Walter Reuther, socialist hero (Wikipedia photo)
Here's a timely piece for today's holiday: The Freep's reliably pro-business columnist, John Gallagher, explains socialism -- that crazy idea the kids are talking about these days.
It's not social media. It's not communism. It's not fascism. It's . . . well, let Gallagher explain:
This Labor Day, let's look at what socialism means in economic, not political, terms. For if socialism means anything, it has to play out on the shop floor and in the boardroom, and at the kitchen table when everyone pays their taxes.
This local democracy by its nature allows all sorts of voices. As George Orwell, the British writer and socialist who insisted upon socialism's willingness to tolerate all political views, put it. "If liberty and democracy mean anything, they mean freedom for individual thought and expression."
That much established, we still need to consider: What is the core of a socialist economic agenda? Two items come to the fore: Employee ownership of enterprises and a different tax structure for the U.S.
That doesn't sound scary at all, does it? Walter Reuther, a man who many in Detroit revere as a near-saint, was a socialist.
He, and the UAW he led, forced the automakers to share the wealth with the workers who made it for them, and look what happened? A high standard of living for the middle class, which most of us consider ourselves part of.
Of course, one person's socialism is another's CONFISCATORY TAX SYSTEM, so go ahead and talk amongst yourselves.
