is not a title party.
World War I has been involved in more than 30 countries and a population of 1.5 billion, accounting for about 3/4 of the world's population; the time lasts for 4 years and 3 months. The cumulative military expenditure of each country was US$208 billion, which was the sum of the national wealth of Britain, Germany and France before the war.
One of the most important results of World War I was not who defeated anyone, but the first time in the world that planned economy appeared.
What I want to say is that the "planned economy" first appeared in Britain and the United States, which are known for their free economy, rather than the world's first socialist country, Soviet Russia.
11 On the eve of the war in 1914, Britain's military expenditure per day reached 2 million pounds; in 1916, it was as high as 6 million pounds per day.
Free Economic , it is impossible to provide such huge war funds in the short term. In order to obtain resources and maintain the war, administrative management began to penetrate into various economic fields of the UK, and the British government began to implement comprehensive control of the national economy.
However, Britain failed to rely on plans to cure the tumultuous war.
During World War I, 750,000 soldiers were killed in Britain, 2 million soldiers were disabled for life, and workers' wages also fell by more than 30% compared with 1900.
The harsh working environment, the meager wages, the shadow of war... British workers are like falling into hell. The most direct consequence of these things is that the Labour Party , which represents the interests of workers (nominally), completely breaks with Liberal Party .
1918, the number of people participating in the strike reached 6 million. The strikers proposed to implement public ownership of means of production and workers took over the industrial sector.
The Liberal Party’s countermeasure is: confrontation. Can a group of workers make a big splash?
11917 On August 1, 2017, the British coalition government shut down Labour leader Henderson and allowed him to stand at the door of the conference room for more than an hour. The Labor Party began to realize that strike alone was not enough, and it also required its own political program and its own spokesperson to ensure that it "represents" the interests of workers.
1918 general election, the Labor Party proposed 360 candidates and won 142 seats in the House of Representatives. Since then, the Labor Party has replaced the Liberal Party and has become one of the two major parties in the British political arena to date.
The free economy advocated by the Liberal Party is no longer shining brightly, and the cabinet has been replaced by the wartime committee. The committee does not even consider the position and party balance. It completely takes the ability of the committee members as the standard, requiring members to "have foresight, imagination and initiative, and be diligent and tireless."
The committee is not a cabinet, but coordinates various departments and issues orders in the name of the cabinet. Moreover, without parliamentary debate, policies directly penetrate into the operation of the national economy.
or more, thousands of words are summed up in one sentence: Whoever can get money will become an official.
The British believe that "the leader of British has enjoyed such great power for the first time since Cromwell ". Although the British were reluctant, this was the only effective way to deal with a wartime crisis. At least the British Wartime Committee issued an order in the name of the cabinet, and the division was still famous.
What is even more outrageous is the United States.
11 After the United States declared war on Germany in April 1917, Congress passed the Liver Act in August 1917, granting the president extensive regulatory power. President Woodrow Wilson immediately established the Wartime Industry Administration Bureau, which was directly responsible to the president, and had no legislation.
This is not only unprecedented in American history, but still has so far. This is the only time in American history.
woodrow Wilson
Fuel Commission manages the national coal and oil supply production, strictly controls the flow of energy (ensure energy flow to Military industrial enterprises ), the famous American Daylight Saving Time was invented by this committee to save energy; the Wartime Trade Commission formulated foreign trade plans, accepted orders and allocated to domestic enterprises, and exports were completed under the guidance of the national plan; the Railway Commission manipulated the national railway system, formulated transportation plans, passenger transport made way for freight, and freight gave priority to military product transportation;
National War Labor Bureau took over the Free Trade Union, calling on workers to organize no strikes, protests, or march during the war, and wholeheartedly Do a good job in capitalism; the federal and state governments take over the communication system directly, including telephones and telegrams, and federal agencies are authorized by the parliament to monitor suspicious telephones and telegrams;
and the Food Management Committee...
and the Sugar Administration...
and the Sugar Administration...
These committees are not state institutions at all, and do not recruit civil servants publicly. The staff are all industrial giants and only receive $1 salary in the federal government every year. In fact, the committee is more similar to a "big boss" committee, which almost monopolizes all important supplies in the United States. If companies violate regulations, it is basically equivalent to cutting off raw materials and markets. There is no way, and large, medium and small enterprises across the country can only obey the committee.
In view of this, we can think that this is the beginning of the planned economy.
American politics has always been a arena for various forces. Any law involving interests must be played through the game between all parties, and a gold standard has to be debated for decades. However, in the face of foreign enemies, the American nation did not quarrel in Congress, but instead gave the power to concentrate resources to the federal government. The American trade union even stated that the strike would not be organized during the war and supported the war.
It was during the World War that the federal management of the economy inspired the later Roosevelt's New Deal , and people began to become interested in the economic theory of Keynes .
If there is no recognition from those in power, even if Keynes is clever and speaks a lotus, his theory will never be adopted when the United States was first founded.
So, it makes sense that we called economics "political economy" a long time ago. Only economic theory that is in line with the interests of the strong is the so-called "mainstream economics"; therefore, economics will always be the language of strong power.
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