The New Deal and the Emergence of the Old Right
The interwar individualists, writes Murray Rothbard, saw the New Deal quite clearly as merely the logical extension of Hooverism and World War I: as the imposition of a fascistic government upon the economy and society, with a Bigness far worse than Theodore Roosevelt ("Roosevelt I" in Mencken's label) or Wilson or Hoover had ever been able to achieve.
The New Deal, with its burgeoning corporate state, run by Big Business and Big Unions as its junior partner, allied with corporate liberal intellectuals and using welfarist rhetoric, was perceived by these libertarians as fascism come to America. And so their astonishment and bitterness were great when they discovered that their former, and supposedly knowledgeable, allies, the socialists and progressives, instead of joining in with this insight, had rushed to embrace and even deify the New Deal, and to form its vanguard of intellectual apologists. FULL ARTICLE
Comments (6)
Anthony
Excellent article. These writings on the Old Right continue to fascinate me. I am not American, but I do keep in touch with what goes on there, and I had never encountered much of a history of this movement outside of Rothbard's writings. Such a pity. Many of these thinkers were hitherto unknown to me.
Published: October 5, 2007 1:08 PM
Bruce Koerber
This excerpt from the book (The Betrayal of the American Right) shows two of the major themes of the book: the betrayal by the weak-hearted, and the value of mentorship to the lion-hearted.
Cowardly and deceitful were the ones who were fortunate enough to have learned about true economics but were not principled enough to resist seduction by the whisperings of the ego-driven interventionists.
In unbelievable contrast there were also the champions, and Murray Rothbard gives us a glimpse into that world. It was filled with brilliant individuals who fought against all odds. This autobiographical account of the formative years of Rothbard's philosophy praised the individuals who provided mentorship.
This book, intentionally or unintentionally, is a beautiful example of revisionist history of a period that is personally familiar to most readers and it is very revealing. I was amazed to see how Murray Rothbard was a player in many of those circles.
In conclusion: We can make a difference!
Published: October 5, 2007 4:39 PM
Bruce Koerber
The Betrayal of the American Right is filled with details that can only be found in the recollections of someone who was intimately involved.
Did you know that in 1964 Robert LeFevre brought together laissez-faire dignitaries to explore transforming the Freedom School into Rampart College, and that during those sessions a standard was unfurled, a flag of black and gold? Black as the classic color of anarchism and gold as the color of capitalism and hard money!
One of the reasons that I love reading the literature of classical liberalism as it continues to unfold and become accessible (thanks to a large extent to the Mises Institute) is because it enables me to discover my roots, my freedom and liberty roots, my intellectual roots with none of the contradictions inherent in the propaganda passed off as education by the interventionists.
I was thrilled to hear that the standard chosen was black and gold! Like Ron Paul I am from Pittsburgh. When I am there visiting I see black and gold everywhere. I live in Cedar Rapids, Iowa which is Iowa Hawkeye country and so I see black and gold everywhere. Being surrounded by the colors of the banner of freedom and liberty causes my roots to grow deeper and stronger.
In summary, it is impossible to thank Murray Rothbard enough for his heroic life and his genius.
Published: October 6, 2007 10:05 AM
TokyoTom
Thanks for this!
Published: October 6, 2007 7:45 PM
月饼
thanks
Published: October 14, 2007 2:19 AM