In a recent article in Foreign Affairs magazine, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders argued that the U.S. lacks serious debate on critical issues, such as foreign policy, where bipartisan consensus yields damaging outcomes such as wars and harmful trade agreements.

The U.S. is virtually alone in the world with unwavering support for the Israeli military, defending Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing extremist government and fearmongering about China, Sanders wrote. The military-industrial complex has undue influence, prioritizing corporate interests over democratic values and human rights and ultimately isolating the U.S. from its allies, he added.

He argued that, given these failures, it is time to reorient American foreign policy fundamentally, for the U.S. to acknowledge the failures of the post-World War II bipartisan consensus, and to chart out a new vision centered on human rights, multilateralism and global solidarity.

"The biggest challenges of our times, from climate change to the likelihood of future pandemics, will require cooperation, solidarity, and collective action, not militarism," he wrote. 

Without cooperation between China and the United States, the two largest carbon emitters globally, there can be no solution to the existential threat of climate change, nor can there be hope for effectively addressing the next pandemic, according to Sanders. 

"U.S. policy on China is another illustration of failed foreign policy groupthink, which frames the U.S.-Chinese relationship as a zero-sum struggle," he wrote. "And instead of starting a trade war with China, Washington could create mutually beneficial trade agreements that benefit workers in both countries – not just multinational corporations."

(Cover: U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders is seen in the U.S. Capitol after the Senate voted against advancing a border security deal, Washington, D.C., U.S., February 7, 2024. /CFP)