“What being a socialist means is... that you hold out... a vision of society where poverty is absolutely unnecessary, where international relations are not based on greed... but on cooperation... where human beings can own the means of production and work together rather than having to work as semi-slaves to other people who can hire and fire.”

American politician and activist, senior United States senator from Vermont since 2007

Bernard Sanders is an American politician and activist, and the senior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He is known as a democratic socialist and as one of the leading figures in modern American progressivism. Sanders is the longest-serving independent in U.S. congressional history, though he has long worked closely with Democrats and has caucused with them for most of his congressional career. He sought the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination in 2016 and 2020, and his public life is closely tied to progressive politics in the United States.