Theos-Talk Archives (December 1996 Message tl00467)

What you describe as the left is the worst kind of totalitarianism, which
since the end of the cold war is entirely passe. Other views of the left are
that individuals work together voluntarily as a group, and get soemthing
accomplished by cooperating with each other. This coopeeration does not
interfere with the fact that each person has their own individual thoughts,
ideas, and is free to act as (s)he chooses (I'd say, as long as it's moral).
In this idea of the left, the government jumps in wherever it's necessary.
As for instance, before labor unions were legal, people were working 15,16
hours a day, for a pittance, and whoever owned the means of production
became wealthy. The only institution which did something with the workers
was debtors' prison. On the early machines, workers lost fingers, arms &
legs, and it was just their tough luck.They worked in coal mines & got black
lung diseaase, which meant they couldn't work anymore and so became paupers.
The women spent long hours over sweat shop sewing machines, again for very
little money, and if there was a fire, like the Triangle Fire, there wasn't
even a safe way to get out of the building. They died in the fire, and who
cared. I guess the people who owned the sewing machines mourned the loss of
those. If anyone wants to call that freedom, I don't.

Liesel