The World Economic Crisis By mchard Kern
The World Economic Crisis By mchard Kern Signs of Recovery Developed During the Year Just Past, Point to the Beginning of a New Economic Era, But Political Tensions Remain Obstacles to...
...Foodstuff prices and prices of raw materials continued to fall, the decline contrasting with the rise in prices in the great region of the sterling bloc, thus increasing the export possibilities of British industry able to pay wages in a declining currency...
...Oppression involves suppression, whether by one or by a group...
...Unprecedented un-smpioyment, increasing impoverishment of the masses, stagnation tt production have been cited as ft characteristics of the period...
...It will be compelled to resort to inflation as a means of financing its program, which, in turn, will lead to new difficulties in international exchange relations and to ever-increasing obstacles, in the iiipalj industry adds nothing, therefore, tothe standard aThVtaa...
...Elmer Rice, well known to friends of the Rand School, exhibits in his plays and in his life a keen social awareness and a fine integrity...
...This entire process of dislocations came about at a time when industry Aad not only been greatly undermined by tiie war but had gone through radical changes in structure to 'which it could adapt itself only gradually and not without perturbation...
...The war and post-war years constituted a period of tempestuous technological development, which led inevitably to the...
...Germany and Italy are moving iaevitahiy to sajeehea^asfiK because of the tepidity of theyt economic policies...
...The tempestuous industrial expansion of the last two decades preceding the war had actually created a situation pregnant with what was regarded as a dangerous tendency toward high food prices...
...A marked revival is taking place also in Sweden, where unemployment has practically disappeared, and in the other Scandinavian countries, as well as in Finland...
...but we can't all get to Russia or Africa to see what^the news-reel has left out...
...The Gold Bloc Nations The recovery under way in...
...The violent effects iifeerent fa, the wsr as it affected tat agoaomk* life of nations had for a long...
...The old division of labor between agricultural - and industrial countries was dislecated, trade relations im-pededvthe purchasing power of the agrarian countries lowered and the expos* possibilities of the industrial nations curtailed—elements which themselves were sufficient to produce a severe and prolonged crisis...
...Government controlled, or privately controlled...
...Yet the first of the F.T.P...
...Employment is increasing in Canada and South Africa...
...IV The Misery of the Dictatorial Countries IN sharp contrast to the economic * development in other -countries is the situation in Germany, Italy and, to a certain extent, in Russia...
...E^^alyais based upon purely |^Wc considerations must re-|?v)*uWplet« and inadequate fact is that the crisis li" h beg 9 the war...
...The independence of Rjg...
...But the gradual rise of the world price level is slowly equalizing the various national levels, and there are certain indications that the crisis is abating in the gold bloc countries as well...
...Tiis intervention has had a pro-fwjsd, effect upon the course of jj State Regulation The extraordinary accentuation of tie -power of the state and its assumption of relative independ-ejfc^wjth respect to society and individual classes and elements cssstitate the surprising phenomena to recent historical develop-iseat, Tie process began in the •Sfiy nineties, in the period of' dacaieal imperialism, and gathered j raasflrahle momentum during the Jw...
...What to to follow wilt depend primarily upon the course of the political situation...
...Their exports have suffered from the advantages enjoyed from currency deflation by the -countries of the sterling bloc and .the United States, and they have sought to maintain their high price level by a policy of subsidies...
...It was the e)hy with its super-economic and' epmnically incalculable conse-qemees...
...And with how many grains of salt-must we take the items that are passed out to us, as though they were events of the world, in the privately controlled News-reels...
...And, like an electric bulb smashed by a snowball, out go the hopes of any who had been deluded enough to imagine there'd be freedom for artistic expression and significant thought in a theatre project sponsored by the New Deliverers...
...The purely economic forces at work are mush more significant, and neither in the sterling bloc countries nor in the United States have increased armaments been an essential factor in recovery...
...But here's the other part of his thought: "We don't need you outsiders to teach us how to break strikes...
...The machine industry is showing similar progress...
...so out goes "Ethiopia...
...production in Europe itself...
...And how much of either side...
...Censorship of the theatre, of the news...
...ff**fV4J», and in the final analysis, IT **>te itself has developed into SSOthty apparatus precisely be-MfeOf its close association with jjggpe life and the efforts to Rfu^H^to its purposes...
...World Economic Revival The automobile industry is having a remarkable revival, particularly in the production of small cars...
...The index of industrial production rose from 74 in October 1934 to 94 in October 1935 Factory employment has gone up from 7(3.8 to 83.7 and payrolls have increased from 61 to 7571...
...Retail trade, particularly foodstuffs, to experiencing a steady upward movement...
...Censorship has been applied for many reasons...
...Perhaps...
...And when you watch, on the film, a man that's making a speech, who chooses which man, and which side of the question, you shall bear...
