The So-called "Conservative Challenge" and a "Liberal Answer" from 50 Years Ago, Part Three [essay]

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Senator Eugene McCarthy was a liberal candidate for the presidency running in the primaries against Lyndon Johnson in 1967-68.  His book on what he called “the Conservative Challenge” had been published in 1964 but was reissued in 1968.

Many of his statements about the “challenge” from conservatives and about the current state of affairs turn out to be relevant to conservatives’ values, initiatives, and actions of today.   Many statements about his own time could be made with equal force in our own time.

McCarthy’s “Answer” is divided into several parts.  The first two parts – “The Scales of Economic Justice" and "Of Payrolls and Property" – were the subjects of my first two reports.  This final report deals with the rest.

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Part III is called “The Responsibilities of Responsible Government.” Reported below, ignoring the original page order, are what seem to me the most interesting statements in this and the concluding parts.  

A general theme is that liberals find government action to be needed and effective in the pursuit of social justice.

“It has been argued that once the federal government moves to meet a particular problem, complete federal control or operation inevitably follows.  The overwhelming weight of evidence in our national history is against this assertion.” [p. 65]

[Social Security] “was violently opposed by conservatives when it was first presented, and it has been fought by them at nearly every stage at which significant improvement or extension has been proposed.” [p. 97]

“…Experience has shown that this [Social Security] program, including nearly all citizens of the United States, has been most effective as a national program.” [p. 66]

[On the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation] “Again experience has proved the inadequacy of the conservative judgment and demonstrated the need for the application of reasoned judgment in developing governmental programs to meet economic and fiscal needs.” [p. 104]

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Particular social problems of 1964, 1968… and 2012 are then discussed:

“…On November 19, 1945, President Truman requested the enactment of a national health program.” [p. 63]

“There are those who argue that private insurance, together with state aid for the indigent sick, is adequate.  The obvious answer is that, for many, this has not been the case.”[p. 66]

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“The state as an institution concerned primarily with the temporal good of man has a right and an obligation to set up standards for education, and the right to require its citizens to meet these standards insofar as it is possible to do so.  The standards, of course, must be reasonable and must leave open great areas of freedom for the pursuit of truth and individual fulfillment.” [p. 74]

“The last four Presidents – Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson – have asked for greater federal participation in financing education in the United States.” [p. 71]

“ ‘Education,’ [President Kennedy said in 1963] ‘is the keystone in the arch of freedom and progress.  …For the nation, increasing the quality and availability of education is vital to both our national security and our domestic well-being.’ ” [p. 76]

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“The consequences of discrimination [in civil rights] are everywhere evident, but most clearly in the case of Negroes.  The median income of Negro families is about 50 percent that of white families.  In 1961 Negroes made up 21 percent of the unemployed, although they made up only 11 percent of the working force. …” [p. 80]

“ ‘A conservative,’ [William Buckley] states… ‘is seldom disposed to use the federal government as a sword of social justice, for the sword is generally two-edged.’” [p. 82]

“Basic to the operation of the legislative branch of the government is … rule by majority vote.  Frustrating the majority by prolonged debate was in no way sustained or supported at the Constitutional Convention. …Since 1917, when the Senate authorized the limitation of debate by two-thirds of those present and voting, closure has been moved 27 times and has failed 22 times.  It has failed every time when it was invoked with reference to civil rights – some 11 times.” [p. 89]

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“The danger of subordination of individuals or minorities to the will of the majority has been offset primarily by our emphasis on individual rights, our insistence on tolerance of nonconformity, and the support and freedom and measure of authority we give to the government.” [p. 78]

“Alexander Hamilton [wrote] in The Federalist No. 22…: ‘To give a minority a negative upon a majority (which is always the case where more than a majority is requisite to a decision), is, in its tendency, to subject the sense of the greater number to that of the lesser. … The majority, in order that something might be done, must conform to the views of the minority, and thus the sense of the smaller number will overrule that of the greater…’” [p. 90]

“Free speech and the right to express minority positions is not the same as unlimited speech.” [p. 93]

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In our own time, conservatives seek to “starve” government in order to prohibit what they see as the liberal inclination to use government as a fundamental tool for pursuing social justice – quality public education, accessible health care, individual civil rights, protection of the average American, and security for the poor and the aging – issues which, my goodness, are the very problems we are trying to deal with today.

