there will be plenty of plot-twists for guests to enjoy."

• The entire Superheroes experience can be non-alcoholic, gluten-free, and vegan friendly. All drinks are made to be multi-sensory, interactive and feature different effects, such as fire, UV, smoke and expansion.

• Tickets for ‘Superheroes Bar’ can be purchased at www.superheroes.bar, and are available on a first come first serve basis. Tickets start at £29.99 and include all the materials and supplies, three cocktails and the immersive experience which lasts around 1hr 45min.

• Disclaimer: Superheroes Bar is not associated or affiliated with any comic book, movie, entertainment franchise or any specific comic book or cinematic hero, villain, or character. This experience looks at classic comic book tropes and themes, and creates its own world of heroes, villains, and ordinary (but no less important) people. 

SOURCE: The Cauldron

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Four Ways To Cope When The Going Gets Tough

Woman holding her head (image via pexels.com)

No life is without its challenges, and it would be unrealistic to expect completely smooth sailing all of the time. That's why developing healthy coping mechanisms is so important for everyone - and especially if you have kids to teach those skills to as well. Managing well and having appropriate outlets for stress ans being able to stay calm will serve you well no matter the depths of the situation you encounter. Whether it's going through a personal situation like a divorce or facing redundancy, processing past trauma, or simply not letting the smaller day-to-day incidents build up, learning some tips and techniques can serve you well.

Source Professional Support

Gaining the right support is definitely the first step towards bouncing back from a difficult situation. Informal support from your network of family and friends is invaluable, but it can't replace the appropriate professional help when you're really struggling. Whether it's making contact with an addiction specialist to begin a process of recovery or finding lawyers that specialise in boy scout abuse to begin a journey out of trauma, getting the right help counts for so much. It can be extremely hard to open up, but once you take that step, you're on the road to healing.

Consider Journalling It Out

The process of journalling can be a very helpful way for some people to work through their emotions. Sometimes it's easier to process events and work out feelings in writing, as it gives a critical distance from events. Over the years, people have found keeping a diary to be an extremely helpful process. Don't get too hung up on what to write - go for a stream of consciousness approach and just see what comes up. Journals can also provide a really useful marker in a recovery process of exactly how far you've come.

Show Yourself Some Love

So many people still see self care as somehow selfish, when actually it's indispensable, especially when you have been through a low period or a traumatic event. Often we put additional stress on ourselves by feeling that we have to be seen to be coping just fine without any help. If you've always found that booking a massage, taking a deep bath or using a mindfulness app helps you to feel more grounded, then ramp up that practice and make it a part of your daily routine. What's good for the soul is good for your recovery.

Make Exercise A Part Of Your Life

Getting out into the fresh air and recovering is one of the best things that you can do to help yourself. Exercise releases feel-good hormones called endorphins into your system which can give you a vital boost during tough times. Not to mention all the other positive effects cardiovascular exercise has, from increasing mental focus and problem-solving abilities, to helping to reset your circadian rhythms and get you better quality sleep. So finding a favourite home yoga routine or fitting in a quick run can make a huge difference. Taking small positive steps each day can speed your recovery and give you something to focus on.

Canada: Da Vinci--Inventions Exhibition Open Through Mid-April at Kean University [Video Included]

Da Vinci--Inventions Exhibition (PRNewsfoto/Kean University)

From middle school students sketching copies of famous artworks, to senior citizen groups and others marveling at "flying machines," thousands of visitors have toured Da Vinci—Inventions since it opened at Kean University's Liberty Hall Academic Center & Exhibition Hall (LHAC) in January.

The soaring exhibition features full-scale models of dozens of Leonardo da Vinci's most inventive creations, from a diving suit to a catapult to a hang glider. 

Da Vinci--Inventions Exhibition (image via Kean University)

Also on display are exquisite, artisan-crafted reproductions of the Mona Lisa and other da Vinci paintings, made with the techniques Leonardo da Vinci himself used, and hand-crafted reproductions of some of the 6,000 pages of notes he left behind.

The exhibition is open every day until April 12, with special pricing offered on select days and free admission to school groups.

"I think it's a great experience. It's a really active experience for our students," said Scotch Plains middle school teacher Carmela Lambert while chaperoning a group of nearly 100 seventh-graders who visited the exhibition as part of their studies of Italian. "When we got the flyer at our school, we thought it would be a great way to teach across curriculum."

