The Endless Fruits of Development

I was reading a book called "Deep Economy" and I came across a quote by FDR while he was running for president in 1932 and it relates perfectly to some of the debates going on today:

"Our industrial plant is built... our last frontier has long since been reached...our task now is not discovery, or exploitation of natural resources, or necessarily producing more goods. It is the soberer, less dramatic business of administering resources and plants already in hand... of adapting economic organizations to the service of the people."

I think this shows so many lessons that we can take from the Great Depression, the end of World War II and the rise of mass consumer culture at the start of the Cold War. Interestingly enough, during that campaign Hoover argued just the opposite of FDR: "we are yet on the frontiers of development, a thousand inventions in the lockers of science... which have not yet come to light."

As we all know FDR won the election by a commanding margin. To me, this points to the mentality of the Great Depression American who was fearful of overproduction and consumption. It also drastically differs from what political leaders were telling the public during the Cold War. Cold War era politicians were telling people, like Hoover did in 1932, to consume more and more and that the fruits of capitalism were endless.

Further, I think it shows how when the system is shown to be vulnerable, as it was from the Great Depression, a culture of saving is generated and even sold to the public. In contrast, during times of economic prosperity culture is shaped by consumption. The boom of the 1990s created a culture of Americans that were so caught up in spending money, which also spilled over into the early 2000s. Buying bigger and bigger houses while the size of families decreased, buying all the new expensive digital technology, Iphones, LCD TV's, bigger gas guzzling cars all defined the middle class American of the last twenty years. Once the economic crisis hit, the government started telling the people to be more careful with their money and getting into debt. This is typical of our country and its history. Most social and economic problems are not addressed until it becomes a huge problem. During times of prosperity the leaders who get elected are those who want to expand that prosperity by deregulating and ignoring any future consequences (Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush). In 2008, Obama was elected on a similar platform that FDR ran on in 1932. As a country, we need to be educated about the past and learn about the cycle of the economy, and how to assuage recessions. We also need to know how politicians of the past responded and understand that what we do in the present can have an incredible impact on the future. Jimmy Carter, although had several of his own failures, did warn the country about its excessive spending. He was really the first president since FDR to depart from encouraging mass consumption... and lost reelection to someone who supported complete unregulated capitalism and "advancement." The first president since low and behold Herbert Hoover to be defeated after one term.

Total growth and technological advancements are not always signs of progress. In fact, they often lead to distracted individuals, greater divisions and gaps between classes. It may provide better lives for the 1% on top, but that kind of thoughtless growth can ultimately depreciate the masses and causes the so-called middle class to be pushed out on to the streets.