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Saw this today. Given our society today, one gets a feeling about what Franklin Delano Roosevelt is saying that was probably different than how viewers received it originally. My question to you: do you think that FDR was saying these things knowing the implication of them? On one hand, I could understand how a naive person with socialist leanings might think it great to proclaim all these “rights” so that the unfortunate are better served in life. On the other hand, I could also understand how a socialist might be proclaiming these “rights” as a means to grow governmental power and quash democracy. What do you think?[html][/html]
Sounds pretty Marxist to me. Kind of a long winded version of “to each according to his needs and to each according to his abilities.”
It sounds decidedly “modern” to me, as in something we might hear today (and yes, Marxist as well). The problem I have with these “economic rights” is that they ignore the realities of the free market, they require government intervention to accomplish them, and they entail a level of artificiality which can only be sustained by continued governmental regulation. I also think they are based on false and vague premises; for example, why should a farmer be granted the right to a return to give "him and his family a decent living"? What if the farmer is selling a crop which no one wants to buy - should he stay in business? What if he wants to produce sugar and sell it at a price on the market which is five times what it costs to produce it overseas? This is the kind of thing we see today with sugar subsidies.Oh, and what is a "decent living"? Does it necessitate cable TV, an expensive cell phone package, a loud stereo system in the car, flashy clothes and shoes, alcohol, etc.?
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