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 - 6: Second World War
In “Part 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”.
In Part 5 we wrote about changing values from production to a mad misuse of resources, financial gambling and lack of moral, which brought the Great Depression, deep, long & world-wide. When Krueger committed suicide, recognizing the error of speculation on stock exchanges, the theory of the self-regulating market died with him.
To avoid economic depression, John M. Keynes suggested state investment in infrastructure to create jobs for the millions of unemployed. A big public debt then popped up, unusual up to then. Roosevelt had the courage to invest, Hitler too. Better transport, increased contact between pockets of progress, social recovery, everything and anything to increased self-confidence which then brought xenophobia and racism to Germany. Stalin brought good living conditions, health & education for 200 million, integrating people of different cultures, religions, latitudes and longitudes, in an extensive and diverse land. This resulted in a xenophobic nationalism which was hit by German expansion.
Europe believed a 2nd World War would not happen; it was mistaken. The US joined the fight in 1941 when it was attacked at Pearl Harbour.
The desire to win the war eventually used new technology, or technology that has only existed in prototype. With no crude oil in Sweden, its cars used biogas derived from wood; Germany used von Braun rockets, and the US developed atomic energy. To feed the soldiers on the battlefield canned food arrived with orders going to politician-friendly companies. The government supported the lobby of the war industries.
Schumpeter said an economy develops through innovations. They come from bizmen and "wild spirits", the Unternehmergeit. He said also that it is mainly research & development that boost the economy of a country. Today it is the innovator who makes major steps forward in products and services. Customers have access to products that bring greater benefits, provided that the State ensures that regulation is fair and transparent. So it was that Germany, the UK and the US rose after the crisis, based on the eco-system where the state guarantees a free market to enterprises and real conditions in which to innovate & grow.
