Unhappy events abroad have retaught us two simple truths about the liberty of a democratic people. The first truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people
tolerate the growth of a private power to a point where it becomes stronger than the democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is fascism - ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. (FDR: message
to Congress proposing the monopoly investigation, 1938)
Like the bourgeoisie.
2007-07-05 15:45:03 · 7 answers · asked by Psyengine 7 in Politics & Government ➔ Civic Participation
Quite right JK, FDR was no communist in the American negative conception for it and in this quote of his speech he could just as easily been talking about communist USSR or Russia, but he knew enough of nationalist psychology and male ego to do better for the peoples spirit (no man likes getting something for nothing when the women are watching). But, the fascism he was talking about was as much a reality for America as it was for the USSR, they were simply differently predisposed to the possession of power, by power and for power.
2007-07-06 15:14:06 · update #1
carl degler devotes a chapter to answering this question in his book, out of our past. FDR was no communist and was not as liberal as people believe with his New Deal. for example, the AAA mandated farmers to stop growing so many crops so that the supply of food will go down and thus the prices will rise folllowing the economic law of supply. if he was a commie, he would have had the farmers grow more crops then redistribute this food to the people who were starving to death due to the Great Depression at no cost to them.
FDR's New Deal didn't invoke socialism on the US, it protected capitalism and its values. All FDR did was to tweak our economy a bit and create a larger social safety net for the people of America. also, his social security system gave handouts only to the elderly, and he gave jobs to the unemployed as opposed to LBJ's Great Society that wanted to hand checks to the elderly AND the unemployed.
was this sensible? definitely. i consider myself an economic conservative, but i still feel that FDR did the right thing due to the circumstances of the time. Many parts of the new deal were revoked or outright failed, but it was mainly morale that FDR restored, and that helped the economy more than the CCC or the TVA that gave jobs to a very small percentage of the total unemployed in america. Hoover believed in the "trickle down theory" of economics and did very little to relieve the people of their suffering. FDR's relief, reform, and recovery showed the American people that their president believed in them, and this encouraged them to trust banks, the stock market, etc. FDR may have been a democrat, but his programs protected and nurtured capitalism instead of stifling them.
2007-07-05 17:48:48 · answer #1 · answered by J K 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
FDR was perhaps more of a socialist. In Locke's social contract both parties (govt and people) need to be lets say... be happy with the terms. The country came through a disasterous economic collapse (great depression). At the same time, the idea of communism appealed to many blue collar workers across both Europe and America. FDR's social security and other programs were designed to keep the workers happy. He was being pragmatic. While many may argue, the general thought is communism isn't evil as projected by media. It's theory centers on workers and keeping a classless society. However, certainly some leaders have been some of the greated villians of the 20th century.
2007-07-05 23:57:18 · answer #2 · answered by Adam 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
FDR was obviously neither. Though, I must say his deferance to Stalin was reprehensible. He was wrong-headed when it came to a lot of things (protectionism, the New Deal, bullying the Supreme Court...) especially economics and how to allow the country to experience economic growth. Because he showed us that by making grand promises, and "doing something," a person can win elections; regardless of whether they are really making things worse. So, when Obama or Clinton win the election next year, they will start "doing something" and making things worse, just like FDR and every president since.
2007-07-05 23:43:59 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 2⤋
A commie, a Dem, and a great man. Turns out neither of those things cancel the others out. Go figure.
2007-07-05 23:34:35 · answer #4 · answered by tartilus 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
FDR was a Communist.
2007-07-05 22:47:12 · answer #5 · answered by Mr. Samsa 5 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Like he said... a communist!
2007-07-05 23:26:31 · answer #6 · answered by Daler™ 3 · 1⤊ 2⤋
He was a democrat you morons.
2007-07-05 22:53:19 · answer #7 · answered by Belgariad 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