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Destructive Creation: American Business and the Winning of World War II
During World War II, the United States helped vanquish the Axis powers by converting its enormous economic capacities into military might. Producing nearly two-thirds of all the munitions used by Allied forces, American industry became what President Franklin D. Roosevelt called "the arsenal of democracy." Crucial in this effort were business leaders. Some of these captains of industry went to Washington to coordinate the mobilization, while others led their companies to churn out weapons. In this way, the private sector won the war—or so the story goes.
Based on new research in business and military archives, Destructive Creation shows that the enormous mobilization effort relied not only on the capacities of private companies but also on massive public investment and robust government regulation. This public-private partnership involved plenty of government-business cooperation, but it also generated antagonism in the American business community that had lasting repercussions for American politics. Many business leaders, still engaged in political battles against the New Deal, regarded the wartime government as an overreaching regulator and a threatening rival. In response, they mounted an aggressive campaign that touted the achievements of for-profit firms while dismissing the value of public-sector contributions. This probusiness story about mobilization was a political success, not just during the war, but afterward, as it shaped reconversion policy and the transformation of the American military-industrial complex.
Offering a groundbreaking account of the inner workings of the "arsenal of democracy," Destructive Creation also suggests how the struggle to define its heroes and villains has continued to shape economic and political development to the present day.
383 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 6, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 15, 2025
This was a book club book and I hate that I voted for it. Easily the most boring book I've ever read, and fair enough maybe I'm not the audience and this is subjective anyway but it felt terribly written.
Reads like the way my 98 year old grandfather tells stories, too many names, too many dates, too many facts that crisscross each other and beat down into oblivion any semblance of narrative to follow. Why do I as a reader need to know how much Bethlehem Steel spent on manufacturing in 1941 for the third time? I'm not sure.
I'm not even sure what the point of this book was. I'd give it zero stars if I could.
Reads like the way my 98 year old grandfather tells stories, too many names, too many dates, too many facts that crisscross each other and beat down into oblivion any semblance of narrative to follow. Why do I as a reader need to know how much Bethlehem Steel spent on manufacturing in 1941 for the third time? I'm not sure.
I'm not even sure what the point of this book was. I'd give it zero stars if I could.
October 28, 2020
A great book, providing a detailed economic history of America’s WWII public and private sectors. The author, Mark Wilson, presents a thesis of American wartime industry, closely and efficiently controlled by government actors. He presents these policy makers as in a state of constant tension against both the market forces of the competitive private firms and the criticality of maintaining positive relations with organized labor. Unlike many other books on this topic and period, Wilson’s work does not give an overtly political narrative of WWII or concentrate the story on a small clique of insiders. Rather, it covers the detailed policies of the FDR administration and the actions of the wide array of government servants and political appointees who ran the procurement and force readiness programs.
As described by Wilson, the tension between the various factions was not (overly) detrimental to the nation’s industrial success, but it had great influence on the course of events during and after the war. The quest to build an arsenal of Democracy transformed the military industrial complex from its Civil War character to what we have today. This transformation took place both through purposeful development and pure happenstance. Professor Wilson does a great job of explaining how the military economy functioned in wartime. The dispersals of funds, widespread development of Government Owned/Contractor Operated plants, the resource allocation dilemmas, contracting tools, and plant seizure policies are all covered in great detail.
A common theme in the work was the specter of WWI’s economic failures and pitfalls. Seeing a poorly run military buildup and a failed post-War “dismount” was a commonly shared experience by most major public and private players in WWII. The failure of the economy to bounce back after WWI created a commonly shared belief that the post-WWII situation would be just as important as what was needed in the present to win the war. A large number of policies were put in place to buoy the economy away from a post-war slump - a goal which was (generally) achieved. Professor Wilson does a great job explaining how these very technical actions to avoid a post-war slump were a major catalyst for the economic miracle of the 1950s-1960s.
Be ready for facts and figures. A basic handle on economic & financial lingo is helpful, but not essential, for understanding the book’s finer points. This is a great resource for appreciating the foundations of today’s military industrial complex. Highly recommended for those wanting to better understand the inner workings of America’s WWII military economy.
As described by Wilson, the tension between the various factions was not (overly) detrimental to the nation’s industrial success, but it had great influence on the course of events during and after the war. The quest to build an arsenal of Democracy transformed the military industrial complex from its Civil War character to what we have today. This transformation took place both through purposeful development and pure happenstance. Professor Wilson does a great job of explaining how the military economy functioned in wartime. The dispersals of funds, widespread development of Government Owned/Contractor Operated plants, the resource allocation dilemmas, contracting tools, and plant seizure policies are all covered in great detail.
