--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The crisis [the Great Depression]…" description: "\"The crisis [the Great Depression] discovered a great man in Franklin Roosevelt...None too soon he has carried America forward to the second stage of de..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/772/h-g-wells-1122_absurd_the-crisis-the-great-depression-discover_120950.jpg" --- # The crisis \[the Great Depression\] discovered a great man… ![“The crisis [the Great Depression] discovered a great man in Franklin Roosevelt...None too soon he has carried America forward to the second stage of democratic realization. His New Deal involves such collective controls of the national business that it would be absurd to call it anything but…” quote by H. G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/772/h-g-wells-1122_absurd_the-crisis-the-great-depression-discover_120950.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/772/h-g-wells-1122_absurd_the-crisis-the-great-depression-discover_120950.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/772/h-g-wells-1122_absurd_the-crisis-the-great-depression-discover_120950.jpg) > “The crisis \[the Great Depression\] discovered a great man in Franklin Roosevelt...None too soon he has carried America forward to the second stage of democratic realization. His New Deal involves such collective controls of the national business that it would be absurd to call it anything but socialism, were it not for a prejudice lingering on from the old individualist days against that word...Both Roosevelt and Stalin were attempting to produce a huge, modern, scientifically organized, socialist state, the one out of a warning crisis and the other out of a chaos...” [H. G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Wells argues that the Great Depression revealed Roosevelt’s leadership, portraying his New Deal as a form of socialism that, despite prejudice, aimed to modernize the nation. **In simple terms:** Roosevelt’s policies were socialist‑like responses to crisis. Key Takeaway Crisis can catalyze large‑scale economic restructuring. Themes history political economy socialism crisis response Mood analytical critical Type historical analytical When to use this quote - policy analysis of New Deal - comparative studies of socialist reforms - educational curricula on 20th‑century politics Key Concepts state intervention ideological bias modernization Practical Applications - study historical outcomes - inform contemporary policy debates Questions to Reflect On - What defines ‘socialism’ in practice? - How do crises reshape political ideologies? A Different Perspective Labeling the New Deal as socialism ignores its mixed‑economy nature and democratic context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Chaos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chaos/) [Crisis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crisis/) [Great depression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-depression/) [Great man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-man/) [Great men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-men/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [New deal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-deal/) [Prejudice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prejudice/) [Realization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realization/) [Socialism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/socialism/) [Socialist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/socialist/) [Stage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stage/) [Warning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/warning/) ## Related quotes > [If you look at what happened, I came in the middle of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. 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