Forgetting the Lessons of the Past

Here is a bit from an excellent post by Mark Thoma on his blog Economist's View. I've bolded the key bit:

Kevin O'Rourke describes how the emergence of extremism during the Great Depression led to the post WWII consensus that produced social democracies. As he notes, one reflection of this consensus was evident in the Atlantic Charter signed by Winston Churchill Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941. The Charter was mostly a statement of war aims, but it included a provision stating that the two leaders desired "to bring about the fullest collaboration between all nations in the economic field, with the object of securing for all improved labor standards, economic advancement, and social security."

Have we forgotten the lessons that caused the democracies of the postwar period to transform themselves into the social democracies that provided security for citizens and protection against extremism?

Go read the Kevin O'Rourke blog post. It is well worth your time. When I read O'Rourke about 1930s extremist political parties, I keep thinking Tea Party in the US. Right wing fanatics are on the march again. Hoepfully the horrors of the late 1930s don't return.