Ezra's Bookshelf

Destructive Creation

by Mark R. Wilson · 392 pages · ~7 hrs

HistoryEconomicsPolitics & Government

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Mark Wilson challenges the standard narrative that World War II mobilization was primarily a triumph of private enterprise. Drawing on extensive archival research, he shows that victory depended on massive government investment, stringent regulation, and public ownership of productive assets. The federal government built aluminum plants, synthetic rubber factories, and aircraft facilities; it set prices, allocated materials, and directed production. Private companies managed these operations but did not own or control them. Wilson traces how business leaders, uncomfortable with this dependence on government, campaigned to rewrite the story. They emphasized their contributions while minimizing the state's role, eventually establishing a narrative that military-industrial partnership meant private companies naturally serving national defense. This mythmaking had political consequences: it delegitimized industrial policy and government economic intervention while celebrating corporate autonomy. For understanding debates about industrial policy, defense procurement, and the relationship between government and business, this revisionist history provides essential context that challenges assumptions across the political spectrum.

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