In coming issues we will publish a few chapters of this bilingual book, newly launched at the Confederação Empresarial de Portugal, presented by its President Antonio Saraiva, with foreword by the President of the Auditing Court of Portugal, Guilherme d’Oliveira Martins.
It was edited by Jack Soifer, with co-authors Francisco B. Weinholtz, John Wolf, Stefan de Vylder, Armindo Palma, Luis Silva, Henrique Neto and Viriato Soromenho-Marques.
History – 5: Between wars
In “History 1” we wrote about the political parties using Euro from the lobby to finance their election campaigns and thus representing it, not the electors. In Part 2 we wrote about their use of the media, social net-works, mobile phones and much clutter to occupy the mind of the citizen and focus it on the interests of the powerful. This makes people work as slaves without thinking.
In Part 3 we wrote that in the 18th century the laissez-faire, laissez-passez brought the “everything goes” except killing. In Part 4 we told about the difference between the practices of different democratic concepts after the Industrial Revolution, where in Europe the focus was in Equality and Solidarity while in the US was “what matters are practical results”.
Millions of Europeans died in the early 20th century. To win a war where the inventions were tested with state funds, Europe quit liberalism and returned to rule. Russia settled for communism in 1917. In the US the combustion engine was improved, allowing better use of its resources on its extensive & fertile agricultural lands & in its mines. Europeans used these inventions in the colonies. Capital was necessary for machinery, installations and banking progressed with better commercial laws, and clear rules and procedures at stock-exchanges were established under government control.
Plants were built near the sources of raw materials, prosperous cities and ports. There was a lot of competition but greater demand than supply brought good profits to businessmen. The bad side of the war was that thousands of weapons, lost in the fight, ended up in the hands of men who had seen their families decimated. Many lost the norm do not kill. In Italy the mafia was organized and expanded beyond its borders. In the US the gangs formed a parallel power. Bizmen with easy profits paid the gangs for keeping everything as it was. Others used them to destroy their competitors like Exxon in the US, which sent hired thugs to set fire to petrol stations that refused to buy from its refineries. In most countries, cartels of a few companies eliminated competitors in lucrative sectors with the support of the mafia.
This affected the stock exchange which relied on the information and unethical actions of mafia-controlled companies. Goods based on immaterial values appeared. The Great Depression came quick, deep, long & worldwide. When Krueger committed suicide, recognizing the error of speculation on stock exchanges, the theory of the self-regulating market died with him.
