Fascinating conversation – in the comments section – taking place on Robert Reich's blog. The discussion centers around his taking on the conservative meme that the New Deal actually prolonged the recession rather than hastening its' end.
The argument is that the Depression did a valuable thing, which was to remove inefficiency from the economic system through the reallocation of resources. It's even better if what is causing that inefficiency are artificial structures like labor unions etc because those will buckle under the weight of that reallocation.
From an economic theory, it makes perfect sense. But socio-politically it doesn't. Human resources are also individuals and individuals cause trouble when under too much strain. Some of the worst tyrants were born out of grinding economic upheaval. During the Depression, there was palpable fear that the US could turn Communist since there were so many wildcat labor uprisings. Warren Buffett talks about them in his book, the Snowball.
I've always been conservatively minded but not as far as the current conservative mindset. I think conservatives forget people don't like being poor and unemployed for very long. Maybe a police state can keep that in check but I don't know how that would work in this country. I wouldn't want to chance it.
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