Theodore Roosevelt was frequently called a Socialist. The primary reason being that he had an extraordinary sense of fair play. He sided with labor when he thought that the just thing to do, and against capital when he thought they had overstepped their bounds.
I have on occasionally been called a Socialist, generally by folks totally ignorant, at least of the true meaning of socialism. But that criticism includes a vast majority of the right leaning media.
I love Teddy’s response to being called a Socialist:
“Because of things I have done on behalf of justice to the workingman, I have often been called a Socialist. Usually I have not taken the trouble even to notice the epithet. I am not afraid of names, and I am not one of those who fear to do what is right because someone else will confound me with partisans with whose principles I am not in accord. Moreover, I know that many American Socialists are high-minded and honorable citizens, who in reality are merely radical social reformers. They are oppressed by the brutalities and industrial injustices which we see everywhere about us. When I recall how often I have seen Socialists and ardent non-Socialists working side by side for some specific measure of social or industrial reform, and how I have found opposed to them on the side of privilege many shrill reactionaries who insist on calling all reformers Socialists, I refuse to be panic-stricken by having this title mistakenly applied to me.”
If socialism is really defined as not letting the privileged run over the less fortunate, then I am Continue reading “Theodore Roosevelt — Socialist”