A common theme in the work was the specter of WWI’s economic failures and pitfalls. Seeing a poorly run military buildup and a failed post-War “dismount” was a commonly shared experience by most major public and private players in WWII. The failure of the economy to bounce back after WWI created a commonly shared belief that the post-WWII situation would be just as important as what was needed in the present to win the war. A large number of policies were put in place to buoy the economy away from a post-war slump - a goal which was (generally) achieved. Professor Wilson does a great job explaining how these very technical actions to avoid a post-war slump were a major catalyst for the economic miracle of the 1950s-1960s.
Be ready for facts and figures. A basic handle on economic & financial lingo is helpful, but not essential, for understanding the book’s finer points. This is a great resource for appreciating the foundations of today’s military industrial complex. Highly recommended for those wanting to better understand the inner workings of America’s WWII military economy.
April 18, 2024
A very well researched book about the role of business in WWII. Although the usual narrative about the war is that all aspects of society of worked together, this book puts the lie to it. Business leaders didn't want to appear that they were profiting from the war, although they wanted to. There was great tension between the government and business leaders about how to produce everything needed for the war effort. Business leaders wanted to demonstrate that the war was being won by private enterprise, despite government red tape. They put substantial resources into newspaper articles, short films, and advertising to sway the public with this narrative and we're in general successful. The government actually invested in a lot of industries, took over others when mismanagement was evident, and settled strikes. The book looks at the development of war production, the tensions throughout, and reconversion at the end of the war. A model of scholarship.
During World War II America produced nearly two thirds of all munitions used by the Allied forces. How this was accomplished in such a comparatively short time is the subject of Destructive Creation. Mark R. Wilson frames his book through two conflicting narratives popular during the war, both of which contain some truth, although both obscure the role of the military as well as civilian and governmental agencies. The first narrative praises patriotic business leaders who retooled their companies in their country’s time of need. The second narrative emphasizes how corporations exploited the war emergency to make large profits, thwart smaller businesses and unions, and fight the New Dealers. The reality is somewhere in between, but big business spent a lot of money to promote the first narrative, which was so successful that they were able to leverage their power after the war into creating the military-industrial complex that President Eisenhower warned about, and which is still so powerful today.
Prior to 1941, businessmen were haunted by their problems during the First World War, including the government’s coerced procurement of finished goods, takeovers of privately owned enterprises, and formal control of infrastructure, including railroads, telegraph, telephone, and radio. The government also strengthened its regulation of businesses and legislated an eight-hour day.
During the Depression big business came under critical scrutiny because of the high unemployment rate. The government came to the rescue, in the form of various New Deal measures that created public projects including the building of dams, roads, and parks, all of which provided millions of jobs. The low regard with which citizens and the government regarded business extended to the arms trade. In a 1936 Gallup poll, 82% of those interviewed thought that the “manufacture and sale of war munitions for private profit” should be prohibited. The Senate’s Nye Committee (begun in 1932 with a final report in 1936) investigated war profiteering, called for heavy price and profit controls in wartime, and recommended that the government control munitions production.
As it became clear that another war was coming, there was a need to build the nation’s arsenal. However progressives didn’t want to boost corporate profits and conservatives didn’t want the war to reenergize the New Deal; businesses just wanted the government to give them money to produce what the military needed. Wilson does an excellent job of leading the reader through the various aspects of industrial mobilization and the huge public outlays for defense, including government built and run munitions plants and shipyards. By the time that President Roosevelt gave his “Arsenal of Democracy” speech in December 1940, plans were well underway for the transition from civilian to war manufacturing.
The success of U.S. manufacturing in defeating the Axis is quite evident. Who gets the credit? Wilson shows how big business used the war as a political opportunity to celebrate private enterprise and denigrate governmental interference. Business leaders hired public relations firms, sponsored radio programs, made documentaries, and produced magazines and pamphlets, all of which stressed how important it was to run the war in a businesslike way. Businesses made public their complaints about red tape, excessive paperwork, overlapping requests, unevenness of military demand, and regulatory demands.
