Through the social policy and public assistance promoted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the New Deal contributed to the care of democracy.
New Deal is an expression that belongs to the English language and can be translated as "New Deal" . This is what American President Franklin D. Roosevelt called the economic policy that, in the 1930s , he implemented to minimize and reverse the consequences of the Great Depression .
The origins of the Great Depression date back to October 1929 , when the US stock market collapsed, registering a historic drop. This gave rise to a deep economic crisis that spread from the United States to the rest of the world .
Implementation of the New Deal
With the intention of reviving the economy , Roosevelt launched the New Deal in 1933 . It was an interventionist plan to transform financial markets and assist the most vulnerable sectors through public investment, which was carried out in two large stages.
The New Deal began in '33 with concrete and quick proposals to get out of the emergency . The North American president, in this framework, implemented social assistance programs and encouraged state investment. Then, between 1935 and 1938 , Roosevelt reinforced the New Deal by favoring the redistribution of resources through social security laws and support for unions.
The New Deal promoted a mixed economy, with the State regulating the functioning of the market.
Achievements and points against
According to historians, the New Deal was very important on a social level since it improved the quality of life of millions of people who were in poverty due to the Great Depression . However, they also warn that it increased the fiscal deficit of the United States and that, beyond economic recovery, it failed to solve the problem of unemployment.
The majority opinion maintains that the welfare policy and aid programs promoted within the framework of the New Deal contributed to strengthening the figure of the president and provided benefits at a social level. However, in the economy the advances were not so noticeable.
According to analysts, the American situation was better before World War II than in 1933 . Public projects for infrastructure development did not offset the decline in private investment and unemployment remained a problem.
It should be noted that several of the New Deal measures remain in force to this day. Among them different government agencies born at that time that continue to function.
American labor law was modified through the New Deal.
First stage and development of the New Deal
The first stage of the New Deal is generally known as "the first hundred days," during which several laws related to more than one field of the United States economy emerged. Almost all measures were taken in the shortest possible time with the aim of solving the most serious problems; All of this was carried out according to Roosevelt 's empirical method, which was based on the following three pillars: welfare, recovery, and reform .
Thanks to this determination, one day after his presidential inauguration , Roosevelt took the first step with the closure of all banks nationwide. Four days later, in a session of Congress, the so-called Banking Reform Law was proposed. This modification of the banking system was drafted at night, arrived at Congress at noon and was ratified that afternoon. On March 12 , through a radio communication, Roosevelt addressed his people to detail his policy and goals.
After this milestone in his government, fifteen more laws were voted throughout the aforementioned hundred days, which is why this period acquired so much importance. It is worth mentioning that the projects were not designed well in advance or studied for a long time, but rather bordered on improvisation rather than meticulous calculation, given the emergency situation from which they had to emerge.
In other words, the Government sought to improve the situation with short-term solutions so as not to run the risk of acting when it was too late. The reforms that were implemented as a result of the New Deal had a global scope, which included all sectors, starting from the agricultural sector and reaching the industrial sector. Likewise, some projects emerged that sought a solution for unemployment; For example, the youth-oriented Civilian Conservation Corps was created in March 1933 and focused on single men, initially between the ages of 18 and 25 , but later ranging from 17 to 28 years old . .
The controversies
There are currently several debates and controversies surrounding the New Deal . His economic reforms are often associated with Keynesianism; However, John Maynard Keynes 's most famous work ( "General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money" ) was only published in 1936 , when the New Deal had already been in development for three years.
Although it is often stated that the New Deal contributed to the defense of capitalism within the framework of the advance of socialism in various parts of the world, liberalism tends to criticize the New Deal and its monetary policy. This opposition is reinforced in neoliberalism , which firmly rejects State interventionism.