War Is Not Good For The Economy
With the economy looking ever more fragile, Americans will begin to become bellicose I fear. There are too many jobs tied to the defense industry. It makes for a lot of “biased” thinking because one’s income is dependent upon wars happening. Boeing workers probably are thinking they need a good rocking and rolling war with the 747 retirement and 737 Max issues. It is a dangerous time geopolitically right now because Americans at all levels are confused about war and economic growth.
Many Americans believe that war is good for the economy because the Depression appeared to be ended by WWII. However, FDR’s New Deal had brought much relief to the nation by 1936–7. Unfortunately, worries about socialism in Congress and the financial classes curtailed New Deal programs. This caused another downturn in the later years of the decade. The myth of war’s economic benefits was strengthened when every one of the developed nations of the mid-twentieth century had their industrial infrastructure destroyed by war. Great Britain, Germany, Japan, China, and Russia/Soviet Union all had huge internal reconstruction to perform after the Second World War.
This reconstruction was made doubly difficult as it followed on top of the struggle to recover from the Great War. Two very destructive wars fought over two generations on their territories crippled Europe and Asia. An American…
