The Great Depression – Retro Part 2 : On the Great Depression in Light of New Research

Abstract

The direct reason for writing this study was to draw conclusions of the Great Depression for the present crisis that start-ed in 2008 and which continues to the present day. My goal is to present international, primarily Anglo-saxon monographs and studies on the topic that apply methodologies and approaches hardly discussed – in this particular topic in my view – in Hungarian language literature. My conclusion, emphasised in reference to this specific historical event, is that even though financial-econom-ic studies – accompanied by their very own sophisticated methodologies – are essential to understanding global crises, such as the crisis of 1919-1933, they are at the same time insufficient to do so. It is unavoidable to involve broader historical-political con-text in these studies as well as highly complex social psychological processes that are at the same time of crucial importance and orient the expectations of masses. this is closely related to recognising the limits of knowledge that shape and influence current economic policies.