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By Newsweek Editors
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A New Era of Big Government
Why run a sensationalistic cover headline such as "We Are All Socialists Now" (Feb. 16)? Your articles made a strong case that we have witnessed the end of the radical deregulation policies implemented by President Ronald Reagan and his successors. With the problems of unfettered free enterprise piling up and so many individuals and organizations getting hurt, a shift has certainly occurred. The headline should have read "We Are All Realists Now."
Ron Malzer
La Crosse, Wisconsin
As a European living in the United States, I find all this hysteria about "socialism" amusing. Believe me, America has a long way to go before getting anywhere close to European-style socialism. This country has been temporarily brought to a halt by dumb and dishonest business practices, not by capitalism. What realistic alternative does the U.S. government have now but to inject money into the system?
David Ballantyne
Raleigh, North Carolina
Socialism is the idea that wealth should be generated in accordance with one's abilities and distributed in accordance with one's needs; it should not be conflated with big government. Big government can be used to support wealth and privilege, as it is under fascist regimes, while the elimination of government is perfectly compatible with libertarian socialism (i.e., anarchism). Americans need not fear that their country is becoming "socialist" because their hard-earned tax dollars may be used to bail out financial institutions and automobile companies. The purpose of such maneuvers is, to paraphrase Michael Freedman's "Big Government Is Back—Big Time," not to replace wealth and privilege but to preserve them.
Richard Evanoff, professor
School of International Politics, Economics and Communication
Aoyama Gakuin University
Tokyo, Japan
Read More on World
Worse things could happen to the American people than the temporary adoption of a European-style socialist government to restore the original American pre-crisis economic model. As long as the Obama administration models its government intervention on France and not on Britain, things ought to work out all right. France, much more conservative than Britain, followed a different path and, while hit by the global crisis like everybody else, manages quite well. If Obama can somehow forge a "third way" that builds on the best of European "social capitalism" while focusing on the traditional dynamism and resourcefulness of the American people, the United States could well overcome its difficulties by the end of his first term. The solution lies in the right balance between free-market and centrally controlled capitalism with occasional, selective and temporary protectionist interventions, where required.
Karl H. Pagac
Villeneuve-Loubet, France
We are socialists? Give me a break! I lived in two of those European countries that Americans disdainfully refer to as "socialist"—so called because of the use of tax money to provide essential services such as health care and education that ensure that nobody is left behind. I can't think of a case in which the government took ownership of businesses that had failed because of their own greed and stupidity. Then again, greed and stupidity are not considered virtues in these countries. A marriage of government with corporate interests is more commonly referred to as "fascism."
Povl Lasbo
Lopez Island, Washington
The thought of creeping "socialism" in America is almost unimaginable. What would it be like if Americans were spared the worry of not being able to afford getting sick, or having to choose between rent, food and medicine? What would it be like if we had paid pregnancy leave, great public transportation, six weeks of paid vacation annually and the ability to afford to send our children to college? We have a system that builds character, as long as you don't mind the stress, anxiety, poverty, homelessness, hopelessness and unhappiness that can accompany it.
Arlen Grossman
Monterey, California
Your article was chilling because it verified the predictions made by Karl Marx. The Cold War made us think that the communists would take over by force. Certainly, the Soviets fed that fear. However, most people do not remember that Marx said the fall of capitalism would come not through war and aggression but via a natural process of the system devouring itself through greed and avarice. The image of Wall Street tycoons making millions while undermining the very foundations of our financial system, and taking bonuses after losing all our money, seems to fulfill this prediction. The question remains: do Americans have the strength to overcome this calamity, make the temporary sacrifices needed to fix the system and return to sensible capitalism, thus ultimately proving Marx wrong?
Michael Feinman
Agoura Hills, California
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