Da Vinci--Inventions Exhibition (image via Kean University)

Leonardo da Vinci, a brilliant Renaissance artist and inventor, dreamed of inventions ranging from military equipment to an ideal city. Most of his ideas remained drawings on paper. But recreations in the exhibit bring his visions to life for a modern audience.

"You come here thinking he's an artist, and you walk away thinking he's an engineer; he's a physicist. He was just a brilliant mind," said Lynnette Zimmerman, LHAC executive director.

The world-class traveling exhibition, which was created by Grande Exhibitions and has appeared around the world, also ushers in a new phase for Kean.

"It really creates a cultural center for Union County," Zimmerman said. "Special events, such as a social media influencer gathering, are being planned for the da Vinci exhibit and other exhibitions will be coming in the future."

Da Vinci--Inventions Exhibition (image via Kean University)

The exhibit was a lively hubbub of voices one recent morning as teachers and students from Scotch Plains' Park Middle School fanned out through the gallery. As part of their study, students were assigned to envision themselves as Leonardo da Vinci's students, and sketch his art and drawings.

Teacher Angela Cammilleri said the students were impressed by da Vinci's diving suit invention and ideal city.

LHAC Program Coordinator Keyaira Boone said while the exhibition is wonderful for school groups, everyone is welcome to enjoy it.

"You don't have to be a Kean alumnus or a student to see it; you can just come," she said. "It's fascinating for people of all ages."

The Video:

• Special ticket prices are now being offered to Da Vinci—Inventions. Children 12 and under are admitted free on Friday-Sunday, March 6-8; Wednesday, March 18; and Friday-Sunday, April 3-5.

• In addition, two-for-$20 general admission tickets are available on Saturday, March 21, and Thursday-Sunday, April 9-12; and patrons are welcome to "pay what you wish" to enjoy the exhibition on Sunday, March 15.

• Admission is free for school groups.

• To purchase tickets, visit kean.edu/davinci

SOURCE: Kean University

American Masters Spotlights 26 Unsung Women Who Changed History with Unladylike2020 [Trailer Included]

American Masters Spotlights 26 Unsung Women Who Changed History with Unladylike2020 (image via unladylike2020.com)

Beginning this Women's History Month, American Masters illuminates the inspiring stories of little-known American heroines from the early years of feminism and the women who now follow in their footsteps with Unladylike2020, an innovative multimedia series launching in honor of the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage. 

Narrated by Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife; ER; Billions) and Lorraine Toussaint (Selma; Orange is the New Black; The Glorias), American Masters – Unladylike2020 spotlights 26 diverse changemakers, in 26 documentary shorts premiering Wednesdays, beginning today through August 26, Women's Equality Day, on the American Masters YouTube channel. 

• In addition, an hour-long American Masters – Unladylike2020 special will premiere as part of PBS' summer-long celebration of female trailblazers.

American Masters Spotlights 26 Unsung Women Who Changed History with Unladylike2020 (screengrab)

Only a century ago, women in America did not have the right to vote, and had only recently won the right to own property or get divorced. They faced limited career and educational choices, it was illegal for married women to work in some places, and women could even be arrested for wearing pants in public. Women who worked outside of the home were usually single, widowed, divorced, poor, or women of color who had to contend not only with sexism, but also severe racial discrimination. 

Despite that, intrepid women managed to break into new professions, step into leadership roles, and fight for suffrage and an end to discrimination – challenging expected behavior for "a lady." 

Presenting history in a bold new way, American Masters — Unladylike2020, produced and directed by Charlotte Mangin, brings the incredible stories of these pioneering women to life through rare archival footage and interviews with descendants, historians and accomplished modern women who reflect upon their influence. 

Original artwork and animation created by visual artist Amelie Chabannes adds visual texture, infusing black and white images with captivating color and action. The focus on modern-day trailblazers also enriches the content with dynamic juxtapositions of past and present.

