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> capitalism begets conglomeration Not if the state actually does it's job. For a free-market to exist the state must necessarily prevent anti-competitive prac

> capitalism begets conglomeration Not if the state actually does it's job. For a free-market to exist the state must necessarily prevent anti-competitive practices. In the U.S., unfortunately, the notion that social democracy is necessary arose during the great depression (because capitalism clearly failed /s) and resulted in the New Deal, which was, of course, socialist policy. It was that which started our slow and steady path towards heavy government involvement into the economy and, as a result, corporatism.

anamax 14y ago
> the notion that social democracy is necessary arose during the great depression Yes, it did arise then. > (because capitalism clearly failed /s) Not so fast. The interesting question until recently was "why did the great depression last so long?". Remember, all previous depressions and panics ended fairly quickly. The current answer is FDR's policies, specifically industry and production controls. (To be fair, FDRs policies were actually a continuation of Hoover's, but everyone "forgets" that Hoover was a progressive, so let's credit FDR.) The great depression didn't really end until those policies did, which happened when it became obvious that an "arsenal of democracy" had to produce lots of stuff. Yes, Hoover started huge stimulus spending, aid progorams and the like, borrowing money, doing the whole Keynes thing. FDR actually campaigned (somewhat) against the resulting deficits. (He also campaigned against Prohibition.) Hoover was a huge fan of aid programs. One of his big pre-presidency accomplishments was an aid program to Russia after WWI. Also, the vast majority of congressional Republicans voted for Social Security.
- MordinSolus 14y ago
  > (because capitalism clearly failed /s) BTW I was just poking fun at people who think that the Great Depression was a result of unbridled capitalism instead of bad government policy.

anamax 14y ago

> the notion that social democracy is necessary arose during the great depression Yes, it did arise then. > (because capitalism clearly failed /s) Not so fast. The interesting question until recently was "why did the great depression last so long?". Remember, all previous depressions and panics ended fairly quickly. The current answer is FDR's policies, specifically industry and production controls. (To be fair, FDRs policies were actually a continuation of Hoover's, but everyone "forgets" that Hoover was a progressive, so let's credit FDR.) The great depression didn't really end until those policies did, which happened when it became obvious that an "arsenal of democracy" had to produce lots of stuff. Yes, Hoover started huge stimulus spending, aid progorams and the like, borrowing money, doing the whole Keynes thing. FDR actually campaigned (somewhat) against the resulting deficits. (He also campaigned against Prohibition.) Hoover was a huge fan of aid programs. One of his big pre-presidency accomplishments was an aid program to Russia after WWI. Also, the vast majority of congressional Republicans voted for Social Security.

MordinSolus 14y ago
> (because capitalism clearly failed /s) BTW I was just poking fun at people who think that the Great Depression was a result of unbridled capitalism instead of bad government policy.