The Radical MLK
Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the greatest civil rights leaders of all time, and his vision of a just and equitable society included strong, leftist ideals. Despite his commitment to economic equality, as evidenced by his many speeches, letters, and books, his economic message is often ignored. Some people go to the extent of saying King would be a Republican today. Through persuasive, powerful language, King sought to re-envision the economy of the future, ultimately advocating for an economic system based on guaranteed incomes, strong unions, and a more equal distribution of wealth. The quotes included in this article demonstrate that King was in fact a committed (democratic) socialist, and his desire to see a just, equitable society should be commemorated and embraced.
“I imagine you already know that I am much more socialistic in my economic theory than capitalistic… [Capitalism] started out with a noble and high motive… but like most human systems it fell victim to the very thing it was revolting against. So today capitalism has out-lived its usefulness.” - Letter to Coretta Scott, July 18, 1952.
“Call it democracy, or call it democratic socialism, but there must be a better distribution of wealth within this country for all God’s children.” -speech to the Negro American Labor Council, 1961.
“I am now convinced that the simplest approach will prove to be the most effective – the solution to poverty is to abolish it directly by a now widely discussed matter: the guaranteed income… The curse of poverty has no justification in our age. It is socially as cruel and blind as the practice of cannibalism at the dawn of civilization, when men ate each other because they had not yet learned to take food from the soil or to consume the abundant animal life around them. The time has come for us to civilize ourselves by the total, direct and immediate abolition of poverty.” -Where do We Go from here? 1967.
“The labor movement was the principal force that transformed misery and despair into hope and progress.”-Speech to the Illinois AFL-CIO State Convention, Oct 07, 1965
All of these quotes show that Dr. King was just as committed to economic equality as he was to racial equality. Those who benefit from capitalism choose to ignore this side of Dr. King’s message. Martin Luther King Jr. knew that in order to destroy racism and any other form of inequality in American society, we must abandon capitalism in favor of an economic system that is centered around equality and love for one another.
I hope everyone has a great M.L.K day. Let’s all remember King’s impactful words and remember his fight is not yet over.
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."-Martin Luther King Jr.