Some of the women featured include Bessie Coleman, the first African American to earn an international pilot's license; Susan La Flesche Picotte, the first Native American physician who also founded a hospital on the Omaha Reservation; Jeannette Rankin, the first woman elected to the U.S. Congress; Gertrude Ederle, the first woman to swim across the English Channel; Sissieretta Jones, the first African American to sing opera on the main stage at Carnegie Hall; and Lois Weber, the first woman to direct a feature-length film, among many others. 

The Trailer:

The "Bessie Coleman: First African American Aviator" Video:

• To learn more about all the women featured in the series, visit pbs.org/unladylike2020.

U.S. history curriculum materials for grades 6-12, produced by WNET Kids' Media and Education, will be available via PBS LearningMedia beginning in March. Unladylike Productions, LLC will also launch a nationwide community engagement and screening initiative in partnership with public television stations and community organizations.

SOURCE: WNET

Galloping Gargoyles! Is Harry Potter Losing His (Earning) Power?

Galloping Gargoyles! Is Harry Potter Losing His (Earning) Power? (EPA/Johannes Eisele AAP)

By the 20th anniversary of Harry Potter in 2017, over 400 million Harry Potter books had been sold worldwide and translated into 68 languages. In spite of J. K. Rowling’s rejection by a dozen publishers before her success with Bloomsbury, Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone became one of the best selling books of all time.

The film franchise of the books grossed US$8.5 billion, book sales totalled US$7.7 billion, US$7.3 billion has been made from toys and merchandise, and US$2 billion from DVD sales. The Harry Potter “empire” has an estimated total worth of US$25 billion.

With bars, theme parks, fan conventions, mugs, costumes and knitting patterns going gangbusters, it seemed the little wizard could do no wrong. Words like “muggle”, “quidditch” and “Hogwarts” have become part of our vocabulary. But more than a decade since the last Harry Potter book was published, it appears the lucrative spell is wearing off.

For the wool wizards. (Booktopia)

 Page to screen to stage

Since the end of the beloved series (the last book in 2007 and film in 2011), there have been two spin-off stories: the film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and the play Harry Potter and The Cursed Child, both released in 2016. The film’s sequel Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald was released in 2018.

The first Fantastic Beasts film performed reasonably well at the box office, grossing US$814 million worldwide, which is within the earnings range of the first eight Harry Potter films.

However, the Fantastic Beasts sequel resulted in less box office revenue than the first, at US$654 million globally, the lowest grossing of all the “Harry-verse” films.

Subsequent questions have been raised about how the third planned film will perform, let alone the rest of the five-film series that had previously been mooted.

The Harry Potter and the Cursed Child play is broadly considered a West End and Broadway success and has toured internationally. Despite the huge amount of money invested and the creative approach taken in promoting the production, ticket sales have seen a considerable drop in the past year (50% since their peak).

Harry Potter franchise revenue streams. (Statista, CC BY)

A turning point

In and of itself the play was always going to be a challenge: it is a two-part production which means theatre goers have to buy two tickets and attend twice. The producers say it is intended to be seen “in order on the same day (matinee and evening) or on two consecutive evenings”.

This makes cost a problematic factor. It’s also a big time commitment. The play has a rather daunting running time of around two hours and 40 minutes each time, making a total duration of just over five hours. That’s likely to be too much for many young fans.

It’s hard to imagine anyone but Rupert Grint, Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson playing the central roles onstage. (IMDB)

And about those “young fans”. When the Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets movie debuted in 2002, 60% of the audience was under the age of 15. This cohort are now in their 30s and this age group is considered as “non-theatre goers”. In the UK the average theatre audience member is 52. The average age of the Broadway theatregoer is 42 years old. Australian audiences at musicals and operas were last estimated to be predominantly between 55 and 74 years of age in 2014.

Another huge part of the appeal with the books and the films is the incredible fantasy world presented. Though audience members were encouraged to #keepthesecrets, transferring the magic of film CGI to the stage is an obvious challenge.

Another issue could be the recasting of Harry, Hermione and Ron. Not only are the famous three played by completely new people, but they’re no longer the young mischievous kids who captured our hearts.

The play, also published as a book, is set 20 years on from the last film, and Harry and the gang are all grown up. Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint have become so cemented as their characters, it is a stretch for audiences to accept anyone else in these roles.

Losing momentum

As well as challenges with the play, there are reports that ticket sales for theme parks and book sales are also slowing. Perhaps this is to be expected, given the nature of marketing “momentum”.

