The Lessons of the 1930s

 

Yesterday, Jan 6, 1944 was the start of Operation Overlord (D-Day). Senator Mitch McConnell, in an NYT editorial (here), reminds us not to forget the Lessons of the 1930s, the main one he thinks involved the Isolation Movement. We should all understand that the editorial is an oblique attack on the MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement and the current Republican presidential candidate. But what were the Lessons of the 1930s? Let's ask an AI System (here).

In response to a query, ChatGPT lists eleven lessons from the period:

1. Dangers of Unregulated Markets
2. The Role of Government in Economic Stabilization
3. The Importance of Monetary Policy
4. The Importance Social Safety Nets
5. The Rise of Authoritarianism
6. The Power of Collective Action
7. The Consequences of Isolation
8. The Importance of Economic Cooperation
9. Technological Innovation in Crisis
10. The Power of Media and Communication
11. The Impact of environmental Mismanagement (the Dust Bowl)

My guess is that Senator McConnell would only consider #7 and then I still find his entire editorial strange since, at the end of the election cycle, he will still support the MAGA movement and the current GOP presidential candidate, neither of which are likely to change their position on US Isolationism.

Senator McConnell, however, is right that we have forgotten the Lessons of the 1930's. We basically have the rise of Neoliberalism in the 1980's to thank for our failing memory--and that, of course, was its purpose. In future posts, I hope to resurrect the Lessons of the 1930s and the failures of Neoliberalism. The topic is almost too difficult to contemplate as a project but there is plenty to write about. Feel free to grab any of the topics and blog about it yourself. I can't do everything!

P.S. The D-Day anniversary has been an emotional day for me. It is the "last hurrah" for the remaining WWII Veterans who are within years of being no longer able to comment on the current resurrection of Fascism.