Although there were legitimate concerns, the government was sometimes so dissatisfied with businesses that it seized private companies over 60 times between the beginning of the war and 1945. Most of these actions were taken when businesses flouted labor laws, refused to recognize unions, prevented the integration of workforces, and abrogated workers’ rights. Other methods short of seizure included cancellation of contracts, denial of raw materials, and removal of draft exemptions for employees. Although there are popular narratives of Americans pulling together during wartime, there were over 20,000 labor-management disputes during the war.
After the war ended, the government became heavily reliant on private enterprise. The reconversion process was better planned than it was after World War I. At the end of World War II there was a postwar tax cut, refunds to companies whose contracts were terminated, and massive privatization of public property. Planes and ships were sold for scrap, often at only 1% of the original cost, and by 1949 82% of the plants and other war investments were sold for a little more than a third of the original government investment. The private sector became the primary supplier of armaments, which has led to large defense budgets that we still see today, often at the expense of the environment and social services.
During World War II America produced nearly two thirds of all munitions used by the Allied forces. How this was accomplished in such a comparatively short time is the subject of Destructive Creation. Mark R. Wilson frames his book through two conflicting narratives popular during the war, both of which contain some truth, although both obscure the role of the military as well as civilian and governmental agencies. The first narrative praises patriotic business leaders who retooled their companies in their country’s time of need. The second narrative emphasizes how corporations exploited the war emergency to make large profits, thwart smaller businesses and unions, and fight the New Dealers. The reality is somewhere in between, but big business spent a lot of money to promote the first narrative, which was so successful that they were able to leverage their power after the war into creating the military-industrial complex that President Eisenhower warned about, and which is still so powerful today.
Prior to 1941, businessmen were haunted by their problems during the First World War, including the government’s coerced procurement of finished goods, takeovers of privately owned enterprises, and formal control of infrastructure, including railroads, telegraph, telephone, and radio. The government also strengthened its regulation of businesses and legislated an eight-hour day.
During the Depression big business came under critical scrutiny because of the high unemployment rate. The government came to the rescue, in the form of various New Deal measures that created public projects including the building of dams, roads, and parks, all of which provided millions of jobs. The low regard with which citizens and the government regarded business extended to the arms trade. In a 1936 Gallup poll, 82% of those interviewed thought that the “manufacture and sale of war munitions for private profit” should be prohibited. The Senate’s Nye Committee (begun in 1932 with a final report in 1936) investigated war profiteering, called for heavy price and profit controls in wartime, and recommended that the government control munitions production.
As it became clear that another war was coming, there was a need to build the nation’s arsenal. However progressives didn’t want to boost corporate profits and conservatives didn’t want the war to reenergize the New Deal; businesses just wanted the government to give them money to produce what the military needed. Wilson does an excellent job of leading the reader through the various aspects of industrial mobilization and the huge public outlays for defense, including government built and run munitions plants and shipyards. By the time that President Roosevelt gave his “Arsenal of Democracy” speech in December 1940, plans were well underway for the transition from civilian to war manufacturing.
The success of U.S. manufacturing in defeating the Axis is quite evident. Who gets the credit? Wilson shows how big business used the war as a political opportunity to celebrate private enterprise and denigrate governmental interference. Business leaders hired public relations firms, sponsored radio programs, made documentaries, and produced magazines and pamphlets, all of which stressed how important it was to run the war in a businesslike way. Businesses made public their complaints about red tape, excessive paperwork, overlapping requests, unevenness of military demand, and regulatory demands.
Although there were legitimate concerns, the government was sometimes so dissatisfied with businesses that it seized private companies over 60 times between the beginning of the war and 1945. Most of these actions were taken when businesses flouted labor laws, refused to recognize unions, prevented the integration of workforces, and abrogated workers’ rights. Other methods short of seizure included cancellation of contracts, denial of raw materials, and removal of draft exemptions for employees. Although there are popular narratives of Americans pulling together during wartime, there were over 20,000 labor-management disputes during the war.
After the war ended, the government became heavily reliant on private enterprise. The reconversion process was better planned than it was after World War I. At the end of World War II there was a postwar tax cut, refunds to companies whose contracts were terminated, and massive privatization of public property. Planes and ships were sold for scrap, often at only 1% of the original cost, and by 1949 82% of the plants and other war investments were sold for a little more than a third of the original government investment. The private sector became the primary supplier of armaments, which has led to large defense budgets that we still see today, often at the expense of the environment and social services.
