[NewAmsterdam]

Absolutely spot on! You beat me to it; I was going to comment on that misunderstanding. The whole point about the economic Marshall plan in Western Europe was to go back to normal as quickly as possible, i.e. capitalism, industrialism and international trade. It was a useful kick-start but the real work was of course done by the West-European nations themselves. As far as I know, the Afghani's are not known for international derivative trading or producing the latest pocket-size DVD-player, or whatever.

[Zviadist]

Absolutely spot on! You beat me to it; I was going to comment on that misunderstanding.

That's so funny: I was going to flag you on it for some back-up, because I knew I would be challenged on this. Historical revisionists love to point to the Marshal Plan as "we built Europe back from scratch." Not true from what I have read (and the knowledgable people I have spoken with).

[Architect]

It was a useful kick-start but the real work was of course done by the West-European nations themselves.

It's not even clear that it was a kickstart. The nation that got the most money, Britian, made the least progress. Germany, in contrast, was a miracle. I doubt that American welfare had anything at all to do with it. The difference can be attributed entirely to Atlee and Adenauer.