lecture 2-11-2005

Class 2-11-2005

WWI aftermath – St Augustine’s first rule for just war – must help peace in long run

MIDEAST – unnatural arbitrary boundaries– replace loose tolerant consultative Islamic state conforming to Islamic standards with totalitarian state dependent on western arms and repressive technology

Jews – Zionists – sick of persecution - get Balfour declaration – homeland

US cuts off immigration – more had been leaving Palestine for US than going to

No-one in world will take – they have to use their access to western technology

to overwhelm Arab resistance

permanent irritant

RUSSIAN REVOLUTION during war – incompetence of tsarist govt –

strong enuf to repress Russians – not organized enuf to fight war

March 1917 – optimistic – democratic overthrow of corrupt tyrants

Disorder leads to the most disciplined determined thugs winning – Lenin has coup

just before scheduled democratic elections in November 1917

Civil war 1918-1920 – reds vs whites

NEP 1921-1928 re-education of a “new man” not democracy

Lenin dies 1924 just before he was going to demote Stalin

5 year plans – 1928 - rapid forced industrialization – must appropriate agric “surplus”

to pay for machinery - famines

“Kulaks” – own a horse – evil category as in China later – liquidate millions

terror, show trials, paranoia, purges – military leaders esp –

Universal creed – exact opposite of Neo-cons now – much of their creed in reaction

failure must be treason – dictates of “scientific socialism” infallible

Cult of personality

Many in West go to see and see only good – Sartre Reed etc – espec during depression

source of hope to escape from failures and savageries of SocDarwin capitalism

GERMANY – feel betrayed – promised no punitive peace –

land grabbed Poland, Rhineland - reparations – huge inflation

As in Russia – Weimar democrats hard time against thugs

US – Wartime – as in USSR under threat from abroad - always imposes demands for conformity and absolute support of country – foreign language illegal on phone

Empowers least democratic forces – scorn of govt = jail

Red Scare – Palmer raids

21 months for comparing Philippines deaths to Belgian deaths

Student beaten at Columbia U for defending free press and speech

(like “treasonous” criticism of Free-fire zones / “destroy the village to save it”)

High Hopes and Idealism dashed

Race riots and lynching and Klan resurgence

Mass Black migration to North – 400,000 in army – new expectations

But country not ready

Progressive era blows up just as New Deal consensus will in late 1960’s –

disillusion with disorder - govt fails to keep up w/expectations –

kills progressive possibilities

Inflation – strikes - violence

Liberals disillusioned – had believed in possibilities of rational planning to improve the world but irrational forces – xenophobic hatred – mass hysteria - seem to dominate – “New world order à bunk lack of “self-determination” – colonialism for “backward” people

Wilson’s complicity w/repression – ideas so good and important à disagree = treason

stupidity of Prohibition – economic incentives to violence crime terror

democracy in the wrong hands goes “grievously awry”

the idea of American Revolution – the people as self-directed rational actors - oops

Wartime IQ tests à they’re mostly too stupid to vote

Freud and unconscious – advertising and manipulation –

after women get vote women’s rights dies politically –

becomes “lifestyle” in consumer society – cigarettes = “torches of freedom”

“liberation” = lotsa labor saving appliances

consumer society – spectator sports – consumerism saps attention to public policy

CIVIL LIBERTIES – REMEMBER Madisons warnings DANGER tyranny of majority

Limits of state power – individual rights –freedom of speech - ACLU

Harding massive sweep – handsome dufus - pleasant vacuous comments

, unions lose million members,

Blocking something good for the country like League of Nations is often great politics –

Eisenhower and many others in Greatest Generation will remember this

Labor’s possibilities also snuffed out –

massive propaganda à union = socialism = communism , anarchism, FOREIGN

open shop = AMERICANISM = freedom

Progressive ideals of industrial freedom, socially conscious national state eclipsed by a resurgence of doctrinaire laissez-faire economics. Supreme Court reasserts primacy of freedom of contract - striking down federal child labor law as invasion of states’ rights - repudiating minimum wage law.

Scientific management and assembly line – workers stretched to breaking point

Huge increases in production capacity – 60% decade

UNIVERSITIES – we got more – nation of engineers – cars – radio, movies, electricity

Implications – radio - Common discourse – everyone hears – government

Tax rates slashed on progressive taxes – Huge increase tariffs – hurt trade big time – Europe horrible too – no rebuilding help as after WWII

–instead try to collect on loans (WWJD?)

Trends just like Reagan Bush43 – rich (top 10%) get much richer – skilled workers too

economic growth only goes to top – bottom falls big time , middle static

“I’m gonna get rich – who cares about those stupid workers farmers?”

stock market gains will solve all my problems”

huge productive capacity – consumers not much $ à great depression

Revolution in Morals – mostly publicity and F Scott Fitzgerald – flappers – loose women with cars – backlash – anti-evolution crusade – WJBryant – he doesn’t give a fig about science but hates SocialDarwinism and SD Darrow humiliates the Great Commoner