The differences between Herbert Hoover and Franklin Delano Roosevelt's views on economics and social welfare exemplified, to a large extent, the distinctions that have long differentiated conservatives and liberals in the United States. Hoover's views were representative of those who advocated for the primacy of free enterprise and for a minimal role for the federal government in setting economic policy and regulating business. He was a firm believer in self-sufficiency and in what is known as the laissez faire school of thought, which seeks to place firm limits on government intervention in the marketplace. By the time of Roosevelt's election, however, the effects of the Great Depression no longer lent themselves to the kind of philosophical
