Douglas Carswell's Blog

The lesson of the 1930s

"Lots of semi-clever people .... think they have grasped 'the lesson of the 1930s'. That lesson, in their minds, goes something like this. Unconstrained capitalism caused the Great Crash, whose effects were then exacerbated in the US by the laissez-faire dogma of Herbert Hoover and his Republicans. Recession turned to depression, and only Franklin Roosevelt's willingness to intervene brought the country back to growth. Their conclusion? The state should spend money during downturns so as to 'kickstart the economy'."

A great piece by Daniel Hannan on his blog this morning.  Do read it, and let's hope the folk in the Treasury read it, too.

Back to all posts