Marketers build momentum through exposure of their brand, product or service and through generating excitement. But eventually, when a product has been in the market for a certain period of time, momentum inevitably slows. Demand subsequently drops and may fall away completely.

For some Harry Potter fans ‘it will never end’. (EPA/Justin Lane)

Product campaigns – and Harry Potter is indeed a product – need certain elements to be successful. It all starts with marketing the right product, promoted with the right message to the right audience at the right time. Marketers add momentum into this mix and voila - you have marketing gold. The Harry Potter franchise ticked these boxes in a way that few brands have ever done, providing wonder and delight to audiences worldwide and riches to its creator.

Over 20 years later, the highly successful book and movie franchise, and all its various spin-offs, may finally be losing momentum.

Perhaps another fictional character will take his place. There are no doubt authors sending their pitches to a dozen publishers right now and hoping this will be the case. Or maybe Harry Potter was a once-in-a-lifetime wizard.

About Today's Contributors:

Louise Grimmer, Senior Lecturer in Marketing, Tasmanian School of Business and Economics, University of Tasmania; Gary Mortimer, Professor of Marketing and Consumer Behaviour, Queensland University of Technology, and Martin Grimmer, Professor of Marketing, Tasmanian School of Business and Economics, University of Tasmania

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.

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• Wizarding World Digital Introduces The Official Harry Potter Fan Club And New Mobile Hogwarts Sorting Ceremony [Trailer Included]

Final Fantasy VII Remake: Demo Now Available

Final Fantasy VII Remake (PRNewsfoto / Square Enix)

Square Enix has announced that PlayStation owners worldwide can now download a playable demo of the role-playing hit Final Fantasy VII Remake to be released on April 10 , 2020 . 

The demo from the PlayStation Store allows all PlayStation Plus subscribers to experience the game's first mission and the events that occur during the Mako Reactor 1 attack up close. 

• Anyone who downloads the demo by May 11, 2020 will receive an exclusive PlayStation 4 design for the release of the complete game.

Final Fantasy VII Remake (screengrab)

Final Fantasy VII Remake takes players into a world in which the opaque Shinra Corporation controls the life force of the planet. Cloud Strife, a former member of the SOLDIER elite unit and now a mercenary, is helping a resistance group called Avalanche. 

The first game of the project takes place in the city of Midgar and presents a completely independent gaming experience for role players who want unforgettable characters, a captivating story and the opportunity to determine their own playing style with a combat system that real-time action with strategic, command-based Fight connects.

The Trailer:

• Final Fantasy VII Remake will be released on April 10 , 2020 for PlayStation 4. 
• The demo of Final Fantasy VII Remake is now available for download on PlayStation 4. 

For more information see: www.ffvii-remake.com

SOURCE: Square Enix

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Bernie Sanders: Making Socialism Cool Again

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks during a campaign event in Spartanburg, S.C., on Feb. 27, 2020. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Love him or hate him, Bernie Sanders has emerged as the indisputable front-runner for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.

Sanders has inspired a massive, energetic, hardworking and fiercely loyal following, determined to carry him to victory at the Democratic National Convention in July.

To the great agitation of his rivals and critics, Sanders has demonstrated a stunning popularity among a diverse cross-section of voters, including women, Latinos, Blacks, Muslims, union members and especially young people.

The oft-repeated trope of the white “Bernie bro” has proven to be more myth than reality. Sanders’ rapid and dramatic rise to front-runner status has sent his critics in the Democratic Party into a full-blown panic, revealing their inability to understand the current historical moment and the rhetorical power of the Sanders campaign.

Women, including young women of colour, are among those who have been energized by Sanders. Supporters are seen here in South Carolina. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

How, they wonder, has Sanders risen to the top of the field? What exactly is his appeal? 

Why are young people, including young women of colour, going for the old white guy?

Perhaps most importantly, why are so many Democratic voters warming to socialism, long regarded as antithetical to the American way of life?

As he did in 2016, Sanders has exposed a deep rift in the Democratic Party between its centrist and progressive wings.

The Third Way

This rift is not so much an intra-family dispute as a longstanding rivalry between two distinct political traditions. The first of these traditions is the so-called Third Way, first described by British sociologist Anthony Giddens in the early 1990s.

