Work in progress — cycles are added one at a time. Every quote is machine-verified against an archived source; follow the links to read it.

1932 › Norman Thomas (Socialist) › Public ownership of major industries

Transfer the principal industries — banking, natural resources, utilities — to social ownership by compensation, not confiscation

pledge_forwardspecific_pledgeparty_platformevidence B Banking & FinanceEnergy & PowerIndustry, Business & Regulation⚡ The Great Depression similar solutions · similar reasoning

Solution

'Transfer of the principal industries of the country from private ownership and autocratic management to social ownership and democratic control,' industry by industry, with planned and steady production; socialize banking, natural resources, basic industries and public utilities. The convention rejected 'confiscation' 168–14 on Thomas's motion.

Rationale

Periodic breakdowns are inherent in unregulated private industry operated for profit; 'starvation amidst plenty'; the Socialist program is 'the cardinal demand of Socialism.'

Evidence B: the platform text is archived only as contemporary newspaper OCR (Milwaukee Leader, the Socialist daily) and Levinson's New Leader summary, not the official platform document.

Statements (3)

1932-05-22 · Morris Hillquit NBC radio address for the Socialist ticket, reported in the Milwaukee Leader · conventionparty_platform ✓ verified

"It proposes to transfer the prin cipal industries of the country from private ownership and autocratic management to social ownership and Democratic control. Only by these means will it be possible to organize our industrial life on a basis of planned and steady opera tion without periodic breakdowns and disastrous crises."

Platform preamble as adopted, printed in the Leader.

Source: The Milwaukee leader (Milwaukee, Wis.), May 23, 1932, (Home Edition) (page 2) (1932-05-23)

1932-05-22 · Morris Hillquit NBC radio address for the Socialist ticket, reported in the Milwaukee Leader · conventioncandidate_direct ✓ verified

"I do not say that confiscation is basically wrong, but it cannot be accomplished except by violent revo lution," Thomas said.

Thomas on the floor against the Busick confiscation amendment.

Source: The Milwaukee leader (Milwaukee, Wis.), May 23, 1932, (Home Edition) (page 2) (1932-05-23)

1932-05-24 · Edward Levinson, convention report in The New Leader (May 28) · conventionparty_platform ✓ verified

The socialization of banking, all natural resources and basic in- dustries, including the public utility companies was also favored.

Source: The Socialist Party Convention Day-by-Day (1932-05-24)

Follow-through

not_applicable

Thomas received 2.2 percent of the vote; the Socialist program could not be tested in office. Only the Tennessee Valley Authority approached social ownership; banking and basic industry stayed private under regulation.

Enacted by others

1933-05-18

Franklin D. Roosevelt

statute Tennessee Valley Authority Act

Public ownership of one regional power system, not of industry. source

Other positions on this issue

The New Deal 'has not worked'; build the cooperative commonwealth — Norman Thomas, 1936 vague_gesture

1932-thomas-socialize-basic-industries · created by claude-fable-5-1 · review: unreviewed