The Super Summary of World History - Alan Dale Daniel [175]
This review only scratches the surface of the changes going on after 1919, but this is the Super Summary so we cannot go too far. The tenor of the age was one of change and great improvement; but the long shadow of WWI, the Great Depression, and the darkening clouds of WWII put the stamp of uncertainty on the era. Once the dictators were in power, the world became ever more frightening and ever more deadly.
Let Us Learn
The Great Depression teaches us economies fail, often very fast. Even a stable economy can collapse with blinding speed. It also taught us the financial world is very complex and very important. Have some money in a safe place in case of economic decline. Trying to spend your way out of debt, or into prosperity, is folly. Two American presidents and their super educated advisors made that mistake. Learn from their errors. If hard times hit, cut spending. Do not follow the government’s example; they never get it right anyway.
The depression era shows we are all captives of our theories. Recall that the economists of the 1930s analyzed the crisis through the prism of their assumptions (theories). Many people never try to figure out what theories (assumptions) they use for analysis. For example, what is your theory of human nature? Are people fundamentally good or evil? Does life operate on cause and effect relationships; that is, if one is good to someone will they be good back? If we work hard, will rewards follow? Each of these questions, among others, discloses theories concerning life. Be aware of the theories binding your thought processes.
Watch events in other countries, because even small far away occurrences can affect the entire globe. The murder of one man plunged the world into the hell of World War I. Hitler came to power after winning one German election and torched the world. Stay alert to world events and unusual trends.
Watch for big trends and try to analyze them. A trend to worldwide dictatorship is not good. A trend toward bank failures should raise your concern. Very large trends usually have large impacts. Population trends within various nations, and the world, often foretell of critical changes.
Finally, the interwar era teaches that aggressors must be immediately confronted, and if war is necessary to prevent their exploitation, then war it must be. If one wants peace prepare for war. What seems like an ideological oxymoron is actually a primer on human nature. The strong will take advantage of the weak. The prepared will crush the unprepared. So it has been, so it is now, and so it will always be. To forget these facts is folly.
Books and Resources on the Great Depression
and the Rise of the Third Reich:
See http://www.euronet.nl/users/wilfried/ww2/1939.htm for excellent information on the state of European affairs just before WWII.
See http://history1900s.about.com/library/photos/blygd24.htm for excellent history and photographs of the Great Depression
Books on the Great Depression and the Rise of the Third Reich:
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, William L. Shirer. The classic, but not so easy to read.
The Coming of the Third Reich, Richard J. Evans, 2005, Penguin.
The Third Reich in Power, Richard J. Evans, 2006, Penguin. I like this book. It records many laws that were on the books under Hitler’s murderous regime. It records the nightmarish existence under the Nazi regime.
The Gathering Storm, Winston Churchill. Churchill is always easy to read, but beware of some of his concepts. Churchill was very English and very supportive of the concept of the