Religion and Socialism
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PUBLISHED BY THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS OF AMERICA RELIGION AND SOCIALISM --plus-- + Mark Levinson on the Economy + Joanne Barkan on Sweden INSIDE DEMOCRATIC LEFT Repairing the Republican Recession What It Means To Be A Religious Socialist A Democratic Socialist Response DSA'ers Talk About Their Spirituality ... 18 by Mork Levinson ... 3 Discovering the Spiritual Sweden Remodels Have the Swedes An Introduction to the Literature Tossed Out Social Democracy? of Religion and Socialism by Joanne Barkan ... 6 by Gory Dorrien ... 1S DSAction ... 9 Religion and Socialism Around the World On The Left by Horry Fleischman ... 10 by John Cort and Judy Deutsch . 17 Convention Report Jimmy Higgins Reports ... 24 by Ginny Coughlin.. 12 Cover art and art on pages 20-21 by Emil Antonucci. EDITOR'S NOTE more than 200 words) on articles and mum wage workers. topics addressed in our pages. As the In short, capitalism has failed to magazine grows, this dialogue be deliver the goods for most Americans. tween the Editorial Committee and We can do better. The 1992 elections ANEW readers, and among readers, will help have begun and more than ever the Democratic Left meet the needs and U.S. needs a strong socialLt voice. interests of our diverse readership. DSA and Democratic Left \\ill help We want to make that readership push the debate and the programs LOOK! even more diverse, but we need your necessary for America'!> revitaliza help. Please check your local progres tion. Taking our cue from DSA Hon BY MICHAEL LIGHTY sive bookstore to see if they carry orary Chair Barbara Ehrenreich, we Democratic Left; if not, urge them to do can remind folks that democratic so THIS ISSUE OF DEMOCRATIC LEFT so and let us know. Show the maga cialists have always opposed commu reflects some changes, both big and zine to your friends -- even if they do nism and capitalism. One d°"n, one small. We are bigger than ever, with a not want to join DSA, they can sub to go. rm circulation of 14,000 copies. scribe to the magazine. Yet, as much In fact, Democratic Socialists of as we love subscribers, members have Micl!ael Lighty is DSA 's atio1111l America is the largest socialist organi a special place in our data base (and Director and Managing Editor of zation in the U.S. and that fastest hearts), so please use Democratic Left Democratic Left. growing organization on the left. to recruit new DSA'ers. DSA celebrated our membership Mark Levinson, chief economist DEMOCRATIC LEIT growth and planned strategy for the for AFSCME District Council 37, ar next two years at our National Con gues in this issue, the recession is the Founding Editor vention in Chicago in November, most painful result of the failure of Michael Harrington (1928-1989) highlights of which begin on page 12. American political leaders to promote This issue inaugurates a new de a high-skill, high-wage economy. Mnmaging Editor sign, cooked up by Democratic Left's Contrary to conservative dogma this Michael Lighty production whiz, Ginny Coughlin, in kind of often unionized employment Prod11ctio11 consultation with the Editorial Com makes the most successful exports Ginny Coughlin mittee. The two-column format is and makes the U.S. more competitive easier to read, creates more options internationally. Instead of an indus Editorial Committee Joanne Barkan, Mitth Horowitz for captions, photographs and illus trial policy, expanded job creation Sherri Levine, Neil Mclaughlin trations, and we hope, signals a con based on government intervention Maxine Philiips temporary look. and planning, and the overhaul of Dnnomti< Left (IS.SN 016403207) ii publllhtd tix limH • ym at We invite you to participate in U.S. infrastructure, we are starting to 15 Du1ch SI.. I 500. NY, NY 10038. Subocripdons Sii roguhr; SIS lNbtubonal. Pottmuttr Stnd •ddrMS. d\lngn to 15 Dutch St., I Democratic Left by contributing to a fulfill the Republican economic vi 500. NY. NY 1003& 0...-,•tic t..f• 1Spubli>hodbythe Otmo<nbc Soruh.uof Amtri<a, IS Du•ch5t., ISOO. NY. NY1003'(212)962· new Letters to the Editor section. We sion: a small but hugely wealthy elite OJOO.Srg....t •rldn trp- tlv .,,.,...,, <f tlv •ulloon ..,4 1<D1 would like to print short letters (no controlling a nation of mostly mim- _,.n1y t1-tft"-Clr\'••wrtoo 2 D tMOCRA TIC LEFT Repairing the Repu. blican Recession A Democratic Socialist Response BY MARK LEVINSON s the recession enters its eighteenth month George A Dush has yet to enact an anti-recession policy. The President's inaction stands out even in com parison with this century's most conservative presidents. Herbert Hoover supported public jobs pro grams to end the Depression. ln response to the 1981-82 recession, Ronald Reagan increased govern ment spending(on themilitary)and < ii approved a $6 billion jobs program. c In fact, every recession this century •if has elicited more of a