Reviews for Building New Deal Liberalism: The Political Economy of Public Works, 1933-1956

The average rating for Building New Deal Liberalism: The Political Economy of Public Works, 1933-1956 based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2013-07-22 00:00:00 Gerald Pels Smith's writing is concise, clear, and coherent. His analysis of the public works programs under the New Deal is refreshingly new and well researched. It is quite apparent that Smith has tapped into a topic that has remained relatively untouched by New Deal scholars. Yet there are several issues with his argument. Smith consistently takes the positivist role in his argument; he continuously asserts that historians' emphasis on the New Deal's failures in procuring massive unemployment are not important in comparison to the successes of the public works projects. The problem with that, however, is that he rarely engages with the consequences of not addressing mass unemployment on the part of the Hoover, Roosevelt, and Truman administrations. Smith also neglects to truly appreciate the social aspects of the economy. Granted, he tries to avoid the repetition in themes on the New Deal, but the influence of the New Deal economics on race and the influence of race on the economy are noticeably absent from the pages of his argument (not entirely true, as it is brought up in the epilogue, for a brief summary). Smith's work is mostly a revelation. It engages quite spiritedly with a topic that has not been discussed much, and he does an excellent job in breaking down his arguments. Yet in the end, his argument would be greatly improved wit ha stronger interaction with the economy's relation to society and the consequences incurred by the New Deal.

Review # 2 was written on 2016-02-01 00:00:00 Mario Ocejo Incredibly well written, well researched history. Argues that New Deal public works programs, while not successful in creating full employment, reshaped the American economy both during the 30s and long after. Traces the origins of the word boondoggle and other connections between politics and public works that are relevant in the Obama era (although the book does not make that connection, published in 06).