Monday, January 12, 2009

Does the New Deal Matter?   [Jonah Goldberg]

From a reader:

I must confess that each time a new post comes up on The Corner about whether the New Deal helped or prolonged the Depression I can't help thinking about what conversations may have been taking place in 1940 regarding the relative importance of barbed wire, trenches, and tanks. Is it barely possible that this is not necessarily important and relevant information ?

Me: If I understand the question right, I think it places the blame at the wrong feet. Conservatives aren't insisting that the New Deal is relevant to today. Liberals are.

I'd agree that the New Deal is irrelevant, but liberals keep insisting that the New Deal must provide the blue print for today. They're making it relevant, not anyone at the Corner. I'd be perfectly happy to consign the New Deal's relevance to that of the Defenestration of Prague, but so long as the Democratic Party and its various allies continue to worship in the cargo cult of the New Deal, you shouldn't be surprised when conservatives question the merits of their faith.

01/12 01:59 PMShare