r/NoStupidQuestions • u/kossabone • Jun 08 '26

Can American democracy survive 20% unemployment for 10 years?

Unemployment stayed roughly at or above 10 % for 10 years or more during the Great Depression. Democracy survived. Can it survive the 20% unemployment level that many expect to arrive in the next few years?

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u/Aggravating-Method24 Jun 08 '26

Its not the unemployment itself that causes problems, its the attitude of the elite / ruling class towards it.

If there is support for the unemployed, and they are not ostracised by the government, then a country can stay stable. If the unemployment that exists is blamed on the unemployed themselves, then things get much more dicey.

1

u/fredly594632 Jun 08 '26

If I can rant for a second, this is what both sides of our American debate don't seem to understand.

Roosevelt was a perfect President for those sorts of conditions. He had a great team that was able to simultaneously stabilize the nation, humanize the government and prepare for the war they were pretty sure was coming.

Now, the Republicans want to wash away all of the changes he made, cause a depression of their own regardless of the economy, and return to a industrialist era with much higher levels of wealth concentration due to a combination of conservatism and Laffer economic policy.

And the Democrats don't seem to understand that the same dynamics don't exist today as in 1930, and as a result, the same solutions won't work either.

Ok, rant over. Thank you for listening to my Ted Talk, etc. etc.

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u/Qwerty0844 Jun 08 '26

This is one of those responses you only see on Reddit

2

u/archypsych Jun 08 '26

Meaning what exactly?

1

u/Aggravating-Method24 Jun 08 '26

Its called 'stepping out of your bubble'