Taming Predatory Capitalism

In connection with the article above, it is interesting to read the words of Franklin Roosevelt in his Jan.11, 1944, State of the Union speech on his hopes and plans for the future of the USA and of the world.

Of course, today's tough politicians would say that FDR was a "commie pinko, socialist, liberal nanny statist" who couldn't have foreseen the overall wealth, peace and prosperity the neoclassical gobalized market economy, enforced by his successors, have brought to the world.

But then, others like Galbraith above, see the cold, hard realities.

Ed Deak, Big Lake, BC.
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Subject: FDR on economics

It is our duty now to begin to lay the plans and determine the strategy for the winning of a lasting peace and the establishment of an American standard of living higher than ever before known. We cannot be content, no matter how high that general standard of living may be, if some fraction of our people-whether it be one-third or one-fifth or one-tenth-is ill-fed, ill-clothed, ill-housed, and insecure.

This Republic had its beginning, and grew to its present strength, under the protection of certain inalienable political rights-among them the right of free speech, free press, free worship, trial by jury, freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures. They were our rights to life and liberty.

As our nation has grown in size and stature, however-as our industrial economy expanded-these political rights proved inadequate to assure us equality in the pursuit of happiness.

We have come to a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. "Necessitous men are not free men." People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.

In our day these economic truths have become accepted as self-evident. We have accepted, so to speak, a second Bill of Rights under which a new basis of security and prosperity can be established for all-regardless of station, race, or creed.

Among these are:

The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation;

The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;

The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living;

The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;

The right of every family to a decent home;

The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;

The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;

The right to a good education.

All of these rights spell security. And after this war is won we must be prepared to move forward, in the implementation of these rights, to new goals of human happiness and well-being.

America's own rightful place in the world depends in large part upon how fully these and similar rights have been carried into practice for our citizens.

Franklin D. Roosevelt, "The Economic Bill of Rights"
Excerpt from 11 January 1944 message to Congress on the State of the Union
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I think we've had the best of times. When the psychopaths are running the government, military, and the corporations with our blessings it's hardly worth debating whether or not we still have a moral or ethical leg to stand on.

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"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music." Friedrich Nietzsche

. ""When the psychopaths are running the government, military, and the corporations with our blessings it's hardly worth debating whether or not we still have a moral or ethical leg to stand on.""
naughty naughty Jesse will punish LOL
no name calling and pages of documented evidense
I agree btw
now I shall be banished

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Real education must ultimately be limited to men who insist on knowing, the rest is mere sheep-herding.
Ezra Pound

HA HA. I didn't name names - this time.

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"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music." Friedrich Nietzsche