>The New Deal was imposed from above by the progressive elements of the
>ruling class who saw that (i) the old system has serious flaws that can
>bring the national economy to its knees; and (ii) government "dirigisme"
>(taking various forms, Keynesianism, welfare state, central planning) was
>the cutting edge economic thinking ca. 1930 that seem to provide a cure to
>these systemic flaws.
Well, there were also autoworkers occupying factories and the example of the USSR, which was growing rapidly. I doubt the US elite, even the progressive branch, would have done the New Deal purely on its own.
Doug