Custom essays on Herbert Hoover: Bad President or Bad Timing

Hoover’s domestic policy first was devoted to expand of the national parks and care of forests, improving the living conditions of Indians, holding “prohibition law”, the reorganization of the prisons and coordination of national charities and social services. Changes in these areas, however, were rather modest.
Hoover’s individualism and era of “Prosperity”.
Factor for economic prosperity of the 20-ies.
In economic theory, and in the public consciousness of the period the concept of liberalism, or laissez faire (“let everyone go their own way”), developed by the classical bourgeois political economy still in the 18-19 centuries, was dominant. It emphasizes the role of a separate “economic man”, the rational individual seeking to maximize profits and competing with others at various markets, and receiving the reward that equals to his work. The theory is based on the principle of individualism, which asserts that the implementation of unrestricted private interest of economic agents eventually leads to the public good. It postulates the complete freedom of enterprise and laissez-faire in economic life. The mechanism of the market is hailed to be the most effective regulator of economic processes, ensuring optimal allocation of resources.
It was a time of domination of conservative ideas and liberal-individualistic values. Conservatives have traditionally given priority to economic freedom among all the other freedoms, and have been for to the unlimited accumulation and disposition of private property, which is attributed to the fundamental human rights.
Conservatism at this stage exalted principles of economic liberalism by shifting them to the doctrine of “solid”, “unrestricted individualism”.
The ideas of social Darwinism have been propagated. The most important there was to support the natural implication from the very nature of things, the origin of all social phenomena and the contradictions of capitalism (the division into classes, competition, and economic contrasts, the wealth of some and the poverty of others).
The big monopolies, such as E. Carnegie, John Rockefeller were portrayed as the fittest individuals, and their financial and industrial empires as the highest achievement of “natural selection”.
In economic theory the principle of liberalism was dominant (complete non-interference in the economy). Basic postulates of classical economics are: man is only considered as “economic man” who has a desire for his own benefit; all are equal before the law; each economic agent is fully aware of prices, rents, profits, wages in any market; the market ensures full mobility of resources (labor and capital can move freely); the elasticity of the number of workers on wages is less than one, ie salary increase leads to an increase in the labor force and vice versa; the only purpose of capital is profit maximization; wages are determined only by supply and demand in the labor market; increase of wealth occurs only through capital accumulation.
“First we need to introduce elementary legal, economic, fiscal discipline, make the budget transparent, country and the owner – responsible. In short, we should dispel criminal fog over the country and see the real, not virtual contours of our problems, including financial ones” – Herbert Hoover.
Hoover’s individualism, at the base of which lied the old credo of “Economic man” and the absolute role of economic motives, fueled by the idea of “Americanism.” The word “Americanism” was first uttered by G. Alger, a supporter of isolationist beliefs, convinced that the happiness of liberal America is moving away from the decadent Old World that can only infect America with its illnesses. But under the circumstances America appeared on the world stage at a time when the wars turned into revolutions, and the main weapon was an ideological weapon.
Therefore, simultaneously with the present idea of isolationism, there was also the idea of messianism. Thus, Hoover in 1919-23 directed ARA. Organization “ARA” (abbreviated of American Relief Administration) was established to help European countries affected by the World War I. In 1921, because of the hunger in the Volga area ARA activity was permitted in USSR.
Number of victims of hunger would have been much greater if the USA had not helped. ARA headed by Hoover, distributed millions of tons of American food among the starving people. At that time the Soviet government expressed its gratitude to the United States. And in ten years, the Soviet Union wrote, that ARA were only engaged in espionage, and not in helping starving.
But this was the era when orthodox conservatism triumphed its last success in 1920ies. That was its Pyrrhic victory: the economic collapse of 1929-1933 testified that the classical individualism was at an impasse. Even his chief adherent of the 1920’s G. Hoover tried to practice the concept of “enlightened individualism”, which adjusted the principles of unrestricted freedom.
But Hoover was unable to get back to the path of the audit of conservatism. It was realized later, only in 40-ies. Social conservatism is opposed to the old individualistic creed that glorifies the “economic man” and makes the role of economic motives absolute. The new social conservatism has taken under the protection such imperishable human values as: family, church, religion, civil society with its diverse social units and interests, education and morality.