response from government than the current reces sion has from George Bush. His spectacular drop the late 1970s, forcing families to work more A Brooklyn in the polls -- his ratings have fallen forty points hours just to maintain their standard of living. storefront in ten months -- indicates that the American Investment Declined. Compared to the pre advertises the people expect something more from government. vious business cycle in 1973-79 the pace of real plight facing It is only fitting that Dush sink with the net productive investment during the most re urban economy. Ten years ago Republicans implem cent 1979-89 business cycle declined by a quarter. residents. ented their program of cutting taxes, reducing Tiie Safety Net Fell Apart. In 1979, 19 percent the welfare state, attacking labor, and withdraw of poor families with children were lifted out of ing federal funds from states and cities. This pro poverty by government cash assistance. In 1987, gram benefited the wealthiest in our society who, the latest year for which figures are available, the theory went, would invest their new wealth, only 10.5 percent of such families were lifted which would lead to economic growth, the bene from poverty by cash assistance. fits of which would trickle down to everyone. State and Local Fiscal Crises Developed. A What in fact happened? decade of federal cutbacks, an explosion in health Poverty Increased. The economic growth of care costs and the national recession have left the 1980s had little effect on poverty. In 1990, 13.5 state and local budgets in the worst financial con percent of all Americans, 33.6 million people, dition since the Depression. Unlike the federal lived in poverty -- an increase of over 2 million government, state and local governments are from 1989. More than one in five children are required to balance their budgets. As the econ poor. Black children under the age of six have a omy declines they are forced to raise taxes or cut poverty rate of over 50 percent. spending. According to the Congressional Budget Wages Fell. Real hourly wage and salary Office, state cuts in spending increased unem earnings have declined by about 10 percent since ployment by one percentage point nationwide /..\NUARY/FEBRUARY 1992 3 SHH walHng for and much more in New York, California and vate investment, and prolong the recession. the trlckle New England where fiscal problems are most The problem with the conventional wisdom down effect. severe. is that there is precious little evidence to support Job-hunters. The withdrawal of federal funds from states it. As the late Robert Lekachman used to point SCCWI the and cities has resulted in a shift in who pays for out, it would seem to anyone not befuddled by classlfleds In Cl"I services. The federal government cut taxes on the too much formal economic training that when unemployment wealthy. States and localities have raised taxes fadories are running at n percent of capacity lnsurmce on the poor and middle class. As Gerald McEn and the economy is capable of producing $200 office. tee, president of the American Federation of billion additional Gross National Product there State County and Municipal Employees is room for both business and government in (AFSCME), testified before Congress: creases in expenditure. The obsession with the deficit is especially These shifts, from federal to state and puzzling after the experience of the recovery local government and from the wealthy to from the deep 1981-82 Reagan recession in the the middle class, are responsible for much face of, or perhaps led by, soaring budget defi of the public anger and disgust of govern cits. In fact, the budget deficit today is smaller in ment. States and localities have increased relation to the size of the economy than it was taxes on the middle class. These taxes during Reagan's first term. Then, with a larger have not gone for the better services they deficit, the Administration jump-started the econ want, but just to replace lost federal funds. omy with tax cuts and an increase in military The middle class feels like it is paying spending. The problem was not the resulting twice -- and it is. deficit, but the way it was crealed (that is, gov The conventional wisdom is that the large ernment spending was frittered away on the budget deficit renders ineffective the traditional military rather than used for public investment). instruments of anti-recession fiscal policy -- in Responding to criticism of Bush's do-noth creasing government expenditures. Supposedly ing policy, an aide to the President stated, "The to further increase the deficit would undermine real question is . is there anybody else who can confidence, raise interest rates, crowd out pri- do better." The lesson from 1988, when Dukakis 4 D EMOC RATIC LEn thought he didn't have to stand for anything America's trade policies must be brought in line other than competence, is that the Democrats with international reality.