Last month, the Corbett Report posted a video entitled “No, WWII Did Not End The Great Depression.” The near eight-minute video provides an insightful look into how the war between the West and Nazi Germany didn’t obliterate the Great Depression and incite tremendous economic growth, but rather it was the end of the Second World War that did.
Citing various libertarian economists, such as Frederic Bastiat and the Broken Window Fallacy, the video examined how destruction doesn’t produce a strong economy – during the war there were various shortages, both agriculturally and industrially, because everything was being allocated to support the war effort.
The war harmed everyone and everything, both domestically and foreign.
The video also takes a slight jab at prominent Keynesian economist Paul Krugman who suggested a space alien invasion would end the financial downturn and create prosperity, a premise that pretty much solidifies the Keynesian philosophy: spend and destroy to stimulate an economy.
Krugman noted that it was the premise behind an episode of “The Twilight Zone.” Perhaps that is where his economic theories originate in the first place.
Corbett concluded: “After all, if we’re willing to believe the lie that sacrificing lives is good for the economy, why not go that one step further?”
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