When the US Was a Social Democracy

This episode of the web series, Toward a More Perfect Union, is called “When the US Was a Social Democracy,” and examines when the US became the world’s first social democracy–which unfortunately, the US is no longer.

A social democracy is a country that’s concerned with the common good and making sure everyone is taken care of, by way of a strong social contract and safety net. These conditions allow citizens of that nation to flourish.

In a social democracy, there are such things as universal health care, universal childcare, robust labor protections, low cost or free college, generous welfare programs, excellent nationwide public transportation, large scale public investment, and more.

Nowadays you’ll find social democracies in Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Uruguay, Costa Rica, and a number of other countries.

But not the US.

This episode tells the story of when the US became the world’s first social democracy, during the New Deal era of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Using rare archival footage, this episode shows all the government programs that went into place to support the American people.

Also included in this episode are some of the speeches Roosevelt gave where he explained the goals of his programs; one of the speeches in this episode is his Second Bill of Rights speech, in which he set forth a new and humane vision for society.

You can help support this web series on my Patreon page, and you can see all episodes at my YouTube channel or right here at More Perfect Union.

Thanks for watching! Feel free to let me know what you think.

Thanks for watching! Feel free to let me know what you think.