Presidential Campaign

Michael Harrington in “Bush May Promote a Socialist’s Ideas, but He Can’t Redefine Rebel Spirit” (Op-Ed Page, Oct. 18) laments when he should rejoice. Instead of ridiculing Bush for promoting an idea (the Pledge of Allegiance) from a 19th-Century American Socialist, he should find comfort in knowing that many ideas and proposals introduced by such Socialists as Eugene Victor Debs and Norman Thomas have been incorporated into the ideologies of both major political parties.

The founders of British Socialist thought, Sidney and Beatrice Webb, were more politically astute than Harrington. It was the Webbs who introduced and pursued the notion of “gradualness” in the British Socialist movement, arguing that over time Socialist ideas would “permeate” society and be incorporated into the body politic.

The Webbs’ strategy appears to have worked in many policy areas in the United States (Social Security, unemployment insurance, the minimum wage, women’s suffrage, the shorter work week). What is Harrington complaining about?

SIDNEY BALDWIN

Cypress