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The So-called "Conservative Challenge" and a "Liberal Answer" from 50 Years Ago, Part Two [essay]

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When I shook hands with liberal Democratic candidate Eugene McCarthy in 1968, it never occurred to me that in 2012 I’d be citing memorable passages from his 1964 book A Liberal Answer to the Conservative Challenge.  But then it never occurred to me that anything written about current affairs in that time period would apply so aptly to the world of 2012 as I found that many of McCarthy’s observations seem to do today.

This is true, I think, for two reasons: (a) the fact that the statements were so perceptive in their own time, and (b) the fact that the tension between liberal principles and perceptions and conservative principles and perceptions is an enduring – if not permanent – feature of American culture.

As I came to the end of Part One of this report, I had finished leafing through McCarthy’s Introduction “The Banner Yet Waves” and Part I “The Scales of Economic Justice.”  Part II is called, “Of Payrolls and Poverty.”

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The first chapter of this section is “The Poor, Their Plight and Rights.”  Here are some key passages.

“[In 1964] … the number of poor in the United States [is estimated] as being as being 40 and 50 million people.” [p. 37]

This number of poor Americans would have been about 23% of the total population in 1964.  As the 1960s and early ’70s boomed along, the percentage of poor in this country was cut down to about 11% in 1973.  By the 2010 census, that percentage had risen again by over 4%.

“Nearly 7 million people depend on public assistance for all or part of the income they must have for basic necessities …We have 65 million citizens in the United States who are 65 years or over… Most of these people have very limited financial means. …It is estimated that 14 million American families live in substandard or deteriorating homes…” [p. 37]

“…There is no doubt that poverty is still a fact of life in the United States.” [p. 37]

And poverty in America certainly seems to be a fact of life again, over 16% and rising in 2010, especially when we contrast the percentage at the bottom of the wealth scale with those at the top.

“Under such conditions does government have any obligation?  The conservative position generally is that it does not; the liberal position is that it does have a responsibility.” [p. 38]

“President [Franklin] Roosevelt expressed his view…in his State of the Union Address of 1944: ‘We cannot be content, no matter how high the general standard of living may be, if some fraction of our people – whether it be one-third or one fifth or one tenth – is ill-fed, ill-clothed, ill-housed, and insecure. …Necessitous men are not free men.’” [p. 40-1]

“These have been the elements of the liberal program and, to the extent these needs are not met, they remain as essential parts of the liberal program.” [p. 42]

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The following chapter, Chapter 2 of Part II by this 1968 presidential hopeful was called “The Real Right to Work.”  First, some of McCarthy’s general observations:

“Unemployment is in many ways the most difficult if not the central problem of our free economy and our free society.” [p. 42]

“In a liberal view, ‘the right to work’ is too closely related to basic human rights to be used as a mere slogan against unionization.” [p. 48]

“Neither unrelieved leisure activities nor idleness is the road to happiness.  Man by nature needs more than satisfaction of his capacity to consume.  He needs also to produce, to construct, to add some degree of perfection to goods or to provide services for other men.” [p. 48]

These are statements about 1964 …or are they about 2012?

“Many thousands of Americans suffer long-term unemployment today because of age, race, lack of proper training, or obsolescence of once valued skills.” [p. 42]

“Economic theories should not divert us from the simple, positive response that justice demands when we see the misery and hopelessness in which too many of our people now live.  Evasion of their just claim for help is faulty democracy as well as bad economics.” [p. 45]

What about conservatives’ and liberals’ contrasting positions on unemployment?

