Even 80 years later the Left has learned nothing: A reply to Rschard1
I received a very welcome and interesting comment on my blog post, “Deficit reduction is not austerity; it kills capitalism”, from Rschard1. The commenter argues that my own argument is technically correct but ignores the messiness of historical contingency. I am, the commenter states,
“glossing over the uncomfortable truth that recessions caused by voluntary deflation have, without any exception I know of, led to horrid consequences for the working class.”
As support for his/her view, the commenter presents the classical case of fascist full employment policies of the German Nazi party. While the German Marxists followed what the commenter argues is essentially my solution for the Great Depression, the fascist introduced a series of measures to create jobs by rearming Germany and preparing it for World War II. These policies rapidly brought Germany to full employment, just as Keynes predicted they could and aided the fascist rise to power. Austerity, as the commenter argues, is great for the more advanced countries, but terrible for countries like Greece.
May 31, 2015
A reader responds to my post, “What is the difference between Association and the State?”
A reader has written a response to my post, What is the difference between Association and the State? I have posted the comment here for convenience and because it raises some important questions regarding how Marx and Engels should be interpreted. I hope to post a reply to the questions tomorrow:
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