 It Didn't Happen Here: Why Socialism Failed in the United States Books In Print, Audio Books. |
| Home » All Books |
|
|
It Didn't Happen Here: Why Socialism Failed in the United States
buy bestselling books in print, audio books
|
 |
List Price: $15.95
Our Price:
$9.28
You Save: $6.67
|
| [ + Zoom ] [ Buy Now ] |
Book : Usually ships in 24 hours |
|
It Didn't Happen Here: Why Socialism Failed in the United States Customer Reviews
|
|
|
|
♥♥♥♥♥ |
The Elephant in the Living Room
|
OK, I get it. Aside from academia and its lapdogs in the media, socialism doesn't exist in the U.S. Why? The answers provided by these academics ignore several elephants in the living room. Principal among them:
1. The influence of the Roman Catholic Church. In the late 19th and early 20th century, with its absolute opposition to communism and emphasis on a "living" or "family" wage, the Church reached millions of working people, 1st and 2d generation immigrants, with a potent message. Don't vote Red!
2. Failure to co-opt the unions. Since union leadership came very largely from the same Catholic ethnics (see #1), it's not surprising that Reds were not exactly welcomed with open arms into the unions.
3. Takeover of unions (and, to a large extent, the Democratic Party) by the Mafia in the 20s and 30s. Whatever their other characteristics, the Mafiosi were conservative, entrepreneurial businessmen, not susceptible to the socialist/anarchist crazies running around trying to make revolution in New York and San Francisco. Also, the Mafiosi made sure they were baptised, married and buried in Catholic churches. So Reds need not apply at their union halls.
Why cannot American historians recognize such obvious causal factors as not only significant, but controlling? For example, there are all kinds of books praising FDR, but not one noting that FDR's electoral successes (and Truman's and Kennedy's) were due largely to the Mafia-controlled, conservative urban political machines? Looking longingly at FDR and Walter Reuther, or at a few urban nut cases, does not constitute a satisfactory history of the failures of socialism (communism) in the U.S. |
|