“What is the conservative answer? … that there always must be workers changing jobs, industries declining as others rise, and a ready labor supply available for new products or extra shifts…[or] that current unemployment is temporary…[or] that the problem is local [and] it should be left to industry or to the states.” [p. 45]

“The liberal position emphasizes federal responsibility.” [p. 45]

“…The federal government should stand ready with emergency public works programs to help meet the very special problems of recession or unusual temporary disturbances in the economic life of the country.” [p. 47]

In the 1950s, from reading the newspapers I had inferred that what distinguished Republicans from Democrats was the level of unemployment that each party considered “normal.”  Democrats, I’d concluded, thought that unemployment of about 3% was more or less appropriate for a healthy economy; a higher level of unemployment would lead Democrats to intervene.  Republicans thought 6% unemployment was tolerable, and only if a larger percentage were out of work would they consider taking action.

In recent times, conservatives have resisted significant intervention even when the unemployment rate was well over 10%.

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The last chapter of Part II is called “The Challenge of Automation.”  Here are what seem to me the key statements:

“Work is an activity which for most…is an expression of the human person.” [p. 50]

“In the middle of the 19^th century, John Stuart Mill, writing as a philosopher of liberal economics, said that there cannot be a more ‘legitimate object of the legislator’s care than the interests of those who are sacrificed to the gain of their fellow citizens and prosperity – those displaced by changing methods of production.’” [p. 52]

So far, McCarthy in this chapter was writing of basic liberal tenets.

“…[The legislator’s] decision may be to establish or maintain national programs of security; to improve the social security program so as to make it more effective, to have a national program of health insurance, to have a more satisfactory unemployment compensation program based upon national standards.” [p. 54]

“We have been challenged to work out devices and procedures under which every person can have a claim and a share of that which is produced.” [p. 55]

All these statements would be true for the liberal at any time.

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Part III of McCarthy’s book is called “The Responsibilities of Responsible Government.”  That sounds important.  I will review it carefully before writing Part Three of this report.  “Stay tuned!”


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The So-Called "Conservative Challenge" as "Answered" 50 Years Ago, Part One [essay]

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One warm (or maybe hot) Spring day in 1968, I was in a little public park in a  small California town, hanging around with a shifting group of 50 folks or so.  We were awaiting the arrival of Eugene J. McCarthy, liberal Democratic Senator from Minnesota who in November the year before had announced his intention to run against President Lyndon Johnson in the New Hampshire primary.  He was about an hour late, but no one seemed to mind waiting.  I myself had waited two hours in the fall of 1960 for John Galbraith to get to our college town campaigning for John Kennedy.  In both cases, there was a sense of excited anticipation but not frustration or annoyance.

Then a car drove up, and three folks got out.  Applause and a few cheers greeted them, and McCarthy as well as a small Hispanic man shook hands joyfully as they moved toward the center of the crowd in this little park.  The third guy, evidently a staffer, settled us down and apologized for being late.  There had apparently been a big, enthusiastic crowd for them in Berkeley.

As Gene looked on benevolently, the staffer gave an impassioned introduction to the dark-skinned little man, who was apparently a significant figure in the Hispanic community, who himself then gave a wonderful short speech to great acclaim.  (I later learned a lot more about Cesar Chavez.)  But it was McCarthy whom we had come for, and it was a privilege to hear him, to shake his hand, and to wish him well.

That was in 1968, when McCarthy's 1964 book had been reprinted: A Liberal Answer to the Conservative Challenge.  I should have read it then, of course, but I have been glad to read it now at last.  It is surprisingly relevant today... when liberals might think an "answer to the conservative challenge" is as much needed as it ever has been.

