Progressivism
“You’d be proud of me, Curmudge; I’ve been studying
again. Instead of a government
that protects natural rights through limited decentralized powers, Progressives
envision an expansive government and the rule of experts in nationally
centralized administrative agencies.
These concepts were originated by Jean-Jacques Rousseau in France, developed
by G. F. W. Hegel in Germany, and supported by prominent Americans including
Woodrow Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Robert La Follett. Hegel embraced a new form of freedom
where individuals give the government unlimited authority over their lives.”
“They called that freedom, Julie? It’s hard to believe.
Long ago I had a college roommate who studied Hegel and a professor who
called himself a Progressive. I
must have been a stone’s throw from Progressivism, but I dodged the
bullet. Here’s more from the article that you read: ‘The
progressives favored a much more active role for the government in overseeing
civil society, regulating the economy, and redistributing wealth.’ ‘Progressivism forms the roots of
modern American Liberalism.’ “
Socialism and
Liberalism
“It’s time for some clarification, Professor. As we mentioned in our Curmudgeonocracy 2 and 3 postings,
strict socialism involves government ownership of all means of production, and
that occurs now only in totalitarian countries if at all. An example was China between 1958 and
1962 when the state was the sole employer; ‘36 million Chinese succumbed to famine.’ (1) Currently the practice of
socialism in democracies allows private ownership of manufacturing, but it
employs government-run cradle-to-grave social welfare programs.”
“Right as usual.
That has been the case in Western Europe and Scandinavia, as we
described in Curmudgeonocracy 2,
where it has been an obstacle to economic growth as well as an opiate for their
young people. Here are some
observations by Arthur C. Brooks (2) in which he compares traditional American
exceptionalism and earned success with learned helplessness in
social-democratic Spain: ‘The recession, rigid labor markets, and excessive
welfare spending have pushed unemployment to 24.4%, with youth joblessness over
50%. Unable to earn their success,
Spaniards fight to keep their unearned government benefits.’ This is an extreme example of an
outcome that could result from the contemporary understanding of liberalism;
the government grants benefits and advantages in order to give everyone the
ability to achieve a certain standard of living and reduce inequalities. It’s interesting that the Europeans are
trying to improve their economies by cutting back on social welfare programs
while the U.S. is going in the opposite direction.”
“But what about classical
liberalism, Curmudge?”
“Hang in there, Julie.
We’ll get to classical liberalism after we note the current variations
of socialism.”
Keynesian
Economics
“You told me, Professor, that you earned an ‘A’ in Econ.
101. I’ll bet it wasn’t Keynesian economics.”
“That’s for sure, Julie. Keynesian
economics is the concept that involves influencing aggregate demand through
intervention policies implemented by the government. A familiar term is the so-called ‘Keynesian multiplier,’
which depicts an increase in economic activity resulting from a government
expenditure or ‘stimulus.’ ‘For
example,
a $100 million government project, whether to build a dam or dig and refill a
giant hole, might pay $50 million in pure labor costs. The workers then take
that $50 million and, minus the average saving rate, spend it at various
businesses. These businesses now have more money to hire more people to make
more products, leading to another round of spending. This idea was at the core
of the New Deal and the growth of the welfare state.’ “
The New Deal
“And the New Deal was…”
“I’ll get to it, chère
etudiante. The Great Depression began
in the United States with the stock market crash on October 29, 1929. Before that date unemployment was
3%. On June 17, 1930, when Herbert
Hoover was President, Congress enacted the Smoot-Hawley Tariff. Other nations retaliated, igniting an
international trade war that exacerbated what had become a world-wide
depression. By 1933 U.S.
unemployment had risen to 24%.
Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) was elected President
in 1932, and he called his initiative to revive the economy the New Deal. It was an alphabet-soup of federally
funded programs to put people back to work with names like National Industrial
Recovery Act (NIRA),
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), and Works Progress Administration (WPA). The NIRA gave so much power to the
government that it was declared unconstitutional. Despite all of these stimulus programs (as we would now call
them), in 1938 unemployment was still at 19%.”
“I know what happened in 1934, Old Guy; a future
curmudgeon was born in Ohio. And
in 1941 World War II came to the U.S., and our country switched from concern
about the economy to winning the war.
In 1945 Roosevelt died, Harry Truman became President, and the war
ended. Truman tried to resurrect
the New Deal, calling it the Fair
Deal, but Congress—recognizing that the war and not the New Deal had ended
the Depression—wouldn’t go along.”
“Julie, I hope that you appreciate the commonality among
these programs—Progressivism, Socialism, Liberalism, Keynesian Economics, and
the New Deal.”
“I’ve got it, Curmudge. They are all dogs from the same kennel. They cost a lot, take away people’s
freedom and initiative, and don’t work very well. Obviously they won’t make the cut to be a part of
Curmudgeonocracy.”
“Jaded Julie, you sure do have a way with words.”
Kaizen Curmudgeon
(1) Yang Jisheng The
Wall Street Journal, May 25, 2013.
(2) Brooks, Arthur C. The
Wall Street Journal, May 9, 2012.
Link to posting from blog archives: Evidence-Based Medicine 2—9/30/10
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