On Herbert Hoover's Political Thoughts

Herbert Clark Hoover is undoubtedly one of the most controversial figures in American history.Before he went into politics,Hoover was a successful mining engineer,who was a representative of realizing “American dream”.Hoover served as secretary of commerce from 1921 to 1927,and the 31 st President from 1928 to 1933.As a key decision-maker and representative figure in American politics in the 1920 s and 1930 s,Hoover had an important influence on the development of American society as well as history and made a great contribution.Hoover's political thoughts and policy ideas are of great academic value for us to have a better understanding of Hoover himself as well as his policies.The first chapter mainly explores Hoover's life,the background of his political thoughts and religious belief.What shaped Hoover's political thought is his complex professional history and public life,together with the humanitarian social activities he participated in.In the historical background at that time,it was his devout religious belief,his adherence to the traditional American values,his concern for social issues and his reflection on the uniqueness of the United States that played an important role in the shaping of his political thoughts.The second chapter studies Hoover's individualism.Individualism is an important ideological tradition in the western,but it was only in the United States that it found the most suitable soil,where individualism eventually evolved into a symbolic slogan with ideological background in the United State.It includes the theory of natural rights,the belief in free enterprise and the realization of the American dream.The core of Hoover's outlook on life is the idea of individualism,which is the basis of his whole political thought.Hoover firmly believed that American-style individualism was always a positive force guaranteeing human freedom and dignity,of which “equality of opportunity” was the core concept when Hoover made the definition of the uniqueness of American individualism.“Individualism” is Hoover's basic value and logical starting point in the face of political and economic activities.The third chapter studies Hoover's liberalism.Liberalism has always been the dominant ideology in western modern times.American liberalism includes attaching importance to the spirit of contract,emphasizing political autonomy and respecting individual consciousness.“Freedom” is the keynote of the United States,the foundation of national survival,and the only dominant political and ideological tradition in the history of the United States.Hoover believed that the uniqueness of American liberalism consisted in that it is not a rigid program architecture but progress in nature.What's more,American liberalism is dynamic and keeps pace with the times.He believed that American liberalism is an “orderly freedom” in essence,and it is the “American System” that can preserve the system of freedom.However,faced with the domestic “New Deal” reform and the rise of the European fascist forces,Hoover believed that the idea of freedom was under attack,and therefore he launched a defense and counterattack,attempting to break the public's confusion on freedom and strengthen their confidence in liberalism.The fourth chapter studies Hoover's idea of corporatism.In modern American history,there is an important government philosophy,corporatism,lying between “progressivism” and the “New Deal”.It takes the form of “associational movement” in political practice,and there is no doubt that Hoover is the spokesman of this movement.What he dreamt of is a “cooperative state” in which the government is devoted to promoting economic prosperity,encourages the creation of trade unions,agricultural cooperatives,trade unions and professional groups,and supervises cooperation among interest groups,rather than becoming a mandatory “regulatory state”.However,in the United States where pluralism was deeply rooted,it was undoubtedly difficult for Hoover corporatism to carry out its political thoughts,resulting in failing to lead the country out of the Great Depression.The fifth chapter examines the characteristics of Hoover's political thoughts and makes comparison,analysis and evaluation of his policy principles.Hoover's political thoughts is characterized by realistic value orientation and religious political philosophy.The research on the policies to deal with the economic recession carried out by Theodore Roosevelt,Woodrow Wilson and Warren Harding shows that many of the measures taken in Hoover's policies are both a continuation and a new exploitation of those that the federal government had taken to deal with crisis since the 20 th century,but his the policy ideas also have unavoidable limitations.Making comparison of the similarities and differences between the policies carried out by Hoover and Roosevelt can help us have a better exploration of the characteristics and value of Hoover's thoughts.In short,Hoover held firm political conviction and had an ideology of his own policy philosophy.Quaker doctrine that Hoover had a devout belief in in his life is the moral basis of his political thought.What can be found in him is the stamp made not only by traditional American individualism but also by liberalism.At the same time,he brought much in the new era into these traditional values,such as “orderly freedom”,“voluntary service”,“cooperation” and so on.He lifted up high the flag of “corporation” and advocated cooperation movement.The value of Hoover's political thought and his criticism of the state theory of “New Deal” has become the forerunner both adhering to the traditional American values and characterizing the reform trend of the Times.