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Here are some key passages from this almost 50-year-old book:

 From the Introduction, "The Banner Yet Waves" -

“The basic ideas or concepts [in the American founding documents] are self-determination, equality, liberty, and the positive role of government.  Of these basic concepts the only one subject to serious debate is the last – that of the role of government.  It is on this point that liberals and conservatives in the United States come closest to ideological or doctrinaire – as well as practical – disagreement.  The other ideas are generally accepted by both liberals and conservatives.” [p. 10]

“The principles of sound taxation have not changed since they were stated by Adam Smith in 1776.  A sound tax system, he said, should raise enough revenue; it should be just; it should be easy to administer; and it should stimulate growth.” [p. 13] 

“Liberals have been accused of being materialists - conservatives of believing in economic determinism; liberals of lacking faith - conservatives of having no trust in human reason; liberals of perpetuating and sharpening the class struggle - conservatives of advocating unlimited competition, the survival of the fittest as the dynamic of life and progress in society.” [p. 8] 

McCarthy’s comparison between Liberals and Conservatives reminded me of one of my own attempts to address this question:

http://byronderrick.blogspot.com/2011/04/conservatives-liberals-and-american-way.html

Also, as I read McCarthy’s introduction, I was struck by how much his observations on the U. S. of the almost 50 years ago seem like things a liberal might be expected to say today.

So I read on.

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Part I is called “The Scales of Justice,” with the first chapter "Taxes and the Quest for Equity."  Here are some of the memorable comments:

“The principles of sound taxation have not changed since they were stated by Adam Smith in 1776.  A sound tax system, he said, should raise enough revenue; it should be just; it should be easy to administer; and it should stimulate growth.” [p. 13] 

“…Social control objectives will continue to be reflected in our tax laws, as they are today in excise taxes on such things as liquor, tobacco, and gambling.” [p. 13]

“The progressive income tax is a special target of the conservatives.  Some even advocate the repeal of the 16^th Amendment.”  [ p. 13]

“Although there is a continuing debate even among liberals as to whether the rates themselves are proper or defensible, it is generally accepted by liberals that tax rates should reflect in some degree the taxpayer’s ability to pay; that is, the rate should be higher for those in high income brackets.  The top rate in the federal income tax scale has been, for many years, 91 percent. [p.14] (emphasis added)

"…Many [of the rich] benefit from special dividend credits and deductions now provided in the law.  Many have changed their investments so as to be able to take advantage of the capital gains provisions of the law.”  [p.14]

“In his 1961 tax message to the Congress, President Kennedy recommended that the present dividends exclusion …be repealed.” [p. 16]

Unlike many of his other statements, McCarthy's remark that the tax rate on the rich was 90% in his time is surely not true today, when the rich pay less than 25% in income tax.  The economy was booming in McCarthy's time.

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Moving on, then, here are some passages from the next chapter, "The Myths of Federal Financing":

"The United States is currently engaged in a very important discussion of economic and fiscal policy." [p.19]

Does that sound familiar?

"There are three widely and strongly held conservative ideas which bear importantly on this discussion:  One, that a balanced budget is an ultimate good; two, that absolute control of inflation is not only an economic good but also a moral good; and three, that government expenditures by their very nature are wasteful and noneconomic." [p.19]

"I must ... make it clear that liberals are not in any absolute or moral sense in favor of unbalanced budgets... [or] inflation - galloping or creeping - and that liberals do not believe that governmental expenditures are never wasteful." [p.20]

Note: The reference to "galloping" or "creeping" inflation was McCarthy's nod to the rhetoric of the '60s, or rather to the clichés of the time.  Today, it is sort of assumed that annual increases in the Consumer Price Index of 3% or so is a sign of a healthy, slowly growing economy.  In the '60s, just about any price increase was seen as a threat; inflation at 3% or below was "creeping" and above 3% was "galloping.

The subject of this chapter - fiscal policy - is the most directly related to my own interests.  So far, the statements in this chapter (except maybe for the rhetoric) could have been written by a liberal today.   Moving ahead, we find these passages:

"A balanced budget may be good or it may be bad." [p. 20]

"In the years between 1953 and 1960 - the Eisenhower administration - the budget was unbalanced in five out of eight years, and the national debt increased by roughly $20 billion." [p. 21]

"Deficit financing and the extension of credit are vital to the American economy.  Credit is one of the instruments which have contributed greatly to the growth of Western civilization and certainly to the growth of the United States." [p. 21]

This part of the discussion reminded me on my own essay:

http://byronderrick.blogspot.com/2010/08/in-times-of-war-times-of-recession.html

Let's see what's next:

"A popular position on the part of the conservatives is that the imposition of a federal debt ceiling will result in something called 'fiscal responsibility.'  This claim is not supported by the record." [p. 22]

The debt ceiling is certainly a pertinent issue today.