...Indications of improvement are to be observed also in Czechoslovakia and Austria, while the sorely-hit agrarian countries of Southeastern Europe are likewise beginning to feel a measure of revival as a result of the gradual abatement .of the agrarian crisis...
...The rehabilitation of European agriculture after the war...
...To be sure, the -process is proceeding with many variations, which is to be explained by the varied effects of the war upon the respective countries and the wide differentiations in their post-war policies...
...And as soon as Bergoffs bullies were gone, the Governor put the State militia on the job—and a thorough job of strike-breaking, Southern style, they made of it...
...economic life, earmarks pf gs Jioerai era, were ended...
...While financial crises were completely unknown and money and credit crises played no determining part in the typical European depressions since the middle of the 19th century, the destructive-ness and intensity of the present world crisis have been stimulated precisely by ever new currency dislocations, collapse of international credit relations, thp prolonged crippling of international exchange relations, and consequent impediments to international trade...
...These PtPOse...
...But if The Living Newspaper must not say this, or that, how much more must we beware of what it will finally show us...
...Accumulated surpluses, held in part by government, which constituted an obstacle to improvement, have been markedly reduced...
...Rice...
...The German dictatorship is thus aggravating to the extreme the disproportion between the various branches of economic life...
...Production in the steel industry has doubled...
...The first of the living newspaper dramatizations is "Ethiopia...
...To the economic obstacles impeding international trade were added political barriers in the form of the accentuation of protectionism and subsidization of various sorely-hit branches of industry which had failed to adapt themselves to the new situation or were hindering the process of adaptation...
...4 $ xor» The developments of IMS hjjfe thus widened in extraesftaua manner the disparity, the inequality' in the economic rsniHHae mxjPBk world...
...Both points of view—the vulgar ctpitehst and the vulgar re vol u-ilfcuny—fail to perceive the spe-cIV character of the epoch begun elk the World War...
...To these-fundamental dislocations in yetUHMonTind distribution the war added the disorganisation of the currency and credit mechanism, a disorganization which continued after the war...
...The hazardous development of the armament industries has taken place exclusively at the expense of the consumption industries...
...Some *je»Ved in it only a typical, eua thongh more acute and gp» widespread, cyclical crisis jypRalsim, of the type occurring jptnicaUy every eight to eleven ajtrs...
...The average wage ef the worker* is still about 4% below 1929, but with rants unchanged and a fall of approximately 19% in the cost of living, real wages have risen...
...It has brought about an extraordinary accumulation in the war industry at the expense of the standard of living of the masses...
...While the acceleration of the I armament industry has played i some part in the situation, its importance must not be overestimated...
...Ofr even to Georgia...
...But they are preceded by a few others: "The fool hath said in his heart, 'There is no God...
...rf%e signature over this article waLf pseudonym of a distinguished WSS^Hm Socialist economist now 'ustfiig f- a foreign country for %ja«fO« oef/tmd his control,) i The Nature of the Crisis jn...
...Any appreciable reduction in un-employment will depend upon the duration and intensity of the present recovery...
...While the rest of the world a beginning to emerge from the depression...
...They had definite assurance that no censorship would apply to their work...
...The number of factory employes bids fair to exceed Boon that of 1929...
...When England abandoned the gold standard in 1931, under the impact of the German credit crisis and the flight of foreign capital, the crisis was at its height...
...The present order stifling the theatre project seems, for the moment, purely a gesture of international politics...
...time been underesti-imass&r -JUpther f factor of great iaips^taossl which continued to rsake'itselftelt after the war, has been tb» mrreaching intervention of the (tste seeking to regulate and modify economic development...
...Employment rose slowly at the beginning but gradually gained momentum, affecting first the manufacturing industries and extending in increasing measure to the consumption industries...
...One recent news-reel trick reminds me of the old atheist's I argument...
...Crisis Illusions On the other hand, many measures applied by governments served only to aggravate the situation...
...We need not dwell here in detail upon the situation in Germany, for we have repeatedly pointed out in what great measure it is determined by purely political factors...
...isiw How the News Reels By Joseph T. Shipley 'JrHE resignation of^EknerRice, regional head of the theatre arts project of the W.P.A., gives prominence once more to the age-old question of censorship...
...July a fascist regime, we have erf told, can be strong enough to ¦Op down the discontent and fer-nSsUtion of the masses and save espitaiism from utter destruction...
...JPsS threat of war continues to" haM over the capitalist world...
...The ppve autonomy and independ-jyJ...
...consequent upon the progress made in the interim in agricultural chemistry and technique resulted in a considerable increase of...
...component elements , « AjiquidotioB Crisis j-^J^*"8 of the war and in--government intervention Play of economic laws ^therefore, be recognized as a Efj*** essential importance if ELz*^** erasp the true signifi-Of the economic situation...
