Talking Political Philosophy with Billionaires

One of the results of extreme economic inequality is that very wealthy individuals are able to use their wealth to promote their ideas. A billionaire stockbroker is currently running this ad on TV warning that "socialism" led to poverty in Hungary and that the same thing is happening in the U.S. today:

 

The billionaire stockbroker's version of Hungarian history is nonsense. Hungary was a relatively underdeveloped country at the beginning of the 20th century. In the 1930s, its economy was devastated by the massive crisis of capitalism better known as the Great Depression. The country did not become "poorer and poorer" during the 1950s-60s. On the contrary, Hungary industrialized, reduced poverty, and vastly improved its levels of health care and education. 

The billionaire stockbroker's understanding of socialism is also nonsense. Socialism is not a "system" that societies either accept or reject as a whole. Socialism is a broad tradition of political philosophy, rooted in the recognition that extreme economic inequality is harmful and that public goods can be used to keep it under control. Public schools, public roads, public sidewalks, public parks, public police forces, public fire departments, and public hospitals are all expressions of socialism. It is well within the range of honest political dialogue to say that you don't like these things and to argue that as a society we should not have them. But it is deceptive and manipulative in the extreme to claim that Hungary in the 1950s was a socialist country, therefore whatever else is in any way socialist must lead to a precise replication of the conditions found in Hungary in the 1950s. Sweden in the 1970s was strongly influenced by socialist political philosophy, yet it looked very different from Hungary. Guatemala in the 1980s was strongly influenced by capitalist political philosophy - the idea that individuals should be able to accumulate and control farms, factories, and businesses. Guatemala in the 1980s was also characterized by grinding poverty and brutal political repression. If I had the billionaire stockbroker's wealth, perhaps I would produce a TV ad featuring a Guatemalan peasant saying, "I grew up in a capitalist country and I have seen what it does to people. I'm worried that the same thing is happening here."

If I had the billionaire stockbroker's wealth, I would also give some airtime to the workers currently on strike against Walmart:

 

Not being billionaires, they have to deliver their message in person. This takes less money than running ads on cable TV, but considerably more courage.

Comments

[Unnepnap Unnep]

Hungary was a relatively underdeveloped country at the beginning of the 20th century.

Hahahaha it is not true, it's a laughable nonsense. Check and compare the GDP data of the Early XX.century. Even Horthy's Hungary was more closer to the west than present-day Hungary.

[J. C. Myers]

Rates of growth are not the same as levels of development. Hungary was a late industrializer and was relatively underdeveloped at the beginning of the 20th century.