Cross-posted at dKos and myDD
Typically, resorting to name-calling is tantamount to admitting you’ve lost the argument; and when the Republicans begin throwing what they see as the most disparaging of all insults – “Socialism”, “Marxism” – at progressive policies it also shows they’re desperate. They’d call the stimulus package a peanut butter sandwich if they thought it would scare you into voting against it. But the fact is that anyone who calls President Obama’s initiatives “Socialism” doesn’t know what the definition of Socialism is.
Socialism is government ownership, not government involvement. And, in the past, the U.S. government has actually been much more heavily involved in the affairs of business. If Republicans think Obama’s proposals constitute Socialism, they need to look back to the America of 30 years ago. In the period after World War II and up to the 1970’s the system was much more managed. Every critical sector of the economy was dominated by a few large corporations (e.g., Big 3 Automakers), which in turn had a government body regulating their activities (such as the Civil Aeronautics Board for airlines). Business tolerated the regulations because it also meant stable prices (set by government in many cases, such as the airline industry) and barriers to entry by new competitors. Governments, while still trying to avoid monopolies, allowed for oligopolies since they were easier to regulate than dozens of small actors, and, in the days before outsourcing, big companies meant better economies of scale. Labor could conveniently set up counterparts to each sector (such as the UAW for the Auto Industry) and enjoyed the backing of the government to give it bargaining authority. Business tolerated Labor since it meant a stable workforce and a known future. Big corporations needed lots of time to plan for new products and knowing the cost of labor well ahead of time thanks to contracts was beneficial. Sharing the benefits of increased productivity helped improve the lives of the entire American workforce, since even those without unions saw their employers boost compensation to remain competitive in the job market. With the three Bigs – Big Business, Big Government and Big Labor – working together in concert, real wages doubled and our way of life became the envy of the world. Call it what you want, while it wasn’t perfect, it served us well.
But then came global competition, and what had worked so well for decades was now thrown out of balance. Business no longer had protection from new entrants into the market, was rendered uncompetitive due to price controls, and thus started to fight against the constraints of regulation. And while government began to respond, with President Carter taking such measures as deregulating the airlines and other industries, it wasn’t fast enough or decisive enough. As is often the case, it’s hard to recognize when you’re in the middle of a paradigm shift. It often takes the perspective of hindsight, several years hence before the shift is identified and its true causes determined. And thus, unfortunately, the problem was misdiagnosed in 1980 and the wrong remedy prescribed. Rather than trying to adjust the roles of business, government and labor to suit the new paradigm, a group came to power that placed all the blame on government and targeted it for elimination. Ronald Reagan famously stated in his first inaugural address that “government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.” This world view became accepted truth.
Over the next quarter century, we’ve suffered the consequences of that extreme solution. While the debate focused on whether the wealthy were paying more than their fair share of taxes, the middle class (now locked in competition with sweatshops) earned less than its fair share of wages. Government’s failure to act against the downside of free trade has left many thinking that nothing could be done, but in fact those in power simply felt that nothing should be done. What’s been needed is the same action that could’ve solved the problem thirty years ago: a restoration of balance to the trio of Business, Government and Labor (I wrote a diary about this on Sunday); keeping in mind that each has a role to play and that these roles can change over time, as they have with the advent of the global economy. Call it what you want, but that’s not Socialism, just good sense.
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I have formed an exploratory committee to consider a run for Congress against Aaron Schock in the Illinois 18th. Please visit my web site at http://www.CarlRay2010.com