...We can break our own strikes very well, thank you...
...In sharp contrast with.Germany, the increase Of industrial employ mud is masked by an increase in mass consumption...
...In short, there came the rise of that nationalist economy which dislocated still more the international economic structure, resulting in an increase of cost of production and impeding the task of restoring the production balance necessitated by disarrangement of the price mechanism...
...In England, for example, industrial production in the first six months of 1935 showed an increase of 21 r/r as compared with the corresponding period for 1924, but employment increased only 7*4r'< ¦ In the United States, too, employment is lagging far behind the general process of recovery...
...indications are not mislcad-tVjbj, 1935 will be recorded in jUjoomic annals as the year ahen the most •severe crisis in afr history of capitalism exper-Qfru by great and determining tertians of the capitalist world ted come to a standstill, marked W dear signs of recovery...
...its asset striking characteristics cannot possibly be under-stood without taking into consideration the war and its fftficli...
...The machine industry is in process of rapid development, and even the textile industry, so badly hit by the loss of markets suffered during the war, as well as the coal industry, are showing marked improvement...
...And, in the instant, out goes the indignant Mr...
...Today, the British iron and steel industry is working full blast and is beginning to attract large investments for the rationalization and extension of plants...
...Only we can all get the Bible and check up on this atheist...
...many a man remarked...
...Investments are increasing...
...Because of low taxation, the construction industry is developing lively activity, 909fc of new homes having been built without any government aid...
...assume, in part, an inde-character and seek tc *"j*WrVm Delves felt even at points STjj^they come into conflict with IjOjidBT interests of the respec:-P^yes...
...continued troubles being experienced by...
...In this connection, it must be emphasized that the dislocations of economic life in the post-war period have been entirely unprecedented, which, in turn, made more difficult any systematic approach to the problem of readjustment...
...It must also be noted that the amelioration of the agricultural crisis has been due, in part, to costly government intervention, .particularly overseas, continuation of which over a long period is hardly possible, and to two successive poor harvests in overseas goantries...
...Lagging in the recovery process are France, Holland and Switzerland, the countries of the ho-called gold bloc...
...Damn decent of the Governor...
...With this one exception, the gradual extension of production in agriculture and raw materials bad tended to be balanced so far as consumption was concerned by the rapid industrial development and growth of population...
...Foreign trade has improved considerably in the last few months...
...The developments of 1936 haye demonstrated, however, that despite all obstacles a revival and normalization of industry are finally beginning to make themselves felt in large portions of the world...
...Added to the remaining difficulties are the...
...religion, moral codes and conventions, political attitudes, the existing order and its safe preservation in its rulers' behalf: all have enlisted the suppressive hand of the censor...
...It is only when the resources and forces of living are controlled by the ¦hole people, that we can...
...the transportation industry due to competition suffered by the railways from the automobile, and the losses incurred by the shipping industry through the decline in foreign trade...
...them of any direct in-SSL*5 ^politics and the trans-the sute into a dic|*2~P' into an independent *g0^sabject only to the indirect ¦*jjss effective influence of social HPJM* any...
...The government is paying for the living newspaper...
...swelling of the industrial reserve army...
...The agricultural crisis, however, is by no means a phenomenon inherent in capitalist economy...
...Tjie economic structure was 0411 Hied into the service of the jtots.' The state regulated produc-OSs and distribution, putting an St* the free play of economic 'The conclusion of the war VJgt eliminate the growing con-htousness of the possibility ef p*h anient intervention into ecotoeMe-life, while the tremendous Jisoraic difficulties inherited from Jpaar compelled ever new intru-jPS?*n the part of the state...
...entering upon it final phase...
...Among them is the return of the unemployed to industry...
...These can be conquered only gradually...
...fspuailua of Agriculture - The war brought about a wide extension of the area of cultivation in all non-belligerent countries, increased the utilization of agricultural machinery and led to an intensification of the agricultural economy...
...The farther course of the recovery process wttt therefore, depend essentially Upon the removal of the political tensions which continue to disturb the world...
...This applies not only to metals but also to wheat, corn and textiles...
...The German dictatorship has created a purely war economy...
...Small wonder, therefore, that many had come to regard the crisis as permanent...
...Seen in rehearsal, it was a well-balanced presentation of the background of the conflict, with its repercussions throughout the world...
...In ever-increasing measure arc the nations being compelled to aarSMjjs their productive powers and economic resources for purposes, of armament — some because' they, regard war as the last, determining instrument of policy, and ethefs as a means of self-defense against the growing danger...
...Prices of raw materials and agricultural products had been rising, relatively speaking, as Compared with industrial commodities, the cost of production of which had been declining because of technological progress...
...At the same time/the transition from free trade to protection within the empire through the agreements concluded at the imperial conference in Ottawa added to the advantages of British industry...
