Socialism gets a bad rap, guest speaker Nichols will argue


Nationally known political writer John Nichols will address the topic “Socialism in America” in the next installment of UW-Green Bay’s long-running Historical Perspectives Lecture Series. Nichols’ talk, free and open to the public, takes place at 2 p.m. Tuesday, March 24, in the Christie Theatre of the University Union. Nichols has worked as associate editor of The Capital Times in Madison since 1993 and is a contributing writer for The Progressive and The Nation magazines. In his UW-Green Bay talk, it is expected Nichols will discuss themes presented in his 2011 book The ‘S’ Word: A Short History of An American Tradition… Socialism. In it, he argues that while the words “socialist” and “socialism” have become widely used as smear terms in American politics, the actual application of socialist principles can be found in successful programs including Social Security and the “sewer socialism” that stressed public works projects and the common good in U.S. cities including Milwaukee. For details.