Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society

All countries, whether big or small, draw support from their governments but receive power from the people. Even in a monarchy, a king without subjects cannot be a king. America has a long and proud history of exemplifying the idea that, together, people can make the right decision. They trusted each other, God, and the economy to work together for a greater good. Most Americans followed politics and took care of their neighbors. Unfortunately, most great things end and Americans began to doubt. They questioned each other, God, and the free market. The progressive movement claimed that government needed to intervene on behalf of the people. Instead of the uneducated masses making important decisions, they should delegate that ability to the educated upper-class. Such a government could only result in a “Great Society.”

In order to understand Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society, we must endeavor to understand the circumstances, both political and economic, which surrounded it, and appreciate the origins of the ideals that sought to rectify our country. The Great Depression left Americans doubting their country’s economy and government. Unemployment rates were at an all time high and every American questioned what the future might hold. During this time, we also witnessed substantial government growth under the presidencies of men like Roosevelt and Wilson. Even after the Korean War ended, many of the controls and interventions that they had enacted remained in force. Businesses and consumers had already adjusted to the regulations, and began believing in the ideas behind their existence (Higgs).

John F. Kennedy possessed an abiding faith in experts and their ability to make decisions. He believed that they were the best and most ...

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...d as a martyr, LBJ managed to convince Americans that they all had the same goal: a better, safer, more prosperous America. They could provide justice for all, liberate people from their worries, and secure the economy’s growth. The government possessed the only way to obtain those goals. Consequently, the United States saw a massive increase in government power and a corresponding distrust for a centralized power. LBJ wanted people to see the executive office as the source of enrichment and fulfillment. Instead, they saw an entity that withheld their rights and could take away others. Now, we have a government so large that it encroaches on the market, drives up prices, and separates the government from the people in a way that nearly paralyzes it. As the self-proclaimed fulfiller of lives, the government must provide for the people without knowing what they want.