Stumbling Into Socialism

“‘Capitalism is doomed,’ said a recent headline, quoting the Secretary of Agriculture. English, French, German, and American critics have written the same thing before, during, and after every panic or economic crisis that capitalism has experienced in the last two centuries.”

States the editorial “Stumbling into Socialism” from the July 20, 1935 issue of The Saturday Evening Post.

Not surprisingly, twenty-first century Americans still have a negative outlook when we are faced with economic crisis. No matter what steps the President takes to ensure the betterment of human lives, people view the fixes with skepticism.

An example of this lies with President Barack Obama. In a recent speech, Obama said “only government” could provide the short-term boost necessary to lift the country out of the current recession.

Americans disagree.

When polled through a Fox News Poll, the majority of Americans believed the only effective way to help the economy recover from the recession was spending by individuals and businesses, not the government.

Many Americans fear socialism, believing that they are advocating for governmental ownership where the means of production would be owned and controlled by the state.

“In America, the average man has not yet the faintest idea of what socialism means. It is therefore, conceivable that the logic of facts may drive him into it before he can shrink back in terror,” reads 1935 Post article.

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January 21, 2009