October 24, 2025
Family Book Club
April 6, 2017
Mark Wilson’s work in Destructive Creation aims to provide a fresh perspective on business and government relations during World War II. His work challenges current historiography by focusing on the pro-business agenda pushed during the war and highlighting the tensions that developed between business leaders and government in the 1940s. Wilson is quick to point out that many historians have failed to evaluate the complexity of wartime economics and instead have glossed over business involvement in the war by focusing on increases in production and profits and assuming business satisfaction with these results. Wilson argues that business leaders and communities were not satisfied with wartime results, but were in fact, frustrated with the government overreach during wartime and worked tirelessly against it. Wilson also argues that business leaders pushed a pro-business public relations agenda to the public and shifted public support away from government intervention by downplaying the significant role government and public funding played in economic developments during the war.
September 5, 2025
The US war effort in World War II required a stunning scale-up of production of weaponry. Popular narrative around it often touts the efficiency, productivity, and resourcefulness of the US capitalist system in meeting the moment. However, as can often be the case with public narratives, the reality was much more complex.
Mark Wilson, in "Destructive Creation," analyzes the heavy role the federal government played in the war economy--from price controls, to limitations on profits, to direct plant takeovers, to labor agreements, to conversions of plants before the war or after it. It was, in other words, a major moment in state-directed industrial policy. He also traces the divides that existed in the business community, many of whom wanted to escape the negative portrayal that "war profiteers" got after World War I while still wanting to make a hefty profit, and how they lobbied against regulations and funneled money into advertising and political efforts to shape public narrative and fight the growth in state power. An understanding of the war economy focused on private enterprise -- and ignoring the role of labor and the role of the federal government -- can only ever be partial.
Moreover, we take for granted today that private contractors make up the weapons/"defense" industry, but Wilson shows how that was not inevitable and was contested. Indeed, the years after World War II saw a major *privatization* of that industry, removing many functions that had once been in-house. It's a story that isn't often included in the narratives of the rise of neoliberalism and the turn toward privatization, but it's a key addition.
Wilson's conclusion alludes to an important takeaway that was in the back of my mind while reading it. Although we are not likely to see another world war (at least one hopes...), there have been regular comparisons drawn to the extent of mobilization needed to address the climate crisis. Wilson's book is a reminder that meeting that moment will not happen just by hoping for private businesses to meet goals on what they are own; it will require robust government action in shaping the direction of production.
Mark Wilson, in "Destructive Creation," analyzes the heavy role the federal government played in the war economy--from price controls, to limitations on profits, to direct plant takeovers, to labor agreements, to conversions of plants before the war or after it. It was, in other words, a major moment in state-directed industrial policy. He also traces the divides that existed in the business community, many of whom wanted to escape the negative portrayal that "war profiteers" got after World War I while still wanting to make a hefty profit, and how they lobbied against regulations and funneled money into advertising and political efforts to shape public narrative and fight the growth in state power. An understanding of the war economy focused on private enterprise -- and ignoring the role of labor and the role of the federal government -- can only ever be partial.
Moreover, we take for granted today that private contractors make up the weapons/"defense" industry, but Wilson shows how that was not inevitable and was contested. Indeed, the years after World War II saw a major *privatization* of that industry, removing many functions that had once been in-house. It's a story that isn't often included in the narratives of the rise of neoliberalism and the turn toward privatization, but it's a key addition.
Wilson's conclusion alludes to an important takeaway that was in the back of my mind while reading it. Although we are not likely to see another world war (at least one hopes...), there have been regular comparisons drawn to the extent of mobilization needed to address the climate crisis. Wilson's book is a reminder that meeting that moment will not happen just by hoping for private businesses to meet goals on what they are own; it will require robust government action in shaping the direction of production.
December 11, 2024
Read this one in a postmodern nonchronological style that bounced all around and probably skipped a section or two à la the 1994 American independent crime film Pulp Fiction.
Sponsored by: My Thesis — nothing breathes the fear I need to wake up and go about my day like trying to finish My Thesis within the next four weeks.
Sponsored by: My Thesis — nothing breathes the fear I need to wake up and go about my day like trying to finish My Thesis within the next four weeks.
August 5, 2023
the Ugly Truth
The book lays down the argument that the military - business relationships leading up to and durning World War II were tenuous at best. Very insightful for those interested in the topic of mobilization.
The book lays down the argument that the military - business relationships leading up to and durning World War II were tenuous at best. Very insightful for those interested in the topic of mobilization.
September 13, 2025
This was so boring
September 20, 2025
Helpful!
Family book club.
Family book club.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews