Back to the Land : Arthurdale, FDR's New Deal, and the Costs of Economic Planning

by Maloney, C. J

• ISBN13: 9780470610633
• ISBN10: 0470610638
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-04-05
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

In 1933 the National Industrial Recovery Act was passed by Congress and signed by FDR. In it $25 million (when that was real money) was allocated to alleviating poverty by the creation of subsistence homesteads - government planned communities. Several were developed, the most well known though largely forgotten by modern economists and historians was Arthurdale, West Virginia. It was in Arthurdale that federal economic policy played out on a human level. Modern homes - with the latest amenities - were built on large plots, and homesteaders would work both the land and in manufacturing. Progressive education was provided for children, including nutritional guidance. Arthurdale would lift the most impoverished U.S. citizens and their families out of their grey and bleak existence and offer them a better life. Sponsored by Eleanor Roosevelt, no expense was spared to make Arthurdale the best it could be. Despite the best of intentions, the realities played out differently - huge cost overruns, overly intrusive bureaucratic red tape that eventually led residents to a place of nonsensical helplessness, and entrenched welfare. Arthurdale was where good intentions and grand ideas morphed into disastrous consequences, waste, and failure.Most economic history books take a macro view that examine and analyze the effects of fiscal and monetary policy on society as a whole; few look at the actual and real effects on individuals or even small communities. The Arthurdale Experiment is economic history at the micro level that uncovers the pros and cons of federal government policy, shows how it unfolded on real people, and then analyzes the results through fact-based research and reporting of primary source material. CJ Maloney has been studying Arthurdale for the last 5 years and has interviewed more residents and descendents of residents than anyone else and has poured through the vast documentation seemingly unexamined thus far. As the role of government in the U.S. is debated and new and seemingly similar policies are enacted, the topic of the Great Depression and the ramifications of economic policy will continue to be popular and much discussed. The Arthurdale Experiment is a valuable addition to the financial and historical literature.

Author Biography

C. J. Maloney lives and works in New York City. A graduate of NYU's Stern School of Business, he has contributed writings on economics, history, and politics to, among others, RealClearMarkets.com, Mises.org, LewRockwell.com, Antiwar.com, DailyKos.com, Liberty magazine, and blogs for GMU's Liberty & Power. He has spoken before numerous groups, including the NYC Campaign for Liberty, the Manhattan Libertarian Party, and Ivy League Alliance/Students For Liberty at Columbia University.

Table of Contents

Arthurdale from 1933 to 1947	p. vii
Acronyms Used in the Book	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
The Damnedest Cesspool of Human Misery	p. 19
The Angel of Arthurdale Arrives	p. 55
The Definition of Insanity	p. 71
We Lucky Few	p. 91
ôSpending Money … Like Drunken Sailorsö	p. 107
The Darkening of the Light	p. 125
ôA Human Experiment Stationö	p. 151
At Long Last, Arcadia	p. 179
Epilogue: To the Victor, the Spoils	p. 193
Acknowledgments	p. 215
Notes	p. 219
Bibliography	p. 275
About the Author	p. 285
Index	p. 287
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