I watched an interview of James Baldwin recently in which he said something that really struck me: “If I am starving, you are in danger.”
We should think about that, especially those of us who are wealthy while so many others are struggling, starving, in this world.
FDR understood that, and that is why he was able to enact the New Deal. He advised those members of his wealthy class that unless something was done to deal with the massive devastation and social disruption of the Great Depression, which was precipitated by wealthy, greedy capitalists, there was going to be a revolution and the wealthy would be in big trouble.
Reluctantly, enough of his upper, wealthy class accepted this and, thus, the New Deal. Unfortunately after World War II, in the late 1940s, the wealthy began their campaign to destroy that New Deal, culminating in victory with the Reagan administration and succeeding administrations – Democratic as well as Republican. We live with the results presently.
David Larsen
Portland
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.