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"Necessitous men are not free men" -- Thom Hartmann
https://hartmannreport.com/p/chapter-2-necessitous-men-are-notYour weekly excerpt from one of my books. This week: "The Hidden History of the American Dream"
Another good history lesson or refresher.
Most Americans, even today, would tell you that being in the middle class enhances their sense of freedom and liberty, even though they don’t realize that a middle class is not a normal thing for capitalist societies.
But the simple reality is that middle classes must be created, and that requires government intervention in the marketplace and government guarantees of some services that otherwise aren’t available to average working people (like free roads, public schools, and the ability to join a union).
During the era from 1933 to 1980, Americans held a very specific view of “freedom” and “liberty.” Both were recognized as explicit by-products of government providing a foundation for family life and a fertile soil of financial, legal, and physical infrastructure in which business could root itself.
The foundation for a freedom-based family life was accomplished by laws and regulations that prevented corporate exploitation of workers, free public schools and near-free college, and widespread access to inexpensive healthcare.
. . .
But the simple reality is that middle classes must be created, and that requires government intervention in the marketplace and government guarantees of some services that otherwise aren’t available to average working people (like free roads, public schools, and the ability to join a union).
During the era from 1933 to 1980, Americans held a very specific view of “freedom” and “liberty.” Both were recognized as explicit by-products of government providing a foundation for family life and a fertile soil of financial, legal, and physical infrastructure in which business could root itself.
The foundation for a freedom-based family life was accomplished by laws and regulations that prevented corporate exploitation of workers, free public schools and near-free college, and widespread access to inexpensive healthcare.
. . .