Thank you for writing about this - I never knew this happened. I absolutely think we need to start this again not only to help the 99 percent but to help the world deal with the climate crisis
And I agree. There's lots of possibility for us to use this central distribution system to ensure everyone gets the basic necessities, which will deter them from achieving them through environmentally damaging methods.
I think there are LOT of lessons from WWII that we could/should be learning from today. Even "little" things like victory gardens and more intentional consumption would go a long way in 2023 America.
Unfortunately, as you well know, monied interests would be right out in front of that working hard to manufacture opinion. The same people that laud their grandparents as the "greatest generation" will berate you for daring to implement some of the same things they did.
That's well said. I think WWII was probably the last time America was unified to achieve a goal, i.e. defeating Fascism and Imperialism. It really shows what we are capable of if we were all to figure out our priorities and move in that direction.
I've been spending a lot of time researching the domestic side of World War II lately, and it's astonishing how centralized our economy became practically overnight. The change from market-based approaches to distribution by need started in January of 1942, and were in full effect soon after. The U.S. government also had an interesting role in freezing prices, wages, rent, and providing universal childcare, which I'll be writing about next week.
Thank you for writing about this - I never knew this happened. I absolutely think we need to start this again not only to help the 99 percent but to help the world deal with the climate crisis
It's really fascinating to learn about!
And I agree. There's lots of possibility for us to use this central distribution system to ensure everyone gets the basic necessities, which will deter them from achieving them through environmentally damaging methods.
I think there are LOT of lessons from WWII that we could/should be learning from today. Even "little" things like victory gardens and more intentional consumption would go a long way in 2023 America.
Unfortunately, as you well know, monied interests would be right out in front of that working hard to manufacture opinion. The same people that laud their grandparents as the "greatest generation" will berate you for daring to implement some of the same things they did.
That's well said. I think WWII was probably the last time America was unified to achieve a goal, i.e. defeating Fascism and Imperialism. It really shows what we are capable of if we were all to figure out our priorities and move in that direction.
Interesting and important information here, Joe—good one!
Thanks Joan! It's definitely a forgotten aspect of U.S. history, which is always fun to explore.
And not really that long ago, either. My dad was a WWII veteran!
I've been spending a lot of time researching the domestic side of World War II lately, and it's astonishing how centralized our economy became practically overnight. The change from market-based approaches to distribution by need started in January of 1942, and were in full effect soon after. The U.S. government also had an interesting role in freezing prices, wages, rent, and providing universal childcare, which I'll be writing about next week.