Use access key #2 to skip to page content.

whereaminow (61.74)

1934 Political Cartoon

Recs

34

July 26, 2010 – Comments (13)

Does this 1934 Chicago Tribune political cartoon ring familiar at all? 

1934 Chicago Tribune Political Cartoon

Now you may object that it worked out for America, but did it?  Eleven years later, America had just finished engaging in the greatest world wide slaughter in history - all due to the rejection of the market economy by most governments.  America was still in a horrible Depression, and wouldn't recover until government spending was slashed by 80% from 1946-1947.  (Do you really believe that engaging in mass homicide pulls a country out of Depression?)

Even the word Depression is a political manipulation.  Before Hoover, it was called a Crash.  You can't call it a Crash and then claim it will be fixed with central planning.  You have to call it a Depression. So under Hoover, the name was changed and Hoover started make-work programs, encouraged businesses to keep wages high, and started many interventions that FDR would continue and expand.  Meanwhile, FDR ran on the promise of lower government spending and lashed out at Hoover's fiscal irresponsibility during the 1932 campaign.  Once in power, he confiscated American's gold, devalued the dollar by more than half. and paid farmers to burn their crops while Midwestern families starved.  He's a true hero, isn't he?

Have a profitable week!

David in Qatar

13 Comments – Post Your Own

#1) On July 26, 2010 at 12:22 PM, cthomas1017 (36.68) wrote:

You really believe that it was the Allies who were engaged in mass homicide?

Report this comment
#2) On July 26, 2010 at 12:33 PM, whereaminow (61.74) wrote:

cthomas1017,

The Japanese of Tokyo, Nagasaki, and Hiroshima sure do - as well as the Germans of Dresden. I'm of the opinion that it was an avoidable war.  Or, at the very least, protectionism and the rejection of 19th century liberalism by all governments involved (except the Japanese, who never embraced it in the first place), made the war more likely.  

David in Qatar

Report this comment
#3) On July 26, 2010 at 12:48 PM, eddietheinvestor (< 20) wrote:

It's funny how history repeats itself--blaming capitalism for everything when the housing market, which led to other crises, was caused the belief of Dodd and Frank that everyone has the right to own a house, whether or not they have savings or a job.  Great post as always, David.

 

Report this comment
#4) On July 26, 2010 at 1:24 PM, whereaminow (61.74) wrote:

eddietheinvestor,

Unintended consequences of meddling, no doubt.  Thanks for the kind words!

David in Qatar

Report this comment
#5) On July 26, 2010 at 1:34 PM, cthomas1017 (36.68) wrote:

whereaminow,

Just realize that you are branded as a tin-foil wacko when you categorize an the motive of an entire world war based on the difficult decisions made in isolated campaigns.  The bombs dropped on Japan were agonizing decisions that just about every credible historian agrees was a necessary evil that avoided millions of civilian deaths by bringing the emperor to the conclusion that the war should be ended.  (Dresden was a campaign decision that was arguably a war crime - though not endorsed by the American people or its supreme leadership.)

In reference to the war being avoidable, it's always is easy to sit back and make arm-chair quarterback proclamations from one's high and mighty thrown.  (I'd hope that you'd agree that Chamberlain's handling of Hitler's aggression was not the preferred strategy.)  At the same time, painting a broad brush with the generalization that the entire war was simply an act of homicide detracts from your otherwise credible arguments.

Report this comment
#6) On July 26, 2010 at 2:08 PM, whereaminow (61.74) wrote:

cthomas1017,

I'm not too concerned with how I get "branded."  Any ineresting person is bound to have a few beliefs that popular opinion would consider radical.  Otherwise they wouldn't be interesting.  However, I would prefer just to be known as David.

You can always dust off Stephen Ambrose if you want the popular collection of World War II history, but if you are interested in thoughtful dissention from popular belief concerning WWII, here are a few suggestions:

As We Go Marching
Selling War: The British Propaganda Campaign against American "Neutrality" in World War II
Storm on the Horizon: The Challenge to American Intervention, 1939-1941
Omnipotent Government: The Rise of Total State and Total War
The Roosevelt Myth
Churchill, Hitler, and "The Unnecessary War": How Britain Lost Its Empire and the West Lost the World
Human Smoke: The Beginnings of World War II, the End of Civilization
Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace
Pearl Harbor: The Seeds and Fruits of Infammy
The Civilian and the Miltary: A History of the American Antimilitarist Tradition
Forgotten Lessons
How the Far East Was Lost
Day of Deceit
Back Door to war

David in Qatar

Report this comment
#7) On July 26, 2010 at 2:26 PM, catoismymotor (74.62) wrote:

Any ineresting person is bound to have a few beliefs that popular opinion would consider radical. 

