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Breadlines and the Bread of Life
Was hating socialism always the American way or do we just think that?
Many American Christians, especially those who are older, recoil at the mere mention of socialism or communism. Mention these words and they will instantly think of the poverty that swept across the Soviet Union and still affects Venezuela today. Some of them may even think that these ideologies are antithetical to Christianity in a way that capitalism is not and suggest that all good Americans have thought this way.
Despite what these people may claim, condemning socialism, communism, or any of their derivatives wasn’t always the American way. In fact, during the Gilded Age and into the 1930s, many prominent Christians identified themselves as socialists. If they didn’t, they supported robust social programs that could allow others to survive in a capitalist system.
As capitalism began skyrocketing in the 1800s, many other problems cropped up alongside this economic system. Workers often found themselves enduring dangerous conditions for low wages, often for 12 or more hours a day. Not only that, but these workers received no benefits such as health insurance and had to live in unsanitary, heavily polluted conditions. When considering that 18% of these workers were under the age of 16, it’s not hard to imagine why the…
