The Great Depression

Warnings

• Economists understood that the economy works in cycles, but few except socialists like Marx believed that these cycles could put the economic system itself at risk

• After the Industrial Revolution, the world had been accelerating financially, and increasing Globalization was putting countries in charge of the other’s risks

• During the great depression, technology did not slump nor did economic growth related to it, but rather slowed down radically as technological prowess continued to accelerate

Recovering

• During the Great Depression, most countries did not yet have a welfare system; In fact, welfare state was a term that wasn’t used until 1940

• Working people’s biggest concern was their children finding meager but steady and reliable jobs

• The lack of strategy for recovery from economic distress contributed to the severity of the slump. In response, the USA, Britain, and Canada all abandoned the gold standard, and Britain did away with free trade. Many governments raised tariffs