Franklin D. Roosevelt Quotes
Wealth in the modern world does not come merely from individual effort; it results from a combination of individual effort and of the manifold uses to which the community puts that effort. The individual does not create the product of his industry with his own hands; he utilizes the many processes and forces of mass production to meet the demands of a national and international market. Therefore, in spite of the great importance in our national life of the efforts and ingenuity of unusual individuals, the people in the mass have inevitably helped to make large fortunes possible. Without mass cooperation great accumulations of wealth would be impossible save by unhealthy speculation.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1882-1945, 32nd President of the United States (Democrat, NY), Message to Congress on Tax Revision, June 19, 1935
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
The implication of the investment in infrastructure and education is that the state must tax people at a rate that would pay for it. But if the rate is too high, he argues, people will not make a sufficient profit from their work.
Like many ideological political philosophers who developed a following, she tended to exaggerate many of her points and to ignore additional factors. While individual businessmen and politicians pursuing their self interests were certainly necessary for America’s great growth and success, they were not sufficient. Many of the founding fathers sacrificed their fortunes and in some cases their lives to gain American independence. And the sacrifice of millions was necessary in many conflicts were those who fought were rarely enlarging their own fortunes. And equally important factors of American success were the collective action of communities creating schools, roads, bridges, canals. The driver of the businessmen to move into critical areas was the government subsidizing the railroads, proving the telegraph useful, developing the national highway system and the Internet. Most of the great universities and research centers were created as government, charitable or religious institutions where personal profit was not a factor. It is that combination of private and public, self serving and communitarian drives, secular and religious that have created modern America. Many people in Rand’s ere did not credit the private, self serving contributions of many great men, and Rand led the movement to remind all of that critical factor. In the process of making her good point, she tended to ignore the other factors.
While generally true, Mises here again exaggerates his “proof” by selectively ignoring or being ignorant of counter-examples. The Roman Catholic Church is a classic counter-example where priests, monks, and others owned nothing as individuals, but produced some great science (eg Gregor Mendel), art (the illuminated texts of the middle ages), literature (St Thomas Aquinas, etc). The best counter example that was just evident in the last decade of Misis’ life is Communist Russia. Russian science was better than Fance and Germany and second only to the United States. The Russian ballet and orchestras were second to none. Great literature came out of the Soviet Union and the best of it complained about and attacked the Soviet system of the times. In general, Mises principle tended to be correct throughout history but not always as he dogmatically stated.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. A member of the Democratic Party, he won a record four presidential elections and became a central figure in world events during the first half of the 20th century. Roosevelt directed the federal government during most of the Great Depression, implementing his New Deal domestic agenda in response to the worst economic crisis in U.S. history. As a dominant leader of his party, he built the New Deal Coalition, which defined modern liberalism in the United States throughout the middle third of the 20th century. His third and fourth terms were dominated by World War II, which ended shortly after he died in office.
