Role of Furies in preventing Roosevelt's reign turning into an oligarchy

The Great Depression in 1930 was a worldwide economic downturn that originated in the United States. This event has interesting stories to remember. Apart from its causes and consequences, one of the interesting facts was Franklin D. Roosevelt remained the longest-served president of the United States of America. There are many opinions regarding the efficacy of his presidency at the time of the great depression. The Freedom Furies noticed a fear that Roosevelt's reign would turn into an oligarchy. It would destroy the foundations of a free world. Ayn Rand, Isabel Paterson, and Rose Wilder Lane confronted Roosevelt's adventurism by criticizing his restrictions on individual freedom, a market economy, and excessive government intervention in the economy and politics through their writings and campaigns.       

Roosevelt is remembered in history as both a hero and a villain. He is known for his short-term measures and policies to avert socioeconomic and political crises during the Great Depression of the 1930s. He implemented the New Deal in response to the Great Depression. Roosevelt's intervention in the economy and his successive terms as president were alarming situations for the proponents of liaise-fairer capitalism, democracy, free-market economy, and individual liberty. In May 1941, Roosevelt announced a new, “unlimited’ national emergency that expanded his powers even further. He had established an office for censorship, propaganda agencies, wiretaps, and government-initiated prosecutions. Under these crucial times, Rand, Paterson, and Lane produced and defended their cherished principles such as individual freedom, market economy, and capitalism. 

Philosophers are visionary people. They think ahead into the future. Americans started believing Roosevelt religiously. He gained trust through his short and temporary relief government-aided programs. People forgot that his reign would be a nightmare for the future of the United States if he continued his fifth term. During Roosevelt's prolonged reign, the furies felt the turning of democracy into an oligarchy. In 1943, after years of patient labor, Rand, Paterson, and Lane published books that together articulated a vision of individual freedom that had been under assault for more than a decade. Their books mainly focused on individual freedom, market economy, free society, and capitalism and opposed the centralized, command-and-control economies of Roosevelt.       

In recent times, Donald Trump has been considered a threat to United States democracy. He is facing dozens of criminal charges for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Trump in his recent 2024 election rallies predicted an end to US democracy if he doesn’t win the race. In these crucial times, America needs visionary philosophers who can identify the motives and consequences of Trump's actions on the future of the free world. Like Furies, philosophers and libertarians see the threats coming from leaders like Donald Trump and take necessary actions against any attack on freedom, liberty, free economy, and democracy. The efforts of Rand, Paterson, and Lane at the time of the Great Depression are the guiding principles for libertarians to comprehend strategies and practices employed by oligarchs such as Donald Trump.

Safeguarding individual freedom, a market economy, and capitalism has become more important than before. In today’s tumulus world where the rise of socialism and threats to capitalism are rising with each passing day, philosophical defense of the tenets of the free market, individual liberty, and capitalism is an urgent task. The Furies defended the breach of democracy and capitalism by President Roosevelt. Donald Trump and their likes must be tackled and the restoration of individual freedom needs a philosophical understanding of the core values of libertarianism. The Furies believe that a free society lets people make choices based on their circumstances; capitalism empowers them to gather resources or to disburse them in ways that serve their needs. Oligarchies make people subservient to others, bar them from using the knowledge available, or divert their resources to serve the rulers’ purpose rather than their own.  

Crisis brings the best out of people. The Great Depression gave America a new beginning. Roosevelt aimed to transform his presidency into an oligarchy. He remained the longest-serving president in American history. Hadn’t philosophers like Rand, Lane, and Paterson defended individual freedom, democracy, and a free market, America would have been turned into a socialist country. In contemporary times, American capitalism is facing both internal and external threats. A philosophical discourse and debate are necessary to defend the free market and capitalism in the world, especially in the United States of America.