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Cheese Sandwich

(9,086 posts)
Sun May 3, 2015, 10:10 PM May 2015

10 Surprising People Who Advocated Socialism

Mark Twain

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Francis Bellamy, Author Of The Pledge Of Allegiance

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Albert Einstein, Physicist

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Helen Keller, Author And Activist


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George Orwell



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Nelson Mandela, Resistance Fighter And Politician



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Martin Luther King Jr., Activist And Pastor



See more: http://listverse.com/2014/05/13/10-surprising-people-who-advocated-socialism/

18 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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10 Surprising People Who Advocated Socialism (Original Post) Cheese Sandwich May 2015 OP
K&R..... daleanime May 2015 #1
Great group of people. But, I am not surprised by the list. blm May 2015 #2
Does no one remember Jack London? Downwinder May 2015 #3
Yes! Cheese Sandwich May 2015 #4
Now I can Rec. Downwinder May 2015 #5
LOL ok Cheese Sandwich May 2015 #6
you should all read the Iron Heel Doctor_J May 2015 #7
e-book free Downwinder May 2015 #8
Well, Jack London's socialism was unfortunately compromised Ken Burch May 2015 #9
Yes, I do rpannier May 2015 #10
Really! Time to get with the program for me. babylonsister May 2015 #12
London was anti-Asian rpannier May 2015 #16
My dad is/was pretty racist. babylonsister May 2015 #18
First I've heard of that! Cheese Sandwich May 2015 #15
My reply to a previous post rpannier May 2015 #17
A government where the citizenry has the power to determine it's fate. chknltl May 2015 #11
And Huey Long. enlightenment May 2015 #13
This message was self-deleted by its author Cheese Sandwich May 2015 #14
 

Ken Burch

(50,254 posts)
9. Well, Jack London's socialism was unfortunately compromised
Sun May 3, 2015, 11:46 PM
May 2015

by his support for the Imperial War of 1914-1918, and by his racism.

rpannier

(24,568 posts)
10. Yes, I do
Mon May 4, 2015, 12:19 AM
May 2015

Last edited Mon May 4, 2015, 12:50 AM - Edit history (1)

I also remember for my literature classes that he was a racist as well

rpannier

(24,568 posts)
16. London was anti-Asian
Mon May 4, 2015, 01:01 AM
May 2015

He had rather low opinions of Japanese, Chinese and especially Koreans
I've seen in several articles where he was a social Darwinist as well

He was an excellent author. I like his novels.
It doesn't make his contributions any less significant - his essays/articles on the conditions of London are must reads to understand just how bad things were. And they did spur people in the US to action against similar conditions in the US

So, like most people, he was a mixed bag. His racism was part of him

babylonsister

(171,579 posts)
18. My dad is/was pretty racist.
Mon May 4, 2015, 01:19 AM
May 2015

I never got it, but attributed it to his growing up in NY, though my mom never was AFAIK.

But he's a dichotomy; a liberal who hated Obama, now loves him. We shall see. He adored Hillary b/c of Bill.

We haven't talked about Bernie yet; Dad just turned 87.

rpannier

(24,568 posts)
17. My reply to a previous post
Mon May 4, 2015, 01:06 AM
May 2015

He had rather low opinions of Japanese, Chinese and especially Koreans
I've seen in several articles where he was a social Darwinist as well

He was an excellent author. I like his novels.
It doesn't make his contributions any less significant - his essays/articles on the conditions of London are must reads to understand just how bad things were. And they did spur people in the US to action against similar conditions in the US

So, like most people, he was a mixed bag. His racism was part of him

addition:
No one we look to is ever perfect.
I've seen articles where LBJ was a bit of a racist and Robert Byrd was a Klansman at one point
People are often complicated and finding the proverbial 'Knight in Shining Armor' is difficult, nay impossible
London's essays, articles and most of his novels are excellent and important works.
But, he was also a racist. I have seen nothing that said he was a violent Klansman or attacked Asians physically
But I've heard that he did support preventing people from Japan, China, Korea, etc from coming to the US

On edit. I don't think he deserves the same recognition asthe 10 you posted
But his contributions were important

chknltl

(10,558 posts)
11. A government where the citizenry has the power to determine it's fate.
Mon May 4, 2015, 12:40 AM
May 2015

That is my personal definition of democracy, I believe that's what our 'Founding Fathers' were shooting for too. I confess to not being well read when it comes to history or how the various government types work but to me, my definition of democracy IS socialism.

Response to enlightenment (Reply #13)

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