Emmanuel Macron Quotes
I am not a socialist.
Macron, Emmanuel. Interview. Politico, POLITICO LLC, 19 Aug. 2016.
Socialism in its then pure form had the state owning and controlling all the major assets of the nation. In this sense it was contradictory to individual freedom and hence democracy. However, in the years after Tocqueville’s quotation and the industrial revolution, socialism has gradually moved away from state ownership and operations of all institutions and resources. Democracy has tended to adopt a more regulatory view to control the excesses of unbridled capitalism. The range of democratic nations by the 21st century encompassed differences but some were described as “social democracies” and had some state ownership but were basically capitalistic economies. Even the self-described Communist nations had become heavily capitalistic albeit with less political freedom. At the same time, even the United States—the epitome of 21st century capitalism, owned and controlled a few of the resources and means of production and tended to regulate the others—a substantial difference from the American democracy which Tocqueville studied.
Alexander Dubcek, Communist leader of Czechoslovakia, had pushed reform so far that 5 Soviet armies invaded. Dubcek was brought to Russia where he tried to persuade the Russian premier that the invasion was contrary to the principles of socialism.
3rd Earl Russell of Kingston. He favored and argued for a middle ground of a capitalistic socialism or a socialized capitalism, which is what most democracies became.
Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron is a French politician who has been serving as the president of France and ex officio co-prince of Andorra since 14 May 2017.
