The Case for Strong Government Regulation of Capitalism

Zorroaster · May 14, 2016

It is forgotten that the GOP was once the strongest advocate of regulation of capital. This tendency reached its height with Teddy Roosevelt's trust-busting, but continued as late as Eisenhower, who was strong advocate of labor rights.

The proliferation of libertarian ideas regarding government gradually infected the GOP and has become part of its core value-system. This swing of the pendulum reached its most extreme point with the nomination of hedge fund manager Mitt Romney for president and Rand-advocate Ryan as house leader.

With the current revolt in the GOP, we begin to see the pendulum swinging back.

Given all this, it's high time to reconsider the first Roosevelt, who along with Dwight Eisenhower, should be considered the greatest representatives of a once great party.

Theodore Roosevelt, in his 1906 State of the Union Address, put forward the classic Republican argument for strong regulation of capitalism at the Federal level.

It can not too often be repeated that experience has conclusively shown the impossibility of securing by the actions of nearly half a hundred different State legislatures anything but ineffective chaos in the way of dealing with the great corporations which do not operate exclusively within the limits of any one State. In some method, whether by a national license law or in other fashion, we must exercise, and that at an early date, a far more complete control than at present over these great corporations—a control that will among other things prevent the evils of excessive overcapitalization, and that will compel the disclosure by each big corporation of its stockholders and of its properties and business, whether owned directly or through subsidiary or affiliated corporations. This will tend to put a stop to the securing of inordinate profits by favored individuals at the expense whether of the general public, the stockholders, or the wageworkers.

Our effort should be not so much to prevent consolidation as such, but so to supervise and control it as to see that it results in no harm to the people. The reactionary of ultraconservative apologists for the misuse of wealth assail the effort to secure such control as a step toward socialism. As a matter of fact it is these reactionaries and ultraconservatives who are themselves most potent in increasing socialistic feeling. One of the most efficient methods of averting the consequences of a dangerous agitation, which is 80 per cent wrong, is to remedy the 20 per cent of evil as to which the agitation is well rounded. The best way to avert the very undesirable move for the government ownership of railways is to secure by the Government on behalf of the people as a whole such adequate control and regulation of the great interstate common carriers as will do away with the evils which give rise to the agitation against them. So the proper antidote to the dangerous and wicked agitation against the men of wealth as such is to secure by proper legislation and executive action the abolition of the grave abuses which actually do obtain in connection with the business use of wealth under our present system—or rather no system—of failure to exercise any adequate control at all. Some persons speak as if the exercise of such governmental control would do away with the freedom of individual initiative and dwarf individual effort. This is not a fact. It would be a veritable calamity to fail to put a premium upon individual initiative, individual capacity and effort; upon the energy, character, and foresight which it is so important to encourage in the individual. But as a matter of fact the deadening and degrading effect of pure socialism, and especially of its extreme form communism, and the destruction of individual character which they would bring about, are in part achieved by the wholly unregulated competition which results in a single individual or corporation rising at the expense of all others until his or its rise effectually checks all competition and reduces former competitors to a position of utter inferiority and subordination.

In enacting and enforcing such legislation as this Congress already has to its credit, we are working on a coherent plan, with the steady endeavor to secure the needed reform by the joint action of the moderate men, the plain men who do not wish anything hysterical or dangerous, but who do intend to deal in resolute common-sense fashion with the real and great evils of the present system. The reactionaries and the violent extremists show symptoms of joining hands against us. Both assert, for instance, that, if logical, we should go to government ownership of railroads and the like; the reactionaries, because on such an issue they think the people would stand with them, while the extremists care rather to preach discontent and agitation than to achieve solid results. As a matter of fact, our position is as remote from that of the Bourbon reactionary as from that of the impracticable or sinister visionary. We hold that the Government should not conduct the business of the nation, but that it should exercise such supervision as will insure its being conducted in the interest of the nation. Our aim is, so far as may be, to secure, for all decent, hard working men, equality of opportunity and equality of burden.

Click to expand...

Is it possible that another GOP leader will ever speak in these terms again?

Probably not. In my opinion, both the Republican and Democratic Parties have been rendered incapable of ever running any sort of effective reform agenda.

PatriotNews · May 14, 2016

For those not familiar with history, at the time of Roosevelt there was a populist socialist (progressive) movement
that Theodore Roosevelt was a part of. Regulating capitalism is just another tool of socialists to control the means
of production which is anti-democratic, and anti-capitalist. While some regulation is of course needed and good,
too much regulation can be oppressive, taxing, and a means of control for a tyrannical political class.

Belch · May 14, 2016

Through all that flowery prose, I get the idea he's arguing in favor of some socialism in order to keep the socialists from getting too socialist.

sorry, but that's not much of an argument. How about letting the socialists be like the mormons. Give them oregon, and then sell them body bags when they start running out.

Texas Republican · May 14, 2016

Regulation kills motivation, innovation, and prosperity.

Log in or Sign up

The Case for Strong Government Regulation of Capitalism

Zorroaster Well-Known Member

PatriotNews Well-Known Member

Belch Well-Known Member

Texas Republican Well-Known Member Past Donor

Share This Page

Log in or Sign up

The Case for Strong Government Regulation of Capitalism

Zorroaster Well-Known Member

PatriotNews Well-Known Member

Belch Well-Known Member

Texas Republican Well-Known Member Past Donor

Share This Page

Useful Searches