The Foreign Service Journal, December 2008

today’s fast-changing world, the administration and lead- ers in Congress should enlist the help of the private sec- tor. Businesses have a genuine interest in figuring out ways to help. They cannot afford to have global opportu- nities close because of growing economic anxiety here at home. Learning from History As Norman Cousins once said, “History is a vast early warning system.” There are some eerie similarities between the circum- stances that prevailed during the last century and the cur- rent situation. From 1860 to 1914, the global economy enjoyed a remarkable period of growth characterized by relatively open trade; limited capital regulation; tremen- dous technological innovation with the introduction of the radio, telephone and internal combustion engine; and a robust global economy to which America was the largest contributor. After World War I, we failed to muster the political will to reopen the global economy. The decade that fol- lowed the end of those hostilities saw growing tensions among the great powers, an unstable alliance system and the spreading influence of the Bolsheviks, who were hos- tile to capitalism and dedicated to using violence to change the world in accordance with their ideology. In 1927 and 1928 U.S. labor markets weakened, and presidential candidate Herbert Hoover pledged in the 1928 campaign to help American farmers by raising tar- iffs on agricultural goods. Anxieties soared after the 1929 banking crisis, and on June 17, 1930, Congress passed the Smoot-Hawley Act, raising tariffs to record highs on more than 20,000 imported goods. President Hoover said that he disapproved of the leg- islation, but signed it notwithstanding a petition signed by 1,008 economists urging a veto. Before the ink was dry on his signature, our trading partners began the retalia- tion that helped to bring the global economy and our own F O C U S D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 8 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 51 Interim Accommodations for Corporate and Government Markets Apartments, Townhouses & Single Family Homes “FOR THE EXECUTIVE ON THE MOVE” finder5@IX.netcom.com Locations throughout Northern Virginia and D.C. Units fully furnished, equipped and accessorized Many “Walk to Metro” locations Pet Friendly 5105-L Backlick Road, Annandale, Virginia Tel: (703) 354-4070 Fax: (703) 642-3619 Executive Lodging Alternatives