“The Bolsheviks planned their economy and gave opportunities to young men and women. Furthermore, they had got away from the s fetishization of material possessions which my parents had taught me was one of the basic ills of our American civilization. I saw that most Russians ate only black bread, wore one suit until it disintegrated and used old newspapers for writing letters and office memoranda rolling cigarettes, making envelopes and for various personal functions. I was about to participate in the construction of this society. I was going to be one of many who cared not to own a second pair of shoes but who built blast furnaces, which were their own. It was September 1932 and I was 20 years old.”

My grandfather, the son of American radical Scott Nearing, grew up surrounded by socialists, pacifists, and leftist organizers and intellectuals. By the time he was in his 30’s, he had wholeheartedly embraced capitalism and worked for the right leaning Time-Life corporation.

Note: THe episode is 55 minutes long, NOT 2 hrs. Uploading here takes so long I'm not going to reupload!

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