The Third Way was conceived after the end of the Cold War as an alternative to the left and the right. Also known as the “radical centre,” the Third Way rejects both the robust government interventionism championed by the left and the intolerance and bigotry congenital to the right.

It pursues incremental change while vigorously upholding a capitalist order. Bill Clinton was the first American president to put Third Way politics into practice. The Third Way has since become the reigning orthodoxy of the Democratic Party. Even Barack Obama, who campaigned on the lofty rhetoric of “hope and change,” governed as a resolute and unapologetic centrist, much to the disappointment of his progressive base.

Elizabeth Warren is also at odds with the Third Way. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

 With the exception of Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, the rest of the Democratic field falls squarely within the tradition of the Third Way.

While the Third Way proved to be a politically salient politics during the 1990s, it has since calcified into rigid and obstinate dogma. The longstanding habit of ignoring the poor, siding with the rich and powerful and pursuing only incremental change has run up against a brick wall of brute reality: Gilded Age-levels of income inequality, skyrocketing medical debt, US$1.5 trillion in student loan debt, a racist criminal justice system and impending ecological collapse.

‘Massive failure’

Set against this stark empirical reality, incrementalism appears to far too many voters to be a massive failure. And the apologetic habit of dressing it up in the robes of pragmatic necessity has become a kind of secular theology: it demands faith in a better future that it can never deliver, a future lacking precise detail because it lacks a definable goal.

In the logic of the Third Way, incremental change becomes an end in itself: change for its own sake.

The problem with this delicate high-wire act — preaching incremental change in the face of exponentially worsening social and environmental crises — is that it has become impossible to pull off convincingly. Talk of incremental change doesn’t sound very promising or encouraging when the planet is on fire and climate scientists have given us a very short window to act.

By contrast, Sanders has been a lifelong advocate of democratic socialism, a tradition whose core principle is that democracy should be expanded from politics into the workplace — the sphere of life in which we spend the bulk of our waking lives.

Democratic socialism goes beyond mere social democracy — beyond programs like universal health care and public pensions — by calling for a fundamental change in the relationship between executives and workers.

It holds that workers should also have decision-making power, including over how revenue is distributed and how they get paid.

Deep, structural change

Democratic socialists want the workplace to be structured democratically, not like little North Koreas, in which CEOs rule like tyrants. Socialists see capitalist exploitation of people and the planet as the root of injustice. Hence, they advocate not incremental, but deep, structural change.

The reason Sanders has been so politically appealing to a diverse coalition of voters is because he offers a powerful explanatory key for making sense of America’s crisis moment.

He indicts not just specific people, like Donald Trump, Michael Bloomberg and Jeff Bezos, but the system: The political economic structure in which the super-rich have amassed extraordinary sums of wealth at the expense of everyone else, and our shared planet.

Bernie Sanders is seen speaking to an overflow crowd at a Super Bowl watch party campaign event on Feb. 2, 2020, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Sanders’s rhetorical genius is to have linked different types of injustice, like income inequality, racial inequality, gender inequality, and environmental breakdown, through a single frame: corporate greed.

This enables voters to see injustice in big-picture terms. Sanders has equipped his base with a revolutionary political vocabulary for expressing their sense of injustice, as well as a language of shared struggle against a structure that thrives on exploitation. Solidarity, it turns out, is incredibly empowering.

Rise of a new politics

Third Way Democrats have scrambled to understand the Sanders revolution.

They’ve dismissed him as an old man yelling at the clouds and a snake-oil salesman offering the false promise of “free stuff.” Worse, they have been forced to perform the awkward dance of claiming the mantle of progressivism while disavowing popular progressive proposals and “revolution politics.”

This has inspired rhetorical gimmicks like cowboy talk and meaningless platitudes, that have been mercilessly satirized online. The desperate turn to disavowal and gimmickry strongly suggests the collapse of the Third Way and the rise of a new politics for the Democratic Party.

Democratic socialism might just be about to have its moment in America.

About Today's Contributor:

Jason Hannan, Associate Professor of Rhetoric & Communications, University of Winnipeg

• Jason Hannan is the author of Ethics Under Capital: MacIntyre, Communication, and the Culture Wars (Bloomsbury, 2020). Read the prologue here.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. 

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