Home Depot Co-Founder on Rise of Socialism: “It comes right out of the universities”
Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus recently commented on Neil Cavuto’s FOX News show on the rise of socialism, especially the new Ocasio-Cortez wing of Congress, and the role higher education has played in the phenomenon.
Marcus is right to recognize higher education as a key player. Left wing concepts of social justice have quickly moved from the halls of academia to Washington, DC. Democrats in Congress increasingly sound no different than campus activists.
Jon Street of Campus Reform provides details:
Home Depot co-founder: Socialism ‘comes right out of the universities.’ He’s not wrong. (VIDEO)Home Depot billionaire co-founder Bernie Marcus said Friday that the growing appeal to socialism in America comes out of the universities.Marcus, during an interview with Fox News’ Neil Cavuto, discussed the deterioration of socialist Venezuela and Cuba, comparing the situations in those countries today with the realities there decades ago, pre-socialist rule. Marcus called the economic downturns in each of those countries, Cuba, in particular, a “perfect example of socialism gone wrong.””They [Cuba] took a great country. They put it right down the drain in every way possible,” Marcus said. “People are starving to death. Medical [care] is not available for them. And we have a group of people in Washington today, new representatives especially, that look at socialism as the way to go and if you don’t think that’s dangerous, I do.”…”It comes right out of the universities. You see students graduating today and a very high percentage…almost 50 percent of students coming out of universities today believe that socialism is the answer,” Marcus said. “That’s frightening to me because the things that made this country great, that created the wealth of this country, and I mean the wealth of every single person right down the line, the best medical care in the world, the best housing in the world, that’s why people want to come here, is because of the system, and that’s the free enterprise system.”
Watch the video below:
We have covered many higher education stories over the years which involved socialism on campus. Interest in socialism among students continues to grow with organizations like the Young Democratic Socialists of America. These students are emboldened by the popularity of Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders.
This 2017 piece by Vice News explains quite a bit about the appeal:
Socialism is surging on college campusesSeizing the means of production is so hot right now.Long relegated to the fringes of American politics, socialism is surging on college campuses in the aftermath of the presidential campaign of Bernie Sanders — a self-described democratic socialist — and Donald Trump’s victory. The Young Democratic Socialists of America went from 12 chapters at the end of 2016 to 47 in June, and at least 100 are expected by the end of this semester (329 colleges registered for materials in August).“By losing an election to Donald Trump, the Democrats demonstrated that they aren’t the answer,” 20-year-old Michelle Fisher, the national co-chair of the Young Democratic Socialists of America and a junior at Wesleyan University, told VICE News.But it’s not just because of Trump: Fisher’s disaffection with the Democratic Party has been brewing for some time. “I think when [Barack] Obama was president, I thought he was fine because I didn’t know any better,” she said. “He inherited a lot, but he did a lot to continue the U.S.’ imperial politics and also deported more people than any other president.”
If someone views Obama in this way, is it any wonder why they think moderate Republicans are the extreme right?
Featured image via YouTube.
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