Posted by
Chris Accardy on Friday, October 31, 2008 2:11:06 PM
Why isn’t Barack Obama sinking like a rock in the polls now that more and more Americans are aware that philosophically he is a Marxist? It appears that Americans have a tendency to flirt with socialism when the economy gets into significant trouble.
When the economic expansion peaked in the 1920’s our nation’s sentiment was strongly bent toward capitalism. When that expansion came to a jolting stop with the stock market crash the American people embraced the socialism of Franklin Roosevelt’s “New Deal”. Roosevelt’s socialism led to an economic malaise that took a World War to lift.
In the post-WWII economic expansion capitalism again made a comeback. As it lost steam in the 1960’s Lyndon Johnson found support for his “New Society”. Americans again inched toward socialism. This shift toward socialism left the United States in a malaise that lasted through much of the 1970’s.
The malaise of the 1970’s was broken up, not so much by the Reagan Revolution, as it was by the shift from a manufacturing-based economy to a technology-based one. Both Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton rode the wave of economic expansion fueled by technological innovation.
The expansion that took place between 1981-2007 was unprecedented. When the Dow Jones Industrial Average was first published on May 26, 1896 it stood at 40.94. When Ronald Reagan was inaugurated as President on January 20, 1981 it was 950.68. On October 9, 2007 it reached a record 14,164.53.
From May 26, 1896 to January 20, 1981, a period of nearly 95 years, the Dow Jones Industrial Average grew by 909.74. The next 29 years, from January 20, 1981 to October, 9, 2007, would produce a growth of 13,213.85. Even if the numbers are adjusted for inflation the results are still mind-boggling.
The technology-driven expansion of the past 30 years is coming to a screeching halt due to numerous factors that are both complex and deeply-rooted in the global economy. Again, Americans are following their historic pattern by flirting with socialism.
Since the terrorist attacks of 9/11 both the Bush Administration and congress have been imposing socialistic solutions to national problems.
While the Democrats can be accused by the Republicans of nominating a hard core socialist in Barack Obama it must be noted that John McCain, nominated by the Republicans, is promoting socialist ideas as well. McCain’s socialist tendencies are kept in check by his party’s historic bent toward capitalism. Given our national history it could be argued that a strong voice for capitalism wouldn’t have made it through the primaries because Americans are now looking to government to soften the impact of a derailed economy.
Americans prefer capitalism in good times and socialism in bad times despite it's proven ill effects. Let’s hope that the effects of our national bent produces results more like the 1970’s than the 1930’s in the next decade.