Still reading Pat Foster’s books on Willys and Jeep. The Jeep obviously began as a military project, and typically 60% of its income was from military contracts. The company always produced a variety of specialized vehicles for sole military use, along with the dual-use Universal Jeep. The company was an attractive and productive acquisition because much of its revenue was SECURE, not depending on those pesky Negative Externalities who respond with negative feedback to corporate evil. The government loves and spawns evil. Our only product.
This single line stands out, and fits into an overall pattern.
No military Jeeps were produced during 1956.
1956 was the one peacetime year in living memory. Ike pulled out of Korea in ’53, then steadfastly resisted Deepstate’s burning desire to jump into Vietnam. The result was one year without Jeep contracts.
UNACCEPTABLE! INTOLERABLE! ALL OPTIONS ON THE TABLE!
Deepstate exercised its option in the form of Nixon. First they heartattacked Ike in ’55, which gave Nixon an excuse to take over partial power. Nixon began his lifetime mission of financializing and offshoring the whole economy. In ’58 the electronics companies were quickly shifting their emphasis to SECURE gov’t contracts, which continued to grow and dominate. We soon lost all RISKY domestic electronic products to Japan, then later to Korea and China.
Ike knew what was happening but no longer had the power to stop it. He tried to warn us about the trend in his famous farewell speeches.
= = = = =
1956 was not only the sole peacetime year, it was the peak of prosperity,
the peak of the “American Dream”, when one man doing an ordinary job
could support a family and a decent house and a car, and have some
fun along the way.
I’ve discussed the automotive uniqueness of 1956 before.
In every possible way, 1956 was THE year of minimum variety. One size,
one body type, one engine. Business coupes, floor shifts, four-cylinder
engines, cushy interiors, small cars, all dwindled to a minimum in ’56
then started to proliferate again in ’60 at the same time when JFK started to undo Ike’s peace.
You could probably draw the same bottoming-out curve for clothing and hairstyles
and consumer products. Manufacturers need to create variety in tough times.
New thought: Peace and prosperity are both featureless and uninteresting.
That’s why ordinary people NEED peace and prosperity.
“May you live in interesting times” is a curse, not a blessing.
Psychopaths create interesting times. Sane rulers create featureless boring unmemorable times.
Polistra's Mill 