...poli e*Jtojgap to determine the.destiny gepobnu'es, and' it seemed as if the power to alter the play f^Ojs^snre, this new politic is aajWymg its role in a vacuum, gt within a social framework in IP*: the classes are fighting out WTstrnggles and pursuing the gMfffion, of their interests...
...Naturally, it presented view, marking Italy as the aggressor, and stressing the sanctions...
...Construction is increasing and the general wage level is likewise on the ascendant...
...What you see with your own eyes must be true...
...What is true of agricultural production applies also to the production of raw materials, with the exception that the more pronounced capitalist character of raw materials made possible more successful correction of dislocations in tins aeM than hi the domain of of conservative peasant messes...
...The early post-war period was marked by efforts to achieve a graduah.stabili-zation of currencies and the rebuilding of credit relations, but the tremendous accumulation of government debts and, later, of rehabilitation credits resulted in the rise of a new credit structure unable to bear the heavy burden involved...
...which determined essentially the economic character of oty period...
...Why," he exclaimed, 1 1 |" aia ¦^"¦¦^'¦-¦;-*lj^aarf.haaaJ-,rira'si - "the Bible itself says 'there is no God.' Those "very words are in the Bible...
...Leading in the recovery is the automobile industry, where production is now thrice that of 1931...
...The price scissors which bad made themselves felt in the course of capitalist development favored, for the most part, the products of agriculture and raw materials...
...This was the crisis brought about by the rapid opening of the North American wheat Aeids through the development of railway communication and the steamship in the seventies and eighties of the last century—a period marked by a severe shack to European agriculture...
...has assumed strongest S?!1'0"" '""here the conflict of Pjtias resulted in an attempt E.'PWln...
...Previously, there has been only one prolonged agrarian crisis of severe intensity tin the course of modern capitalist development...
...Ill Recovery *?*HE process of recovery is to be * observed at its strongest in England, the British dominions and the countries of the sterling bloc, which include Scandinavis, Finland, Portugal, Argentina, Egypt and Persia...
...The World Economic Crisis By mchard Kern Signs of Recovery Developed During the Year Just Past, Point to the Beginning of a New Economic Era, But Political Tensions Remain Obstacles to Progress—Democratic Countries Lead in Revival with Dictatorships Facing Another Collapse...
...lj?mo errors have been complied from the very beginning jg'a^eJuating the crisis...
...Australia, New Zealand and South Africa have benefited from the rise in wool prices, and the prices of cattle and dairy products...
...but aside from any tricks the camera can play, who selects the scenes that are to be shown...
...At the same time we have been itformed that the collapse of capitalist economy offers at least a "(hanee" to the working class, a elaaos to seise power as the only ¦cans of instilling new life into tfce world economic structure...
...11 The Effects of Economic Nationalism TrWE severity of the crisis -has * been accentuated by the fact that its impact has bsea felt simultaneously in the domains of agriculture and production of raw materials as well as of industry...
...Others, pretending to pro-tsu a Marxian point of view, nave Jsterpreted the crisis 'as a perma-sent one, a* the last crisis of a dying capitalism now...
...ventures to reach the brink of production, through "The Living Newspaper," is ordered withdrawn...
...the most important industrial countries of the world is paralleled by a similar process in agricultural and raw material countries...
...But behold...
...A general overproduction in the most important agrieulteural products was the' result, aggravated by political factors injected by the state, due, in part,- to the demands of the peasant masses grown more influential politically through post-war development of democracy and the desire to -achieve national independence of food supply for purposes of national defense by means of protecting and extending agricultural production at home through tariffs and subsidies...
...It is curtailing production for social purposes and is thus making it increasingly more difficult for German industry to bear the heavy armor of armament...
...They are...
...we are a neutral nation, and may still sell oil to Mussolini...
...Without going into detail, we need point only to the speedy industrialization of the hitherto backward countries, the dislocation of old regional, economic networks, the rise of new states and the disproportion, developed during the war, between the various branches of economic life—overexpansion of the war industry on one side and retardation of all other branches, particularly tlje consumption industries...
...ha%deXmp the contrary, rendered possible-only by farther aeenhe> -hi^hbe standard of Irving...
...It matters little, as long as the government is privately controlled...
...showed Governor Talmadge meeting the strikebreakers Demon Bergdrf had sent down from New York, and shipping them back on the next train...
...The news-reels (you may have seen them and felt thrilled...
...Similar, though different in detail, is the development in trie United States...
...Reemployment Lagging Despite the undeniable recovery to be observed in the greater portion of the worl3, certain difficult manifestations • of the depression remain to be overcome...
...Hallie Flanagan, who has done excellent, radical theatre work at Vassar, is national head of the Federal Theatre Project...
Vol. 19 • February 1936 • No. 5
