Thursday, Jan. 21: Debs, “The Issue”

Due Thursday, Jan. 21, at the first of class:

Read Eugene Debs, “The Issue”

• textbook, pages 31-43 — read it quickly, since it’s highly readable
• IF YOUR TEXTBOOK HAS NOT YET ARRIVED, LOOK FOR THE PDF WHICH I WILL SEND BY E-MAIL.

Bring a single-spaced typed reading response, answering these questions:

NOTE: As I mentioned in class, Debs is representative of one of the most extreme responses against the rise of modern capitalism. Next week, we will read texts coming from less extreme positions — positions recognizing similar concerns but coming to different conclusions. But let’s examine Debs’s concerns and the case he makes, since the concerns, and the case, have been a part of the American experience.

Questions

1. List 5 to 10 of the evils that Debs lays at the feet of capitalism. What are the sources of his concern? The things he believes need to go away?
2. What, according to Debs, is the essence of capitalism? What is at the heart of capitalism that makes it evil?
3. What kind of society does Debs envision? List 5-10 of the key features of the new society he hopes to see Americans create?

In class, we will discuss these questions and others:

1. What sources of American argument does Debs draw upon? Lockean liberalism? Civic republicanism? Biblical religion? Humanitarian Enlightenment?
2. Which does he leave out or argue against?