Social Democracy 101, Jack London at Yale

In 1906, my great-grandfather Dr. Alexander Fitzgerald Irvine was the secretary of the Socialist Party of Connecticut and a fellow at Yale University where he taught studies in divinity. He sought to shed some light on the subject of social protection. He had first-hand experience as a reverend in the New Haven religious community. He became very aware of parishioner stealing and other forms of skulduggery used to acquire the most prosperous benefactors. He despised the practice of selectively seeking profitable parishioners while ignoring the plight of the downtrodden. He felt that this practice was in conflict with Jesus’ teachings. He thereafter invited Jack London to speak at Yale on the subject of socialism. This book is derivative of my great-grandfather's book, Jack London at Yale.

My great-grandfather further believed that, due to this hypocrisy involving the church’s duty to the poor, the government needed to take an active role in offering a hand up to those in need. He strongly advocated that it should not be assumed that the church and pity be the sole final resources for those in need, and the government needed to take an active role in providing social networks.

It is only through serious dialog, we come closer to the truth. This dialog is about common sense approaches to governance through the incorporation of social democratic safety nets, incorporated into a nation whose financial foundation is based on capitalism. It should be no surprise that the first harsh reality Americans have to face is the fact that, under capitalism, it is the duty of for-profit corporate entities to maximize profits for their shareholders, and that makes good financial sense. If the directors of a board of a publicly owned entity fail to meet this duty, the CEO is quite often voted out by the majority of shareholders in order to bring in a new CEO who will have that same duty; to maximize profits. The end result is that the company either raises its prices, at the risk of losing business or shakes up the company and becomes more productive. This often entails getting rid of the proverbial “dead wood,” or the new CEO will soon find themselves to be out of a job.

The need for money is at the root of both blue-collar crime, and white-collar crime. We live in a society whereby it is, for all practical purposes, a crime to be poor. It becomes a dog-eat-dog world whereby the struggle to survive drives people to go outside of their comfort zone and often be forced by circumstances to do things counter to their good nature and personal ethics. We live in a society where it has become, “every man for himself,” and both white and blue-collar crime increases as people do whatever it takes to survive. In a society whereby money is the main driving force, the “haves” will do everything they can to keep their wealth, while the “have-nots” will do everything they have to, in order to acquire wealth. With a corporate-protectionist government approach to big business, the line between the haves and have-nots is becoming increasingly insurmountable.

Health, education, and welfare are major barriers to entrepreneurial opportunity. Without forms of social democracy such as universal healthcare and education, the potential for mass enterprise is squandered. People are precluded by these basic economic barriers from reaching their potential. It is these issues that have continued to plague workers worldwide, and people of all persuasions and walks of life are affected by this ongoing class struggle. We need individualism and a free market society, and we also need it to be tamed with a fairness that, along with prosperity, provides protections for the vulnerable and opportunity for all. Health, education, and welfare are just as important as a strong military. All of them are forms of social democracy.

The book, Socialism 101, Jack London at Yale is available online at Barnes and Noble.