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In the 1930's millions of Americans fought like crazy to establish democratic socialism, with
Roosevelt, in the New Deal. They really worked hard -- and they got it! But then it was taken away. Will they fight again it all if all that the left offers is a replay? - - Richard D. Wolff
Transcribed from the end of Richard D. Wolff's latest economic update video (starting at 1:33:46)
You’re not going to hear Bernie Sanders say big corporations are anathema, and they have to be removed, (inaudible). That’s part of that compromise. Meanwhile, he’s going to say there should be no tuition for college students, they shouldn’t be in debt, there should be a national health service -- all that you’re going to get from him, because that’s the tradition of trying to carve out something in the middle.
It leaves of course the basic question: Is that a fantasy? Is is possible to hedge about the capitalists so that you only get the good part? Or will they use their position, their power, and their wealth to undo the very limits you try to put on them, sooner or later? The history of the United States is not very promising in this regard. The one time we had a real social democracy and democratic socialism, the truth of it is, is Roosevelt, and the New Deal. We did it! We did it: we taxed the crap out of the rich and the corporations and we used it to take care of the mass of people. On a scale we have never done before -- but we've never done it since, either. And we’ve been nibbling and eroding all of that for the last fifty years. And the capitalists are the ones who’ve led the charge to get rid…
So the question for you, as you deal with the phenomenon of Bernie Sanders, is whether this combination thing, this --a little bit of this, a little bit of that-- is that a viable option? Is that something the American people are going to see as worth it?
Or, is there burned in the conscience of the American people --and in your minds too-- without ever having to said it, something like this: in the 1930s millions of Americans fought like crazy to establish democratic socialism, with Roosevelt, in the New Deal. They really worked hard -- and they got it! They got it. But then it was taken away. Will they fight again if all that the Left offers them is a replay? Doing it again --maybe led by Bernie Sanders, or someone who comes after him-- establishes it again: hedges the capitalism, limits it, makes it do good for people, and then watches --because you didn’t change the fundamental, who runs the businesses-- see it be taken away again? The first time the people gave it a shot. The American people rose to the task, and they did it. The real question is, whether they will do that again, or whether they will demand of whoever emerges, that you’ve got to come up with a better program than that last one. We’re not going to knock ourselves crazy to do what isn’t secure, what doesn’t last. Especially when you remember that the people most interested in undoing democratic socialism have just had a 50-year experience in how to do it. They’re going to do it faster and better next time. They know how. They just learned.
It leaves of course the basic question: Is that a fantasy? Is is possible to hedge about the capitalists so that you only get the good part? Or will they use their position, their power, and their wealth to undo the very limits you try to put on them, sooner or later? The history of the United States is not very promising in this regard. The one time we had a real social democracy and democratic socialism, the truth of it is, is Roosevelt, and the New Deal. We did it! We did it: we taxed the crap out of the rich and the corporations and we used it to take care of the mass of people. On a scale we have never done before -- but we've never done it since, either. And we’ve been nibbling and eroding all of that for the last fifty years. And the capitalists are the ones who’ve led the charge to get rid…
So the question for you, as you deal with the phenomenon of Bernie Sanders, is whether this combination thing, this --a little bit of this, a little bit of that-- is that a viable option? Is that something the American people are going to see as worth it?
Or, is there burned in the conscience of the American people --and in your minds too-- without ever having to said it, something like this: in the 1930s millions of Americans fought like crazy to establish democratic socialism, with Roosevelt, in the New Deal. They really worked hard -- and they got it! They got it. But then it was taken away. Will they fight again if all that the Left offers them is a replay? Doing it again --maybe led by Bernie Sanders, or someone who comes after him-- establishes it again: hedges the capitalism, limits it, makes it do good for people, and then watches --because you didn’t change the fundamental, who runs the businesses-- see it be taken away again? The first time the people gave it a shot. The American people rose to the task, and they did it. The real question is, whether they will do that again, or whether they will demand of whoever emerges, that you’ve got to come up with a better program than that last one. We’re not going to knock ourselves crazy to do what isn’t secure, what doesn’t last. Especially when you remember that the people most interested in undoing democratic socialism have just had a 50-year experience in how to do it. They’re going to do it faster and better next time. They know how. They just learned.
https://www.reddit.com/r/SandersForPresident/comments/3t7yaq/in_the_1930s_millions_of_americans_fought_like/
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