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What did Roosevelt mean with these quotes? Do they make him a socialist?

We must lay hold of the fact that economic laws are not made by nature. They are made by human beings. Franklin D. Roosevelt True individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made. Franklin D. Roosevelt The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much it is whether we provide enough for those who have little. Franklin D. Roosevelt So do these quotes make Franklin D. Roosevelt a socialist or just a decent human being?

Public Comments

1. Good quotes. If it weren't so psychotic, it would actually be FUNNY to watch the paroxysms of panic being displayed by the Rightwingnuts over "socialism" when, in fact, "socialism" is running all through this country. And has been.
2. yes he was a socialist
3. A decent human being and a great American. I like the quote where he says a radical has two feet up in the air, a conservative has two perfectly good feet but hasn't learned how to use them to walk forward, a reactionairy is actually walking backwards, whereas a liberal uses his head to walk forward.
4. Perhaps both.
5. America was in a much different social setting when just emerging from the Depression. (and I'd love it if a contemporary Democrat could be counted on to protect America like FDR did)
6. They are the common sense thoughts of a decent human being.
7. I'd say a decent human being. The phallacy of capitalism is that the free market is the end all be all. We don't currently operate in a free market system and if we did, as any economist will tell you, the economy would suffer tremendously. It stifles competition and runs over the common man. It has very few benefits for the general public. We have tons of regulations and market checks in place.
8. Actually FDR had some very socialist ideals. Here are his 'Economic Bill or Rights' that he precented to Congress in 1944. 1. The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation; 2. The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation; 3. The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living; 4. The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad; 5. The right of every family to a decent home; 6. The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health; 7. The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment; 8. The right to a good education. He would have seen this bill of rights to fruitition if he hadn't died soon after presenting them.
9. decent human being
10. I think it makes him both a socialist and a decent human being. I feel that it is evil to say that the word socialist is a bad word. Only the selfish, greedy, corrupt, and non-evolved could ever consider sharing a bad thing. The quotes are awesome, and it tells me that if he really believed what he was saying, then he was very evolved, with a true understanding of the way things really should be in this world. *sm*
11. I vote for Decent Human Being. Also a realist. If people are starving you get disasters like the French, Russian, Chinese, Cuban, etc, revolutions. Its much better, much more economical, much more sensible, much more humane to have everybody pay taxes to keep everybody at work doing useful things. They get a pay check and pride in doing a necessary, useful job. We are still using FDR's projects today: Hoover Dam electricity, the Golden Gate and SF Bay Bridges, Grand Coulee electricity, the TVA...on and on and on. No, it was not strict capitalism. So what? It worked, it is still working, it was the right thing to do.
12. No,not a socialist,just a human being. I'll see your Roosevelt and raise you a Roosevelt. "City streets are unsatisfactory playgrounds for children because of the danger, because most good games are against the law, because they are too hot in summer, and because in crowded sections of the city they are apt to be schools of crime. Neither do small back yards nor ornamental grass plots meet the needs of any but the very small children. Older children who would play vigorous games must have places especially set aside for them; and, since play is a fundamental need, playgrounds should be provided for every child as much as schools. This means that they must be distributed over the cities in such a way as to be within walking distance of every boy and girl, as most children can not afford to pay carfare" "There can be no greater issue than that of conservation in this country." "This country will not be a permanently good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a reasonably good place for all of us to live in." "There is not a man of us who does not at times need a helping hand to be stretched out to him, and then shame upon him who will not stretch out the helping hand to his brother." Defenders of the short-sighted men who in their greed and selfishness will, if permitted, rob our country of half its charm by their reckless extermination of all useful and beautiful wild things sometimes seek to champion them by saying the 'the game belongs to the people.' So it does; and not merely to the people now alive, but to the unborn people. The 'greatest good for the greatest number' applies to the number within the womb of time, compared to which those now alive form but an insignificant fraction. Our duty to the whole, including the unborn generations, bids us restrain an unprincipled present-day minority from wasting the heritage of these unborn generations. The movement for the conservation of wild life and the larger movement for the conservation of all our natural resources are essentially democratic in spirit, purpose, and method."
