The World in Depression by Charles Kindelberger

[Xerxes]

 

https://www.ucpress.edu/books/the-world-in-depression-1929-1939/paper
 

 

[Jaygo]

Galbraith is my favorite depression aficionado but I may have to check this book out too. 

 

The great depression is so interesting but you really need to layer it with the previous depressions because IMO they are all so damn similar. The railroad booms and busts, Manitoba boom and bust and the South Sea Bubble tell you that many depressions are caused by exuberance first, then the bust and loss of confidence and then of course the slowdown in commerce as so many have killed their finances trying to get rich.

 

The really interesting part about the great depression is that trade slowed down as a result of the speculation bust but it was the protectionist mentality that sanded the gears making the trade slow down further. 

 

The lesson should be that Adam Smith's ideas and globalisation is the only way sensible path forward but many people think zero sum about global trade.

[Gamecock-YT]

On 5/26/2025 at 4:43 PM, Xerxes said:

 

https://www.ucpress.edu/books/the-world-in-depression-1929-1939/paper
 

 

 

https://archive.ph/eITOJ web version