If war production should remain the only way out of a long-term depression, industrial society would be reduced to the choice between suicide through total war or suicide through total depression. Note: compare Dwight Eisenhower's January, 1961 Farewell Speech Concept of the Corporation (1945)
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Relying on war production to end a depression forces society to choose between total war or total economic collapse.
- In plain terms
- War‑driven economies trap societies between endless conflict or deep recession.
- What can you take from it?
- Seek peaceful economic solutions rather than war‑based recovery.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What alternatives exist to war‑driven recovery?
- How can societies balance security and economic health?
Another view
In extreme crises, some wartime production may temporarily stabilize economies.
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