[lbo-talk] let's all pray for a depression

Carrol Cox cbcox at ilstu.edu
Wed Jan 23 07:50:40 PST 2008


Seth Ackerman wrote:
>
> John Thornton wrote:
>
> >I disagree. 1934-37 was indeed a time of rising expectations.
> >Unemployment fell from 25% to 14% which was one reason for rising
> >expectations. The govt. stepped in to do what it could to alleviate
> >problems. Are you telling me that creating the Agricultural Adjustment
> >Administration, the Civilian Conservation Corps [...etc]
> >
>
> You're talking about rising *political* expectations. The question at
> hand was about economic expectations, remember? We were talking about
> "what are the political effects of an economic collapse?" The programs
> you've listed *are* the political effects.

No. Rising economic expectations were inseparable from rising political expectations. Those rising epectations might have been an illusion, and of course the hoped-for rise was from an incredibly low base, but expectations, personal hope were indeed rising. One can't understand left politics in the '30s without grasping this.

Carrol



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