"One of the most serious consequences [of this arbitrary ceiling] is that the ceiling has served as an  excuse, perhaps justified by necessity, for highly questionable budget practices.  [p. 22]

"Actually the debt ceiling is not an instrument for [keeping budgets balanced].  It is ineffective in times of prosperity, when revenue is high, and has a dangerous, arbitrary braking effect during times of recession.  It leads to rigidity in debt management and in thinking with regard to government finance and policy.  One Secretary of the Treasury after another has borne this out in testimony." [p. 25]

These comments all still pertinent to our situation today.  In the remaining four pages...:

"Sumner Slichter, who has a reputation as a somewhat conservative economist wrote..., "Most important of all, people should realize that the alternative to creeping inflation is a fairly substantial amount of unemployment.'"  [p. 26] 

"Is a balanced or an unbalanced budget good or bad?  The answer must be that neither is economically or morally good or bad in itself, but that each budget must be judged in relation to the whole pattern of facts and forces." [p.28] 

"To oversimplify and to misapply slogans is to do a disservice to the whole decision-making process in a democracy." [pp. 28-29] (emphasis added)

Some of these book's comments - including this last one - could be said about any time in any nation's history.

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The next chapter is called, "The Common Stake."  Let's see what memorable comments we find here:

"'Get the government out of business" is a popular conservative political slogan.  ...The federal government has been actively involved in the business and economic life of the country since the beginning of our nation's existence."  [pp. 29-30]

"The issues of government fiscal policy, of credit and interest rates, rates of economic growth, taxes, tariffs, and of government relation to business remain political issues today... ."  [p. 30]

"Today" could be 2012 too.

"... American business is primarily motivated by search for profit and individual or corporate advancement, and cannot be expected to respond to all of the demands of a social or economic nature... . Government, on the other hand, has primary responsibility for the common good and, therefore, must assert itself when private interests seriously threaten or interfere with the efforts to achieve it."  [p. 30] (emphasis added)

"Regulatory powers serve a number of purposes:  They may protect the public, insure a free competitive economy, or promote business activity."  [p. 30]

"Almost without exception, federal intervention in the economic life of nation has followed abuse of privilege, or neglect or failure on the part of extra-governmental institutions or individuals to meet the needs of the country."  [p. 31]

In 2012 the tension between businesses and public regulation is still, or again, a central issue in our political debates.  The next section recalls the statement in the Introduction: "Liberals [have been accused] of lacking faith - conservatives of having no trust in human reason."  Moving on...

"In political campaigns it is customary for liberals to charge that government has not done enough for the economy, and for conservatives to charge that the government is attempting to do too much."  [p. 32]

"[Liberal] Leon Keyserling ... insists that reasoned judgment be applied to the economy and the business community and to its problems; and that to leave these problems to nature or to the operation of economic laws (which, with some oversimplifications, is called the conservative approach) is to declare for the irrational."  [p. 35]

"Technical processes, which includes business and economic processes, must be directed to human ends." [p. 35] (emphasis added)

"The idea of 'survival of the fittest' does not apply to human society... ." [p. 35]

"...Some of the early and simple rules of competition, which work well when there are many small producers competing in a free and open market, do not work as effectively when great concentration of economic power is involved.  We must acknowledge that with an increase in power there must be corresponding increase in responsible control." [p. 36]

And in 2012 we must acknowledge that power has become more concentrated in larger and larger multi-national business corporations than ever before.  But there has not been "corresponding increase in responsible control" - in fact, to the contrary.

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Part II is called "Of Payrolls and Poverty."  I will get to its first chapter "The Poor: Their Plight and Rights" in Part Two.

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