Reply #38: It's almost impossible for one city to implement socialism in a capitalist country [View All]

[muriel_volestrangler]

If Milwaukee tried socialism, what businesses did it take over? How did it significantly increase the control of commerce and industry by the people? a fierce opposition to war, a belief in the rights of people, a passion for orderly government, and a contempt for graft and boodling are pacifist liberalism. A "hope of a brotherhood of workers, the Cooperative Commonwealth" just means they wanted to try socialism, at some point. But, as your article says:

Contrary to popular belief, they did not try to socialize everything in sight. With the exception of the streetcar company, whose services they felt belonged in the public domain (and eventually got there), they accepted the American premise of private ownership. When one of Zeidler's 1948 opponents charged that he would socialize the corner grocery store if he were elected, Zeidler promptly went out and got the endorsement of the Independent Grocers Association.

It goes on to say they were about providing public facilities. But that's not socialism; it's a decent welfare and education system. Especially when the subject of this thread is 'get rid of capitalism', accepting private ownership is not a socialist alternative to capitalism.

Some of the New Deal might be said to be socialist, but it was really more about providing jobs until private enterprise started hiring again; it was Keynesian, not Marxist (nor any earlier socialist). I don't think FDR intended to replace capitalism permanently.