commanding heights and battle of ideas
Did Keynes support the Treaty of Versailles and the commensurate war reparations Germany would be required to pay to countries? In his book “The Economic Consequence of the Peace” what did he prophesize would be the effects? Was he correct? Explain?
Did Austrian Economist Ludwig Von Mises believe the emerging Soviet Communist Economy would prove successful? Why or why not? What statement did he make right before storming out of a room full of like-minded economists?
Why did Lenin implement the “New Economic Policy”? After his death, did Stalin continue this policy? Why or why not?
Why did Hayek receive two hundred pay raises in eight months and how does this relate the the Treaty Versailles and Central Power reparations? How did the effects affect average ordinary people in those countries?
Some say that Keynes General Theory saved capitalism, what might they mean? What were the global forces at the time support this idea?
What factors led to the rise and power of the Labor party in Britain after WWII? What economic changes were brought about? What event in the U.K. in the 1980s led to the decline of the Labor Party?
After WWII, why did British and American occupied areas of Germany implement price and wage controls? What role did cigarettes and cognac play in the economy? How did Economic Minister, Ludwig Erhard deal with this issue? Was it effective? How?
In what ways did Conservative Leaders’ Nixon in the U.S. and Heath in the U.K. deal with the stagflation of the early seventies? Was this consistent with conservative principles led by Friedman and Hayek? What were the effects on their respective economies?
In what ways did the U.S. Civil Aeronautics Board adversely impact air travel? Why did some airlines change the quality of food on flights? When it was eliminated, what happened in the industry? Did Consumers win or lose, economically?
What was Fed Chairman Paul Volker’s primary tactic to deal with the stagflation? How did this affect the economy? Did Reagan support the moves? Did the policy accomplish it’s objective?
What were the four main components of the mid-80s “Reagonomics”? What were the pros and cons?
(OPINION) Do you believe the ideas of Keynes or Hayak are most appropriate to deal with our economic challenges today? What industries would you like to see more government planning and less market forces? Alternatively which would you like to decentralize and utilize more market forces? Either way, you understand there are trade-offs, so would you be sacrificing? Why are you willing to give this up?
(OPINION) In what ways do you think wars impact political, social, and economic conditions in a nation? What factors do you think create a spirit or culture of war? In contrast, what factors create a spirit or culture of peace? How can this shed light on the spread of Communism and Capitalism in different parts of the world after WWI and WWII?
(OPINON) What political leaders exhibited in the documentary do you believe were most successful in achieving their goals, whether you agree with those goals or not? Which were least successful? Which leaders were most successful in achieving your goals? That is, if you could find a leader today to embody the principles of one from the past, which single past leader would it be? What policies of this leader do you think are most beneficial? Why?
Sample Solution
Commanding heights and battle of ideas
At the Palace of Versailles, outside Paris, Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles with the Allies, officially ending World War I. the English economist John Maynard Keynes, who had attended the peace conference but then left in protest of the treaty, was one of the most outspoken critics of the punitive agreement. In his “The Economic Consequences of the Peace,” published in December 1919, Keynes predicted that the stiff war reparations and other harsh terms imposed on Germany by the treaty would lead to the financial collapse of the country, which in turn would have serious economic and political repercussions on Europe and the world. It soon became apparent that the treaty would bear only a faint resembles to the Fourteen Points that had been proposed by Wilson and embraced by the Germans. The Germany economy was crippled, and the stiff war reparations (Carthaginian Peace) demanded ensured that it would not soon return to its feet.
