Another communist interpretation of Roosevelt’s New Deal…
From The Worker August 1933. The blue eagle represents Roosevelt’s National Recovery Act, I assume the gear is the “wheels of industry” or something like that. The communists in the 1930s were very aware of the potential for a declaration of war by capitalist countries against the Soviet Union, as a way for the capitalist countries to deal with their economic depression and the “red menace.” (On a side note, the USSR aparently did very well during the 30s, experiencing massive growth and near zero unemployment.) Thus, the increased military spending that apparently was part of the new deal plan was seen by the communists as part of the general pro-military, pro-fascist, i.e. anti-communist, trend at the time, hence this cartoon showing the blue eagle turning into a swastika….
Tags: capitalism, communism, history, war
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December 20th, 2010 at 8:05 pm
USSR did very well? Then why did Stalin starve 10 million of his own people through the act of collective resources, and people were trying to flee the USSR, like, I don’t know, all the time? In the late 1800’s, Russian peasants were worse off than serfs during the Dark Ages. Just because everyone’s got a job doesn’t mean a country is well off.
And Roosevelt’s New Deal program lengthened the depression and made it worse. His plan involved bailing out banks, expanding the government, and providing millions of jobs, sucking the money out of the people who could pay taxes. Those who could pay taxes and were fairly well off (because of responsible money habits) were punished and forced to spread it around.
December 20th, 2010 at 8:07 pm
The Grapes of Wrath was a film made in those days to show the poverty of people. Families living in their cars and driving around looking for work. Communists thought it would be a good idea to show their people the movie to show how “successful” Communism was.
It backfired. The residents of the USSR said, “Cars? Only the wealthiest people in our country can afford cars? And almost every American has a car?”