The Historical Approach to the New Deal

With astounding profusion, the presses are pouring out books, pamphlets, and articles on the New Deal. Economists, publicists, politicians, statesmen, editors, and prognosticators are “describing,” “interpreting,” and “forecasting” the outcome and results of the legislative and executive actions coming within the scope of the New Deal since March 4, 1933. This is proper and natural enough. It is inevitable.But few of the writers guilty of publication have prefaced their reflections with due notice to the readers respecting the assumptions, methods of reasoning, hopes, fears, and desires actuating their thought at the beginning of their thinking about the description, interpretation, and forecasting operations. Most of them, probably, would say that it is academic to stop to think about what one is doing when one begins to think about social phenomena such as are embraced within the field of the New Deal; but the saying would be an escape, a dodge, or a trick. Why? Because nothing can be described in itself.