13. Some people would argue that "socialist" and "decent human being" are synonymous. Remember, socialism is NOT communism. A free, capitalist society can also be a socialist society if it has a responsible government...
14. Rich SOB with a social conscience. Definitely not a conservative. problem with "capitalism" is that it is inherently not fair. It produces a few huge winners and lots of losers. Just an expansion of serfdom: wage slavery not land slavery. We are not an economic system of wealth generation, but a society of human beings. It is up to society to provide for those without the skills that our economic system favors.
15. I would say decent human being, but hey a man can be both. Socialism is generally based upon compassion for all people rather than greed which is the basis of capitalism. The pure form of either is ill advised though, because they each have their problems. Socialism tends to become bureaucratic and inefficient when used on a large scale. Capitalism basically promotes a two classed system with those with money oppressing those without money. The rich dictate everything in capitalism and sometimes even resourceful and intelligent people can't get past that. Some will argue that is a good thing I argue that that is in essence wage slavery. Mixed together you do get a balance between helping those who have little while not overly constricting those who have more.
16. If you look back on the times, we were just coming out of the great depression, and America needed a leader. Sixty years later there is still controversy regarding FDR and Pearl Harbor that may have been covered up in regard him using the U.S. fleet at Pearl Harbor to lure the Japanese away from attacking the Soviet Union, and creating a second front against the soviets which would have made it impossible for them to defend against Nazi Germany. Despite the common image of an insidious Japanese assault launched against the unwitting American Navy, there is evidence that the infamy of Pearl Harbor began far earlier than December 7, 1941 The evidence that Franklin Roosevelt set Pearl Harbor up and enticed the Japanese to attack there. It is no sectret to those who lived through those times that FDR was indeed a socialist, and this all came about when he met Eleanor a devout socialist who changed forever our history. This was how "The New Deal " came about. A series of programs launched to help after the Depression, that was an economic disaster. It was thought to resolve the most serious problem at that time; unemployment. Unemployment average was about 17%. It also prolonged the depression by raisng taxes, which tripled from 1933 to 1940. It was the war that brought us out of the depression and created jobs. New deal farm policies spoiled food. Companies could not hire due to the high taxes and many, many failed. Yes, FDR WAS a socialist! And we are still, 70 years later trying to climb out of the pit he created. SAY "NO" to Hillary who has these same ideas!
17. Nope, just a decent human being and a pragmatist. Those captains of industry and right wing critics of him who gratuitously use the word "socialist" like a curse word seem to forget that the implementation of the New Deal social programs actually helped to save American business and the capitalism system. Sometimes purists just can't see the forest for the trees.
18. Roosevelt was a progressive. I stick to the classical definition of socialism that requires government ownership of businesses such as airlines, or fuel. If it's a good enough definition for our government, it's good enough for me and the rest is spin - to get people divided. Go look at the definitions of the economies of several countries such as the US, Canada, France in the CIA World Factbook to understand our economy - it is strictly market based.
19. It doesn't take a brainiac to figure out that if you raise the standard of living of the lowest income level, all the income levels above will rise as well. Roosevelt was a demand side economist.
20. Translations: Quote #1- Human beings should rise above economic anarchy ( which is the REAL name of laissez-faire capitalism ) and form an economic system that takes care of all people. Quote #2- Becoming desperate and weak because of poverty produces compromises to ones freedom for the sake of survival. Quote #3- It's easy to selfishly increase the wealth of the rich and powerful but it shows how much we have progressed as an ethical nation when we see to it that the poorest are taken care of. VERDICT- Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a decent human being.
21. Most countries that care about their people have a certain amount of socialism. There's nothing wrong with taking care of or sharing with the less fortunate or less capable. That's what loving your fellow man is all about. "No man is an Island onto himself". Roosevelt was a decent, caring man.
22. He was a socialist democrat -- which equals a decent human being. There's nothing wrong with capitalism, but I think that any corporation getting tax breaks should have to donate 5%-10% of their profits into some sort of social service endeavors that would help house and feed and clothe the needy. It is an absolute obscenity in this great country to have people forced to live on the streets because of hard times. Hungry children without medical insurance -- wow, ain't America grand! By the way, I'm actually a fiscal conservatives in many ways. For example, I think anyone receiving welfare should do SOME sort of public work in exchange for that money if they're physically able -- even something as simple as picking up trash for an hour a day.