Socialism saved the day in WWII
A letter to the editor was published May 13 that said capitalism, not socialism, was what got the United States out of the Great Depression. This is historical hogwash.
The New Deal did alleviate the pain of the Depression but did not get us out of the Depression. The absolute financial control of the federal government and Keynesian economics on steroids are what brought the recovery.
When World War II began, the federal government took over the means of production of all manufacturing in the U.S. and turned our entire industrial output toward production of military goods (ships, tanks, planes and everything else).
The production of civilian goods basically stopped and rationing of important resources began. The government dictating what goods were produced and paying for those goods directly is not capitalism, it is socialism.
The industrial titans supported the government, but they really did not have a choice for their compliance was mandatory not voluntary. Socialism saved the day; big government controlling big business saved the day. Big spending and higher taxes saved the day.
National interests overvalued personal profits. Socialism, sacrifice, duty and courage saved the day, not capitalism. Get history right.
Michael F. Enos, Fresno
This story was originally published May 13, 2016 at 3:44 PM with the headline "Socialism saved the day in WWII."