| In this excerpt from a broadcast in 1937, Coughlin is discoursing on the subject of Christianity vs. Communism. He is doing a "Q & A" format with another priest who is posing questions for Coughlin to answer. In this brief clip, Coughlin is contrasting the "Christian" approach to the issue of a "living wage" to that of the Communists. Implictly, he is criticising the traditional free-market philosophy of wages. Although he is criticising capitalism, he is not endorsing communism or socialism. Like Huey Long, Coughlin was in some respects a political populist, for whom a critique of capitalism did not imply an embrace of left-wing alternatives. Populism as a political tradition was very much an active force during the Depression-era, and a major part of Coughlin's appeal was his ability to sound the clarion call of populist sentiment. |
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