Agreed. This black sheep wears his wool with pride.

Report this comment
#8) On July 26, 2010 at 2:32 PM, whereaminow (61.74) wrote:

Thanks cato!

It's a tough day for hyperlinks.  Sorry if you click on one of those books and it takes you a page not found.  The hyperlink button wasn't working, so I href'd all the above.  Some of them worked, others didn't.  However you can always copy and paste the title into the Amazon search box.

David in Qatar

Report this comment
#9) On July 26, 2010 at 8:30 PM, devoish (98.76) wrote:

Any ineresting person is bound to have a few beliefs that popular opinion would consider radical. 

Well, at least I am interesting and not another blind peddler of the typical "bad Government" mythology we are inundated with.

The Grand High Exalted Mystic Interesting King Devoish.

Report this comment
#10) On July 27, 2010 at 8:56 AM, bigcat1969 (97.01) wrote:

America did what to earn the stab in the back that was Pearl Harbor?  For this to hold water you have to make America the bad guys for defending themselves against a surprise attack by a power mad god-king and for taking down history's greatest villian in Hitler.  You are a heck of a smart guy and a great read, but even you are gonna have a tough time on this one.

Report this comment
#11) On July 27, 2010 at 9:21 AM, whereaminow (61.74) wrote:

bigcat1969,

For this to hold water you have to make America the bad guys for defending themselves against a surprise attack by a power mad god-king and for taking down history's greatest villian in Hitler. 

Not really. You need several governments crushing the Germans with debt, everyone including the Germans engaging in massive protectionism, and governments desperate to do something to distract their people from their own failures.  I don't know whether or not FDR provoked Japan, ignored Pearl Harbor warnings on purpose, or we just got bombed out of the blue.  But everything I have studied about FDR indicates that he didn't have any morals, so it's quite within the realm of possibility that he wanted war.  That doesn't forgive the Japanese government.  It's not a "we were right or they were right" issue.  Another option is that governments are generally wrong and pursue war without regard to its consequences.  Which would follow along with every other government policy that is pursued without regard to its consequence.

As much as I'd like to write long, semi-researched diatribes about all the things i've learned and would rather unlearn, i just don't have the time right now.  which is why i'm doing mostly two paragraph blogs lately.  it's my way of getting it out of system without a full commitment :)  but i did put together quite a list of works up there for you to look into if you're curious.

David in Qatar

Report this comment
#12) On July 27, 2010 at 9:26 AM, catoismymotor (74.62) wrote:

History Lesson:

The first professional baseball teams in Japan were formed in 1912. Japanese team owners in 1932 reached out to owners on our shores to facilitate a true "World Series" of baseball to boost interest in the sport ad generate revenue at home. Our owners declined to participate in the idea.

The Japanese team owners then approached China, Korea, New Guinea, The Phillipines, Guam, Midway Island and Australia for the same purpose. Again, they were met with rejection. Emperor Horihito, avid baseball fan, was quite miffed at not being able to witness the superior ball playing ability of his countrymen against teams from around the world. Horihito decided if all these countries would not "play ball" he would wage war. Thus the seeds of the Pacific theater for WW2 were sewn.

Cato

P.S. - Emperor Horihito's two favorite home teams were the Nagaski Mud Hens and the Hiroshima Wasabi Warriors. What better way for the U.S. military to tell his Royal Highness to *stick it* than to use the pitchers mound of each of their stadiums as ground zero for Fatman and Little Boy?

P.P.S. - Yes, I am full of crap. I just wanted to get your panties in a knot.

Report this comment
#13) On July 31, 2010 at 12:33 AM, tomlongrpv (82.78) wrote:

World War II was an "avoidable war?"  Wow.  This was interesting reading, that's for sure. 

 

Report this comment

Featured Broker Partners


Advertisement