Strange Quote From Pres. Theodore Roosevelt

[Rakhmetov]

If he had said this today he would have been considered a Marxist.

Theodore Roosevelt :

"Too much cannot be said against the men of wealth who sacrifice everything to getting wealth. There is not in the world a more ignoble character than the mere money-getting American, insensible to every duty, regardless of every principle, bent only on amassing a fortune, and putting his fortune only to the basest uses —whether these uses be to speculate in stocks and wreck railroads himself, or to allow his son to lead a life of foolish and expensive idleness and gross debauchery, or to purchase some scoundrel of high social position, foreign or native, for his daughter. Such a man is only the more dangerous if he occasionally does some deed like founding a college or endowing a church, which makes those good people who are also foolish forget his real iniquity. These men are equally careless of the working men, whom they oppress, and of the State, whose existence they imperil. There are not very many of them, but there is a very great number of men who approach more or less closely to the type, and, just in so far as they do so approach, they are curses to the country." (Forum, February 1895.) Mem. Ed. XV, 10; Nat. Ed. XIII, 9.

:confused:

[Blackscare]

I don't see what's so strange here, this sort of rhetoric isn't new to capitalist leaders.

You have to paint these sort of people as abnormalities and express some level of disgust at excess in order to even begin to gloss over the class contradictions of capitalism for your constituents.

[Jazzhands]

If he had said this today he would have been considered a Marxist.

Not really. That's a pretty progressive quote, but only reaches Michael Moore level. Plus we all know that a man like Teddy Roosevelt, according to him, is all the more dangerous if he founds a church or whatever. In this case, him making left-sounding speeches makes him all the more dangerous.



and of the State, whose existence they imperil.


This is a very un-Marxist point of view compared to the rest of the quote. Everyone knows that the state is a tool of the oppressor class. That's step one of learning leftism in general.

Plus we all know what Teddy Roosevelt actually did, so it's just more political doublespeak from the US president.

[Scary Monster]

Politicians have always been making radical comments, but theyre always all assholes in deed. Look at Eisenhower for instance- He makes a nice speech against the "military-industrial complex", while putting the Shah of Iran into power.