Obama vs Marx

Obama vs. Marx
Alan Wolfe firmly believes that liberalism and socialism are not the same and it’s ludicrous to think that they are. I agree with this fully, they are two totally different political philosophies. Wolfe uses President Obama as his prime examples in comparing how these philosophies are indeed different, almost opposites.
Take for instance his proposal for the healthcare reform. Obama’s form of liberalism would offer a healthcare program with several choices as opposed to a socialist who would offer no choice. Obama proposes to better free trade, not put an end to it. People that are reading this article and do not follow politics would not know if these are accurate statements or not. Wolfe does not provide facts or hard evidence and tell us where he came up with the information. This could be because he writes this article for a magazine which is usually read by political followers so he assumes readers will have some insight to Obama’s plans.
As Wolfe states, in the matter that Obama speaks of “progressive taxation,” It doesn’t take away from the rich but it’s a way of giving people who are not as fortunate more opportunities, making this another example of liberalism. This is a valid point. Liberalism is when the government steps in to help businesses and citizens and doesn’t take over indefinitely as a socialist leader would do.
In conclusion, Wolfe gives a very clear definition and examples of how liberalism and socialism differ. He makes good points and is convincing in his arguments. Wolfe’s tone is very matter of fact and does not use persuasive words to convince the reader of his beliefs. He is clearly writing for informational purposes. I like how he gives a history of the political traditions and does a thorough job of explaining them. I think his arguments would be stronger if he would have provided documentation or data as to where his information was coming