Frank Smith Says NB: Unions hold May Day rally in Hartford--- TheDay.com

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Unions hold May Day rally in Hartford--- TheDay.com

3 comments:

Anonymous said...: Isn't May Day the traditional communist holiday?; May 3, 2011 at 11:43 AM
Anonymous said...: May Day Parade, Red Square:

These days, communism feels a bit silly. But there was a time when it terrified almost everyone in the West. Sure, the terror was stoked by cynical politicians and in the end everything worked out okay, but in many ways there was a genuine foundation to our fears. On this and every May Day, it's worth looking back on why everyone was so scared.; May 4, 2011 at 1:22 AM
Anonymous said...: Socialism was a new and attractive idea to working people, many of whom were drawn to its ideology of working class control over the production and distribution of all goods and services. Workers had seen first-hand that Capitalism benefited only their bosses, trading workers' lives for profit. Thousands of men, women and children were dying needlessly every year in the workplace, with life expectancy as low as their early twenties in some industries, and little hope but death of rising out of their destitution.

Socialism offered another option.

A variety of socialist organizations sprung up throughout the later half of the 19th century, ranging from political parties to choir groups. In fact, many socialists were elected into governmental office by their constituency. But again, many of these socialists were ham-strung by the political process which was so evidently controlled by big business and the bi-partisan political machine. Tens of thousands of socialists broke ranks from their parties, rebuffed the entire political process, which was seen as nothing more than protection for the wealthy, and created anarchist groups throughout the country. Literally thousands of working people embraced the ideals of anarchism, which sought to put an end to all hierarchical structures (including government), emphasized worker controlled industry, and valued direct action over the bureaucratic political process. It is inaccurate to say that labor unions were "taken over" by anarchists and socialists, but rather anarchists and socialists made up the labor unions.; May 4, 2011 at 1:30 AM

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