Taken at its best, the Marshall Plan is all about compassion and forgiveness. The former is directed toward everyone in Europe who was hurt by the war, which was like...well, everyone. Marshall doesn't quite tug at the heartstrings in his speech, but points out all the various ways things are currently awful.
Forgiveness is a little subtler, but remember, the Marshall Plan was also focused around rebuilding Germany. Watch any Indiana Jones movie and you'll be reminded that the Nazis were the bad guys. The Nazis were mostly defeated, and what was left were the German people. The Marshall Plan was going to forgive them.
Questions About Compassion and Forgiveness
- What are the limits of compassion after a war? Is it something determined by merit or need? Some combination of both?
- Did the Marshall Plan utilize compassion in the best way? Was money the solution to the ailing economy? If not, why did the economy only recover after the Marshall Plan was implemented?
- Is any country obligated to show forgiveness to their enemies? Is it a virtue, or does it encourage later aggression?
- After World War I, the French punished the Germans, indirectly leading to the rise of Adolf Hitler. After World War II, the United States gave a lot of money to Germany to repair its economy. The second solution might be better practically, but how does it sit with your sense of justice? Was it the right call?
Chew on This
The winning side in any war should show compassion to the defeated civilian population. Doing so creates an ally out of an enemy.
Compassion and forgiveness only encourage further aggression, and the Marshall Plan destabilized the world further by casting the Soviet Union as a new enemy.