As rumors swirl about Joe Biden’s potential picks for prominent positions in his administration, one name that is getting lots of attention for labor secretary is Patrick Gaspard.
Gaspard, who recently resigned as the president of left-wing megadonor George Soros’ Open Society Foundations, has a troubling history of supporting socialistic policies.
For instance, Gaspard, who served as President Obama’s ambassador to South Africa, supported South Africa’s 2018 land reform policy, in which white landowners’ property was “redistributed” to blacks as a form of reparations.
According to Gaspard, “Yes, the South African government under President Cyril Ramaphosa is talking about accelerating land reform — but in a way that seeks to balance property ownership rights guaranteed by the Constitution with the need for more equity and nurture a more broadly shared prosperity.”
Gaspard condones South Africa’s controversial land redistribution program because he believes it results in a more broadly shared prosperity. On this point, Gaspard is incorrect. Taking land from one person based on their race and giving it to another based solely on their race is fundamentally unfair and violates all forms of private property rights.
Gaspard’s support of this program demonstrates his radical Marxist worldview and shows he believes in the tenets of socialism. And the fact that Gaspard defends this practice under the need for more equity is troubling, given that similar calls are taking place in America.
Many far-left organizations, including some of the most prominent Black Lives Matter groups, are pushing for parallel policies.
Taking people’s private property to right historical wrongs is wrong itself. Gaspard, though, does not recognize this simple fact, which should on its own make him ineligible for U.S. labor secretary.
PHOTO: George Soros. Photo by nicola eur. CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0). Public domain dedication.
Chris Talgo ([email protected]) is the editorial director and a research fellow at The Heartland Institute, as well as a researcher and contributing editor at StoppingSocialism.com.
