Eugene Victor Debs

[punisa]

American union leader, one of the founding members of the International Labor Union and the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), as well as candidate for President of the United States. He was a member of the socialist party.
Through his presidential candidacies as well as his work with labor movements, Debs would eventually become one of the best-known Socialists in the United States.

I found one quote of his that totally blew me away: "Your Honor, years ago I recognized my kinship with all living beings, and I made up my mind that I was not one bit better than the meanest on earth. I said then, and I say now, that while there is a lower class, I am in it, and while there is a criminal element I am of it, and while there is a soul in prison, I am not free"

So I was interested what you think about Debs? And if you know anything more about him, published works?

[#FF0000]

Debs was a huge inspiration to me when I first discovered socialism. I don't think he's written any books or anything, but his speeches are top-notch. Fantastic writer and orator.

[Os Cangaceiros]

He was a hero of our cause, definitely. I actually admire him more than I admire most of the famous anarchists.

He's a very good source for quotes, as well, my favorite being, "The nets of American courts are set to catch minnows and let the whales go free."

[Revulero]

Learning about Debs introduced me to socialism, he is truly a dedicated and incredible man.

One question I have about Debs is what did he think of socialism internationally of his time like the Bolsheviks and Sparticist league? I read somewhere a while back that he disliked Lenin because of his authoritarianism.

[Os Cangaceiros]

Learning about Debs introduced me to socialism, he is truly a dedicated and incredible man.

One question I have about Debs is what did he think of socialism internationally of his time like the Bolsheviks and Sparticist league? I read somewhere a while back that he disliked Lenin because of his authoritarianism.

I know that he admired what the Bolsheviks did in Russia, at least during their ascendancy (October Revolution et al). I'm not sure what his opinion was of Lenin or the Bolsheviks as time went on, though.

[punisa]

Learning about Debs introduced me to socialism, he is truly a dedicated and incredible man.

One question I have about Debs is what did he think of socialism internationally of his time like the Bolsheviks and Sparticist league? I read somewhere a while back that he disliked Lenin because of his authoritarianism.

I'd love to know this as well, as many other things. Consider me an a fool, but I just recently discovered Debs, and totally random :lol:

[JimmyJazz]

He influenced me about the same way as everyone else in this thread. Check out The Bending Cross (http://www.amazon.com/Bending-Cross-Biography-Eugene-Victor/dp/193185940X/ref=ed_oe_p) (a biography) and the Debs page (http://www.marxists.org/archive/debs/) at the Marxists Internet Archive.

Here's his speech (http://www.marxists.org/archive/debs/works/1918/canton.htm) against America joining WWI that got him three years in prison and the loss of his right to vote for life. As Joe Strummer said, you have the right to free speech, as long as you're not dumb enough to actually try it.

[RebelDog]

Debs is owed great respect by the working class.

[Revy]

He got nearly a million votes for President while in prison as a write-in candidate, I believe. At that time, that amount of votes was 6% of the vote. So he was possibly the most influential socialist in American history.

[JimmyJazz]

He got nearly a million votes for President while in prison as a write-in candidate, I believe. At that time, that amount of votes was 6% of the vote. So he was possibly the most influential socialist in American history.

I find it more significant that he also got about six percent in the prior election, when he wasn't in prison, and a vote or him was decidedly a vote for socialism as opposed to just a vote against jailing people for speech.

[Schrödinger's Cat]

I know that he admired what the Bolsheviks did in Russia, at least during their ascendancy (October Revolution et al). I'm not sure what his opinion was of Lenin or the Bolsheviks as time went on, though.

Yes, he started out with a favorable opinion of Russia, and grew more skeptical about its practices, although he still ultimately supported the revolution. Keep in mind he died in 1926, at a time when power in the USSR was still largely undetermined.

http://calitreview.com/776

Debs remained an admirer of the Russian Revolution all his life, but he had serious misgivings about the Bolsheviks’ methods—their use of show trials and violence against other socialists, and their attempt to impose their will on socialist parties around the world. In the end Debs decided to reject communism, and stick with his beloved Socialist Party, even as it was disintegrating. He hated the idea that socialism needed to be ushered in by a “dictatorship of the proletariat.” In spite of all he had suffered at the hands of the American justice system, he remained convinced that the best path to realizing socialism was the democratic process.

Like most, Debs was one of my largest influences when I first discovered the socialist movement. He is truly a man who would demand respect, if it weren't for the fact he'd roll over in his grave. :D

[punisa]

Guys do you know what actually happened to him at the end? I read that he ended up in asylum, sad story :( How did it come to that?

[Madvillainy]

Eugene was cool. I kind of hate the way he was remembered more for his electoral politics than the internationalist position he took during the world war though. :(

[DancingLarry]

Guys do you know what actually happened to him at the end? I read that he ended up in asylum, sad story :( How did it come to that?

I believe it was a "sanitarium" where he died. While that later became a euphemism for mental asylum, I believe at the time that was the general term for what we'd call a "nursing home" today.

[Kibbutznik]

I believe it was a "sanitarium" where he died. While that later became a euphemism for mental asylum, I believe at the time that was the general term for what we'd call a "nursing home" today.
He was in a sanitorium, not a sanitarium. I know, the English language sucks. Sanitorium comes from the same root as the word sanitation. A sanitorium, in some ways, are like nursing homes. But their patients were mostly people with then incurable infectious diseases. Most of the people who were in santitoriums were there for tuberculosis, though it wasn't uncommon to find elderly people of failing health there.

[punisa]

He was in a sanitorium, not a sanitarium. I know, the English language sucks. Sanitorium comes from the same root as the word sanitation. A sanitorium, in some ways, are like nursing homes. But their patients were mostly people with then incurable infectious diseases. Most of the people who were in santitoriums were there for tuberculosis, though it wasn't uncommon to find elderly people of failing health there.

Thank you for clarification, I kinda got the words all mixed up :lol:

[Greenman]

A very interesting character and one who deserves to be more widely known about outside the USA.:)