"The years of the economic depression have been years of political reaction, and that is why the economic crisis has generated a world peace crisis"
About this Quote
The phrasing does a lot of quiet work. “Political reaction” isn’t just “change” but backlash: the rise of authoritarianism, scapegoating, and the reflex to seal borders and blame outsiders. Henderson suggests that depression doesn’t merely produce hardship; it produces a mood, a psychological climate in which democratic compromise looks like weakness and militarized certainty starts selling. That’s the subtext: mass unemployment becomes political fuel, and extremist movements know how to spark it.
The second clause tightens the screw. Calling it a “world peace crisis” reframes peace as contingent, not moral. Peace isn’t broken only by aggressive leaders; it’s undermined by structural desperation, trade wars, debt disputes, and the unraveling of cooperation. In the early 1930s context, this reads as a plea for international economic coordination and a rebuke to austerity, protectionism, and punitive settlement politics. Henderson’s intent is preventive: if you treat depression as a national problem with nationalist tools, you manufacture the conditions for conflict.
Quote Details
| Topic | Peace |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Henderson, Arthur. (2026, January 15). The years of the economic depression have been years of political reaction, and that is why the economic crisis has generated a world peace crisis. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-years-of-the-economic-depression-have-been-140275/
Chicago Style
Henderson, Arthur. "The years of the economic depression have been years of political reaction, and that is why the economic crisis has generated a world peace crisis." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-years-of-the-economic-depression-have-been-140275/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"The years of the economic depression have been years of political reaction, and that is why the economic crisis has generated a world peace crisis." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-years-of-the-economic-depression-have-been-140275/. Accessed 9 Feb. 2026.
