If he had his way, the Vermont ­socialist would fundamentally change the character of the country. He would make the United States an outlier in the Western world, not in terms of its relatively limited government, but its sweeping activism. A Hellfire missile aimed right at the federal fisc, Sanders would make President Barack Obama’s economic agenda look like the work of a moderate Republican.

In foreign affairs, he would bring a sympathy for US enemies not often heard outside academia or Noam Chomsky reading groups.

He is the American Jeremy Corbyn, a socialist true-believer whose fantastical agenda reflects the dictates of dogma. The difference is that Corbyn effectively promised a return to socialist-imposed stagnation in Britain, whereas Bernie is ­inviting America to experience it for the first time.