Question:
How likely was political unrest given the social impacts of the Great Depression?
During the Great Depression, people lived under extreme impoverishment. More than a quarter of workers in the United States and thirty five percent in Germany were unemployed, while peasants lose income from crop surpluses and give up their job. This state of the workers and peasants has substantial psychological impact as compared to men in a society with a healthy economy. Under these conditions, political unrest is likely if a radical demagogue rises onto the political stage and gather support of desperate workers with extreme ideologies. First, the Great Depression had negative psychological impact on workers, as their mood became downturned. For instance, some men who are out of work became so restless that they walk around at night because they are unable to sleep. As a result, quarrel and friction develop more frequently between family members, even with children, too. As these men become depressed, their apathy further prevents them from finding work. These phenomenons are quite dangerous and bring a society on the verge of political disorder because the psychological state of these men, as shown in previous examples, are volatile; this volatility allows political dissent and unrest to be brewed much more easily as compared to rational minds. Second, seeing that the circumstance of the Great Depression are similar to those of the time of conflicts and chaos, it is evident that political unrest is not far from the society. An example is a phrase that is used often by the men in municipal lodging houses: “Give me a real helping. Give me a little more.” This shows how hungry the workers are and proves how similar the conditions of the Great Depression and famine are. On the contrary, the workers’ “attack” on farms by stealing potatoes while the inaction of the local police exhibits how lawless the Great Depression due to the hunger. In comparison with Germany during the late years of the Great War, although there was famine, the people still bought potatoes during WWI instead of stealing them. On the contrary, not only is famine and lawlessness prevalent, lying and begging have also become normal. In fact, people are expected to engage in these activities all the time during the Great Depression, showing how degenerative this period was. Thus, the similarity between the circumstances during the Great Depression as compared to times of crisis such as famine in World War I shows how close the societies are from falling into political unrest. Last of all, despite the extremely malignant social impacts of the Great Depression, political unrest could not be provoked if the condition alleviates or lack of radical politicians’ the leadership. There are many such examples in history. For instance, the reason communism did not spread in Western Europe as Industrial Revolution developed is because of the consecutive increase of workers’ rights from reforms, which assuaged the political unrest. Another example can be seen by the comparison of the United States and Germany during the Great Depression. Roosevelt who is a moderate liberal became the President of the United States, leading the country out of the Great Depression through the implementation of the New Deal. Although not completely successful, it did slightly alleviate the circumstance. Hence, political unrest is not provoked as no radical demagogue appeared while workers had faith in Roosevelt’s reforms. On the contrary, Hitler in Germany provoked political unrest that weaken the Weimar Republic and brought him into power by blaming the Allies for causing the Great Depression due to their dictatorial treaty. As shown, the development of political unrest depends on the political geography of each state. In conclusion, political unrest is on its verge of existence due to the horrific social impacts the Great Depression caused, yet radical leadership or the lack of improvement are crucial for the development of political unrest.
Limitations: They were one sided because the authors both focused on the working class, the victims of the Great Depression who suffered the most rather than balancing between the discussion of Great Depression’s social impacts on both bourgeois and working class.
How likely was political unrest given the social impacts of the Great Depression?
During the Great Depression, people lived under extreme impoverishment. More than a quarter of workers in the United States and thirty five percent in Germany were unemployed, while peasants lose income from crop surpluses and give up their job. This state of the workers and peasants has substantial psychological impact as compared to men in a society with a healthy economy. Under these conditions, political unrest is likely if a radical demagogue rises onto the political stage and gather support of desperate workers with extreme ideologies. First, the Great Depression had negative psychological impact on workers, as their mood became downturned. For instance, some men who are out of work became so restless that they walk around at night because they are unable to sleep. As a result, quarrel and friction develop more frequently between family members, even with children, too. As these men become depressed, their apathy further prevents them from finding work. These phenomenons are quite dangerous and bring a society on the verge of political disorder because the psychological state of these men, as shown in previous examples, are volatile; this volatility allows political dissent and unrest to be brewed much more easily as compared to rational minds. Second, seeing that the circumstance of the Great Depression are similar to those of the time of conflicts and chaos, it is evident that political unrest is not far from the society. An example is a phrase that is used often by the men in municipal lodging houses: “Give me a real helping. Give me a little more.” This shows how hungry the workers are and proves how similar the conditions of the Great Depression and famine are. On the contrary, the workers’ “attack” on farms by stealing potatoes while the inaction of the local police exhibits how lawless the Great Depression due to the hunger. In comparison with Germany during the late years of the Great War, although there was famine, the people still bought potatoes during WWI instead of stealing them. On the contrary, not only is famine and lawlessness prevalent, lying and begging have also become normal. In fact, people are expected to engage in these activities all the time during the Great Depression, showing how degenerative this period was. Thus, the similarity between the circumstances during the Great Depression as compared to times of crisis such as famine in World War I shows how close the societies are from falling into political unrest. Last of all, despite the extremely malignant social impacts of the Great Depression, political unrest could not be provoked if the condition alleviates or lack of radical politicians’ the leadership. There are many such examples in history. For instance, the reason communism did not spread in Western Europe as Industrial Revolution developed is because of the consecutive increase of workers’ rights from reforms, which assuaged the political unrest. Another example can be seen by the comparison of the United States and Germany during the Great Depression. Roosevelt who is a moderate liberal became the President of the United States, leading the country out of the Great Depression through the implementation of the New Deal. Although not completely successful, it did slightly alleviate the circumstance. Hence, political unrest is not provoked as no radical demagogue appeared while workers had faith in Roosevelt’s reforms. On the contrary, Hitler in Germany provoked political unrest that weaken the Weimar Republic and brought him into power by blaming the Allies for causing the Great Depression due to their dictatorial treaty. As shown, the development of political unrest depends on the political geography of each state. In conclusion, political unrest is on its verge of existence due to the horrific social impacts the Great Depression caused, yet radical leadership or the lack of improvement are crucial for the development of political unrest.
Limitations: They were one sided because the authors both focused on the working class, the victims of the Great Depression who suffered the most rather than balancing between the discussion of Great Depression’s social impacts on both bourgeois and working class.
- The Great Depression causes workers to become psychologically unstable; this could be exploited by radical leaders into provoking political unrest in the workers
- Nervousness
- Friction with family
- Unrest
- Unacceptance
- Depression and apathy
- Eyes on the ground
- The conditions in the Great depression mimics times of chaos and conflicts
- Oliver Twist— I want more
- Potato stealing— Worse than famine during WWI because back then people still bought things
- Lying and begging is prevalent
- The political unrest could only be prevented if conditions improve while moderate politicians take control
- Communism did not develop in Western Europe and the United States through the improvement of worker’s rights and working conditions
- Sense of comradeship develops as everyone suffers
- Comradeship could transform into collective political unrest as people protest for improvement of condition
- Roosevelt vs Hitler
- Roosevelt, moderate liberal improved conditions for workers, although not a lot, there were improvements
- Hitler blamed WWI for causing depression, provoking political unrest in Weimar Republic and gaining support for himself
The image above is of two unemployed men searching for job. During the Great Depression, more than a quarter of American workers were unemployed. These men search for jobs everywhere, yet they still have a hard time finding them because of the bad state of the economy.
The above is an image of a long line of hungry workers lining up to get their free soup. During the great depression, due to the poverty many were in and the high unemployment rate, many people had hungry bellies.