The Entry of This Utopianism into Government
In 1929, the stock market crashed and the Great Depression followed, the worst depression in the United State's history. The inability to come out of the Depression under the presidency of Herbert Hoover, a good government progressive, marks the end in the dominance of the belief in Social Darwinism and government non-intervention. The majority of people no longer accepted the idea that our country was better of with no government involvement.
The 1932 presidential election was almost certainly going to be won by the Democrats, if the voters believed that the Democratic nominee would be better able to deal with the problems of the Depression than was Hoover. The challenge was not an easy one; it was hard for people at that time to understand what had caused the Depression, let alone how to solve it. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was one of the people seeking the Democratic nomination. Looking for answers to the Depressions and possible programs to bring the country out of it, he tapped into a group in academia. These were primarily professors from Columbia University in New York, many of whom ascribed to New Economics. The answer these academicians offered was collectivism; they felt that the government could end the Depression and avoid future Depressions by embracing "Rational Socialism." The word itself was not often used. Instead they stressed the need for "planning and cooperation" in our economy instead of competition. However it was the so called "Rational Socialism" utopia they were suggesting; they believed that government should take control of the economy. If government were to do so, it would finally be able to insure that each person's wants and needs were met.