Martin Luther King, Jr.: Politician of the Century?

I'm a Political Science minor. Why? Because it's fun for some reason. Boring details about politics are pretty interesting to me; even more so is when I'm able to make connections between past political schema and those of today.

Case in point: Martin Luther King, Jr. I just finished reading a few of his texts, most notably his last book Chaos and Community: Where Do We Go From Here? This book is particularly politically charged. The average member of the American public knows MLK for his (not to be in any way downplayed) contributions to the 1960s African-American Civil Rights movement. He made a name for himself by standing apart from the angry crowd, preaching peace rather than uprising and voting rather than rioting.

It was these ideals that influenced King's thoughts on national politics, which he covers in the book. Perhaps the most interesting idea he posits is that of "assisted autonomy". Here, he talks of individual liberties. He acknowledges the benefits of a welfare state, but declines the idea; he brings up a very contextually relevant point about abuses of a welfare system by both the poor AND the rich, which could and should be brought up in congress today.

A man, says King, is most fulfilled when he is his own master. To this end, King offers several ideals. Obviously, the idea of a man being his own master regardless of skin pigmentation spits in the face of the racially charged segregation of the time. He argues that a man who is able to provide for himself and his family will be a much more active and contributing member of society.

To this end, he submits an idea that I personally love: the guaranteed minimum wage. The solution to poverty is rather simple, King thinks: give a man a wage upon which he can COMFORTABLY live (not an hourly wage barely scraping $10) and he will in turn give back into the nation's economy. He talks of turning the noncontributor into the consumer. And unlike the majority of today's far left, he doesn't advocate giving money out for free. He emphasizes that earned income will be spent much more furtively for both the individual and the country as a whole.

Today, we have politicians pushing agendas like they were grocery carts. Almost nothing can get passed without some manner of inane compromise or hidden salary increase for the members of the voting council. Worst of all, most economic decisions (Obamacare, food stamps) are made with the business class in mind rather than the poor. In today's world, the poor can't be helped unless the rich are doubly compensated, or at least unhurt. Paying workers a livable wage and reducing a CEO's salary? It'll never fly. Not, at least, while said CEO funds election campaigns.

King was a politician unlike any other. Instead of claiming to be a "people's champion", he was a champion of the individual. He believed in every single American citizen, black white or orange, and their guaranteed right to a happy, autonomous life.

What's more, he advocated for an alternative. In today's day and age, could an MLK have the same impact? Perhaps, but it would be rather hard to get past our stubborn two-horse system that likes to paint the world as black and white. MLK, on the other hand, paints in shades of grey.

Going off of that, it's very important to note that King was a man of intelligent compromise. I don't mean the shifty "compromises" that often come off as business deals in today's politics. King explicitly promotes aspects of both communism and democracy - in the middle of the red scare. He's unafraid to not only understand the opposing view, but to integrate positive aspects of that view into his own. This is the sort of intelligent politics that we are desperately in need of today.

Our modern world could take a cue from the selflessness of King. It's easy to forget that while speaking on all of those controversial topics, he was facing racist hostility at every turn. He was a man of both strength and wit. Most importantly, he was a man of ideals. He wasn't a religious fundamentalist, though he proudly practiced his own personal faith. He didn't fight back when his own race spat at him and refused to vote in the "white man's game". He stuck to what he knew was right.

I'd like to close with a quote from the man himself that I absolutely love. It's an important one to keep in mind in today's world. Hopefully a lawmaker will run across these words as he passes yet another bill to pad his pockets at the expense of the nation's poor and desperate. We would be blessed to have another politician such as King, but until we do, his words will hopefully do more than enough:

"When scientific progress outruns moral power, we end up with guided missiles and misguided men." - Martin Luther King, Jr.