I thought Alito was history’s worst supreme court justice. But Thomas has outdone him | Robert Reich
Summary
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas gave a public speech where he criticized progressivism and wrongly linked it to major 20th-century crimes. The article explains that progressivism actually led to important reforms that improved working conditions, limited corporate power, and helped prevent fascism in the United States.Key Facts
- Clarence Thomas is the longest-serving Supreme Court justice, with over 34 years on the court.
- In a speech, Thomas blamed progressivism for evils like segregation and linked it to dictators such as Stalin and Hitler.
- The Progressive Era was a movement in the early 1900s that aimed to fix problems from the first Gilded Age, like corruption and poor working conditions.
- Important progressive reforms included introducing income tax, food safety laws, and limits on corporate influence in politics.
- Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt led many reforms like Social Security and workers' rights.
- These reforms helped stop fascism from taking hold in the U.S. and improved life for workers.
- Union membership was over one-third of private-sector workers in the 1950s but has fallen to under 6% today.
- The article suggests that rollback of these reforms has allowed a rise in far-right political ideas in recent decades.
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