David B. Shemano wrote: > In the United States, our historic response to "kato kyoso" was the National > Industry Recovery Act, which was probably the least popular Depression era > legislation. ... I assume because of its unpopularity, the schizoid Roosevelt > administration eventually decided that it was against monopolies and for the > enforcement of antitrust legislation, which was antithetical to the > pseudo-fascist NRA ethos.
The Supreme Court, at the time still packed with laissez-faire conservatives left over from previous eras, knocked down the NRA in 1935. (It's unlikely that it would have been renewed, however.) Given the disastrous debt-deflation of the early 1930s and the long tradition of opposition to destructive competition among a big group of US economists at the time, it's not surprising that the NIRA was passed in the first place. By the way, it's interesting that after an abortive pro-fascist coup (which was supposed to be led by General Smedley Butler), FDR went for pseudo-fascist economics (the NIRA). I guess fascism was in the air. Of course, wasn't Mussolini seen as a "statesman" at the time? > Consequently, there has been no real intellectual support since from the > right of left in the United States for policy to curb "excessive > competition." < for a long time, the Civil Aeronautics Board limited competition in air fares, while the Interstate Commerce Commission limited price competition in trucking and trains. The Pentagon also restricts competition among arms manufacturers. I'm sure there are other examples. -- Jim Devine / "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante. _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
