Was the Wall Street Bailout Socialist?

Having viewed an interview on MSNBC by Martin Bashir with Vermont U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, I was taken with a question Mr. Bashir asked Sen. Sanders toward the conclusion of the interview.

Martin Bashir: Mr. Sanders, how is it possible that people like Eric Cantor appear to encourage capitalism for everyone until a bank fails, and then socialism is acceptable because ‘we have to bail out the banks… we have to support them.’ But all of us – individual citizens in this society – well, if capitalism swipes us aside, we have to accept that?

Because it’s always good to be certain, I doubled checked a couple resources to be certain of what I was hearing.

Here’s what I found:

From Wikipedia:

Socialism  /ˈsoʊʃəlɪzəm/ is an economic system in which the means of production are either state owned or commonly owned and controlled cooperatively; or a political philosophy advocating such a system.

From New Oxford American Dictionary:

socialism |ˈsōSHəˌlizəm|
noun
a political and economic theory of social organization that advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole.

Ludwig von Mises, author and founder of the movement termed the Austrian School of Economics, in chapter 7 (The Distribution of Income) of his 1951 book Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis (Yale University Press) wrote that “Socialism is nothing but a theory of “just” distribution. The socialist community is characterized by the fact that in it there is no connection between production and distribution. “

From Merriam-Webster:

any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods. : a stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done

I find Mr. Bashir’s question to be entirely spot on.

Here it is again:

Martin Bashir: Mr. Sanders, how is it possible that people like Eric Cantor appear to encourage capitalism for everyone until a bank fails, and then socialism is acceptable because ‘we have to bail out the banks… we have to support them.’ But all of us – individual citizens in this society – well, if capitalism swipes us aside, we have to accept that?

Socialism indeed– corporate socialism.

Occupy Wall Street Protest in Washignton Square Park A group of doctors at the Occupy Wall Street general assembly in Washington Square Park. To read/see my coverage of Occupy Wall street go to my blog here jttp://JulieDermansky.blogspot.com/ Photo via Flickr by jsdart Julie Dermansky ©

It’s abuses like that one – the Wall Street Bailout – that continue to fuel the Occupy Wall Street Movement. Only thing is, Washington, D.C. needs to be re-occupied.

Term Limitations, anyone?