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1932 › Franklin D. Roosevelt (Democratic) › National economic planning
Industry leaders to organize cooperatively for the common good; government regulates only as a last resort
pledge_forwarddirectional_stancecandidate_directevidence A Economy & Fiscal PolicyIndustry, Business & Regulation⚡ The Great Depression similar solutions · similar reasoning
Solution
Heads of finance and industry to "work together to achieve the common end," sacrificing private advantage in "reciprocal self-denial"; government to restrain the "lone wolf" who drags an industry toward anarchy, and to intervene if the group abuses its collective power; formal economic regulation "only as a last resort" after responsible private initiative has failed.
Rationale
Enlightened industries already seek "a form of organization which will bring the scheme of things into balance," limiting individual freedom of action in the common interest; prosperity must be uniform and purchasing power distributed throughout every group.
The closest campaign statement to the industrial-code idea enacted as the NIRA in June 1933.
Statements (5)
the responsible heads of finance and industry instead of acting each for himself, must work together to achieve the common end. They must, where necessary, sacrifice this or that private advantage; and in reciprocal self-denial must seek a general advantage.
The Government should assume the function of economic regulation only as a last resort, to be tried only when private initiative, inspired by high responsibility, with such assistance and balance as Government can give, has finally failed.
That such a balance ought to be maintained by cooperation within business itself goes without saying. It is my hope that interference of Government to bring about such a stabilization can be kept at a minimum, limiting itself perhaps to wise dissemination of information.
we know that some measures of regularization and planning for balance among industries and for envisaging production as a national activity must be devised.
Business must think less of its own profit and more of the national function it performs. Each unit of it must think of itself as a part of a greater whole; one piece in a large design.
Follow-through
partialcontested among sources
The NIRA institutionalized the Commonwealth Club idea — industry drafting its own codes — but with immediate government licensing power rather than regulation 'only as a last resort.' Business dominated the codes, the NRA failed, and the Court voided it.
Mechanisms
| Date | Type | Name | Effect | Consistent? | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1933-06-16 | statute | National Industrial Recovery Act | But the public interest will be served if, with the authority and under the guidance of Government, private industries are permitted to make agreements and codes insuring fair competition. However, it is necessary, if we thus limit the operation of antitrust laws to their original purpose, to provide a rigorous licensing power in order to meet rare cases of non-cooperation and abuse. | partly | Message to Congress Recommending Enactment of the National Industrial Recovery Act. |
Obstruction
courts Schechter ended the code system in May 1935. source
Assessments
The NRA signified FDR's belief that business, with a push, could regulate itself — and it did not.
In sum, the NRA signified FDR's belief that business, with a little push from government, could regulate itself.
Other positions on this issue
- National economic planning on the model of the 1917 war mobilization — Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1932 directional_stance
- End federal regimentation: no revival of NRA or AAA controls, no more emergency powers over production, wages and hours — Alf Landon, 1936 directional_stance
1932-fdr-industrial-cooperation-regulation-last-resort · created by claude-fable-5-1 · review: unreviewed