the precondition of the latter. Keynes himself foresaw as much in a 1940 article for The he a capitalistic democracy New Republic: “It seems politically impossible,” wrote, “for to organize expenditure on the scale necessary to make the grand experiment which would prove my case—except in war argues that conditions.” Hofstadter accordingly the war itself could consummate the fiscal revolution that the New “only Deal began.” It was, however, not only the Keynesian fiscal revolution that the war enabled, but also the Keynesian labor revolution: it was in the context of the war that the U.S. state came closest to a on in his famous 1940 radio address on the “state based labor.” Thus “arsenal of a noble role to the working democracy” President Franklin Delano Roosevelt assigns class in an emergent war of the same human dignity production: “The worker possesses and is entitled to the same security of position as the engineer or the manager or the owner. For the workers provide the human power that turns out the destroyers, the airplanes and the thus defines the dignity of the worker in terms of a value tanks.” FDR beyond the wage, a value measured in weaponry. Capital accumulation becomes the accumulation of the means of destruction. In exchange for their unqualified submission to these operational imperatives, FDR maintain stability of prices and with that promises “to the stability of the cost of The manipulation of aggregate demand, the quest for living.” full employment, the equilibrium of labor, industry, and state: it is all here. FDR even demands a cessation of strikes and walkouts, as though federal intervention itself could supplant the labor struggle to set the price of labor power. National emergency thus becomes the occasion to pursue the political miracle of a pacified working class. It is telling that in this 1940 address FDR makes no mention of negro “the might expect the ongoing disenfranchisement and racial terror of southern problem.” One
the precondition of the latter. Keynes himself foresaw as much in a 1940 article for The New Republic: “It seems politically impossible,” he wrote, “for a capitalistic democracy to organize expenditure on the scale necessary to make the grand experiment which would prove my case—except in war conditions.” Hofstadter accordingly argues that “only the war itself could consummate the fiscal revolution that the New Deal began.” It was, however, not only the Keynesian fiscal revolution that the war enabled, but also the Keynesian labor revolution: it was in the context of the war that the U.S. state came closest to a “state based on labor.” Thus in his famous 1940 radio address on the “arsenal of democracy” President Franklin Delano Roosevelt assigns a noble role to the working class in an emergent war of production: “The worker possesses the same human dignity and is entitled to the same security of position as the engineer or the manager or the owner. For the workers provide the human power that turns out the destroyers, the airplanes and the tanks.” FDR thus defines the dignity of the worker in terms of a value beyond the wage, a value measured in weaponry. Capital accumulation becomes the accumulation of the means of destruction. In exchange for their unqualified submission to these operational imperatives, FDR promises “to maintain stability of prices and with that the stability of the cost of living.” The manipulation of aggregate demand, the quest for full employment, the equilibrium of labor, industry, and state: it is all here. FDR even demands a cessation of strikes and walkouts, as though federal intervention itself could supplant the labor struggle to set the price of labor power. National emergency thus becomes the occasion to pursue the political miracle of a pacified working class. It is telling that in this 1940 address FDR makes no mention of “the negro problem.” One might expect the ongoing disenfranchisement and racial terror of southern
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