Walter Moss: From the Reagan years to the present, conservatives have been fond of quoting Friedman and Hayek. Their influence can be seen in such documents as the Republican Party’s 1994 “Contract with America.”
About Walter G. Moss
Mr. Moss is a professor of history at Eastern Michigan University. His most recent book is An Age of Progress?: Clashing Twentieth-Century Global Forces (2008).
Why Leftists Should Support Obama’s Reelection
January 5, 2012 By
An Open Letter to Fellow Leftists: Please Support President Obama’s Reelection On LA Progressive’s pages, I have read many articles and commentaries which threaten not to support President Obama’s reelection. Although I distrust political labels, I consider myself a liberal and progressive, and thus a leftist, but I differ from some of you in several [...]
What Speaker Boehner Should Have Told House Republicans about Compromise—A Year Ago
December 22, 2011 By
Walter Moss: Rather than using his leadership position as House Speaker to help educate new House Republicans and others, including American voters, about the noble history of political compromise, he succumbed to ignorance, displaying a lack of leadership.
Why Does the 99 Percent Let Athletes, Executives, and Movie Stars Get Away with Huge Salaries?
December 6, 2011 By
Walter Moss: When Babe Ruth was asked about earning more than the president, he responded, “I know, but I had a better year than Hoover.”
Gorbachev and Obama
October 9, 2011 By
Walter Moss: I have come to fear that Obama may possess two of the flaws that led to Gorbachev’s downfall — an inability to forge a political consensus and a failure to articulate a political vision that can inspire average people.
Dorothy Day, Radicalism, and Present-Day Politics
October 5, 2011 By
Walter Moss: Dorothy Day’s work and legacy serve as a gentle reminder to politicians and those of us among the “chattering classes,” that what matters most is not what we say or how we or others label us, but how we contribute to the common good.
Progressivism and a Tea Party Approach to State Government
February 14, 2011 By
Walter G. Moss: Florida’s new governor, Rick Scott, is demonstrating why most of us who consider ourselves progressives dislike the politics of Tea-Party-backed candidates. For many of us, compassion and empathy are central political values, and Scott’s first budget proposal, unveiled on February 7th, reflects little of either value.
Civility and Political Discourse after the Tucson Shooting
January 10, 2011 By
Walter Moss: President Obama has often been criticized for being too ready to compromise or for not displaying enough political passion for just causes. No doubt, he has not always perfectly calibrated the right mix of passion and compromise. But there is also no doubt, at least in my mind, that he is correct in calling for more civility in politics.
W. H. Auden, Humor, and the Politics of Today
December 23, 2010 By
Walter Moss: Just a few months after coming to America, the homosexual Auden, who knew what it was like to feel like an outsider, penned one of his many poems that displayed his sympathy for sufferers. Sometimes known as “Refugee Blues,” it dealt with German Jews who were unable to receive permission to remain in the United States, and its haunting lines remain a permanent reminder of the need for political compassion.
Anton Chekhov: A Man for Our Times
November 29, 2010 By
Walter Moss: All this interest in Chekhov is nothing new. One could argue that no other writer had more influence than he on modern drama and short fiction, and some would go much further.
The Party of No and the New START Treaty
November 23, 2010 By
Walter Moss: And all hope is not yet lost that enough Republican senators would follow the lead, not of Kyl, but of Republican Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, their chief expert on arms control.
Carl Sandburg’s Wisdom through Humor
June 19, 2010 By
Walter G. Moss: Wise person that he was, Sandburg saw that life is both a comedy and tragedy, containing vibrant life and sad death, the beautiful and the ugly, the wise and the foolish, moments of transcendence and ones of banality. As the Bible’s book of Ecclesiastes says (and Sandburg admirer Pete Seeger later adapted for his folk song “Turn, Turn, Turn”)
The Recent Press and E.F. Schumacher’s Warnings
May 28, 2010 By
Walter Moss: Having just completed research on economist and environmentalist E. F. Schumacher (1911-1977), I have been struck by how relevant many of his warnings are to today’s events. Although I don’t necessarily agree with everything he wrote, his comments are well worth considering as we struggle to deal with all our complex problems.
PCL offers monthly Open House Events on the 2nd Saturday at 2pm and 3rd Thursday at 6pm. Click here to learn more.
Recent Comments