Capitalism powered FDR’s New Deal

With regard to Alan Barbour’s letter (May 6) “Sanders is the real New Deal” – hogwash! The success of the U.S. economy came from war, capitalism and two men – not the New Deal.

In 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked General Motors CEO William Knudsen to oversee the production of guns, tanks and planes for the war. Meanwhile, industrialist Henry J. Kaiser presided over the building of “liberty ships” – vessels that came to symbolize America’s great wartime output. Mr. Barbour suggests that compassionate socialism won the day and presented a flowery, feel-good description about a New Deal recovery that never happened.

The current unrest and poorly performing economy reflect 60 years of liberal and progressive efforts to undo FDR’s “sin” of embracing capitalism to win World War II. FDR did not lead us out of the Great Depression and WWII as a socialist, but rather a reluctant capitalist who discovered that it works.

A good book to read is “Freedom’s Forge: How American Business Built the Arsenal of Democracy That Won World War II.” It tells the true story of America’s post WWII recovery and the “real” New Deal!

This story was originally published May 12, 2016 at 2:08 PM with the headline "Capitalism powered FDR’s New Deal."