Talk-Polywell.org

I just heard this today. The notion that the Marshall plan is responsible for leaving many Europeans with a belief in the ability of Government to solve their problems. After World War II, Europe was devastated. It was an economic mess as well as a physical mess. It needed substantial rebuilding, and so the United States started the Marshall plan in an effort to assist Europe in Rebuilding itself. As a result of the massive expenditures, the infrastructure was slowly rebuilt, and Europe got back on the road to recovery.

It seems axiomatic to me that ordinary Europeans witnessing the Marshall plan in action, and some remembering how successful Hitler was at improving the nation's economic conditions, might have been led to believe that this methodology represents a successful way of solving problems.

The realization that much of Hitler's success came from stealing other people's money and property, and that the funding for the Marshall plan was provided by the United States Taxpayers who operated in a Free enterprise system, would simply never occur to anyone because they weren't in a position to know about such things. To them, it would have looked like the powers of government were miraculous!

The Marshall plan may have very well indeed assisted in pushing Europe towards it's socialist mindset that is wrecking it today.

The Marshall plan also successfully prevented half of western Europe to follow the Soviets.
A lot of countries would have done that otherwise.

Skipjack wrote:The Marshall plan also successfully prevented half of western Europe to follow the Soviets.
A lot of countries would have done that otherwise.

I didn't say that it had no benefit. Just that it may have contributed to the current mind set. Obviously the situation Europe finds itself in now is better than the situation in which it could have found itself.