The American Spectator

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The U.S. was only able to sustain this level of effort because of a universal consensus that the Axis Powers constituted an immediate existential threat not only to the country but to Western Civilization (yes, I know the term sounds quaint today). It is difficult to conceive of any lesser scenario that would so focus our minds as to even consider allowing the government the degree of power it appropriated in World War II.

But every party must come to an end, and in the morning there is a hangover. Though it is little remembered today, there was a short but nasty recession after the War, as industries demobilized and factories had to convert back to consumer goods for which there had to be real customers and real demand. Fortunately, people were flush at the end of the war, and between the Depression and the War they had more than a decade of pent-up demand to satisfy. More to the point, as compared to the rest of the world, the U.S. was sitting on easy street, with an intact country, low casualties, and the only industrial base on the face of the planet not devastated by invasion or aerial bombardment. We soon became the suppliers of the world, a situation not likely to reoccur today.

To summarize, the situation in World War II was unique and not comparable to that of the United States today. Moreover, the world has changed significantly, and therefore using wartime methods to jump-start the economy simply would not work. This leaves aside the question of whether a "perpetual war economy" and the inducement of "wartime psychology" to address problems other than war are conducive to the existence of a free country. I leave that matter to Jonah Goldberg.
-- Stuart Koehl
Falls Church, Virginia

UPSIDE DOWN
Re: Steven Martinovich's Canadian Coup: 

America's attic is beginning to resemble America's cellar. Very odd goings-on.
-- David Govett
Davis, California