In 1944 during his State of The Union Address Franklin Delano Roosevelt said, " We have come to a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. " Necessitous men are not free men." People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made." Roosevelt and the New Deal reformers rightly understood the connection between freedom and people having what they need. This goes to the idea of freedom as the ability to choose and become what you want to be. Liberals must reclaim this idea as the basis for their politics today. High longterm unemployment, wgae stagnation, declining home values, and the high cost of healthcare make it increasingly difficult for hardworking people to survive or improve their quality of life. The sick uninsured, the unemployed, the underpaid, people who lose their homes, and those bankrupted by medical bills can't meet their needs.They do not have choices and the only thing they are likely to become is destitute. Thats not freedom. In this situation liberals should argue against deregulating large corporations, lowering taxes on the rich, and cutting the social safety net because most of the savings go to the very wealthy not the majority of people who work. This is negative capitalism. A more positive capitalism leads to shared prosperity for both workers and wealthy owners. It enables people to choose and become what they want. In this economy government regulates the marketplace to ensure the public's wellbeing and it uses programs to meet needs the market will not and individual effort cannot. This capitalism sustains a middle class society that is truly free where work pays for a better life, people get educated, they become homeowners, and new businesses are started. How do we achieve this politically ? Liberals must start by unifying and energizing thier base among labor unions, environmentalists, minorities, feminists, gays, and lesbians. Each of these groups however must realize that their particular concerns cannot be addressed apart from a growing economy that benefits working class people. Furthermore, liberals need to talk to the American people about freedom in an economy that restores the middle class. For more than a generation liberals have talked about compassion, rights, and social justice while ignoring freedom.This is a huge mistake because they appear unconcerned with or hostile to the idea central to liberal beliefs. A renewed focus on freedom by liberals will do more than win elections. It will change America for the better.
