This essay by Bruce Walker, a frequent and insightful political commenter at American Thinker, revisits the last days of the Weimar Republic.
Centralized tyranny and elimination of the German states as political entities of consequence was crucial to the rise of Nazi tyranny. Don’t hear much about Bavaria or Saxony or Holstein even now, do you?
I would add to Mr. Walker’s prescient comments the warning of Angelo Codevilla that the administrative state with designated “experts” who wave scientific and academic credentials, are an essential element of the modern totalitarian state that creeps in on good intentions for the populace and the inclination many in society have to be dependent sheeple.
The mantra of the administrative welfare state is scientists advise, experts conclude, do this, eat that, avoid this adhere to that, and shut up, even a relatively illiterate and non scientific lawyer can tell you what and how much to eat. A position of prominence and celebrity is the only credential necessary to opine on what’s good for the country or society.
. . . and of course the experts are chosen and are present to confirm the pronouncements of the glitterati and political movers.
The government funds it’s expert army and expects them to support the position of their sponsors.
Funding and control, control and funding, by government agencies and apparatchiks.
Political Correctness, grand plans, utopianism, intrusive rules, meddling socialism/collectivism all characterize the modern leviathan that is the administrative welfare state originating in the grand plans of Otto Von Bismarck, who presaged FDR, the new deal, and the collectivist welfare behemoth.
As Codevilla emphasizes, an oligarchy runs on the basis of expertise and deciding what shall be done and how people shall live, liberty is lost in a soft well-intentioned tyranny that expands the hand out and encourages the idle dependency that takes the life out of the society. The pursuit of happiness was and is about work and effort and virtuous contribution to family and society.
No more–the goal is comfort and delight, vacations and idleness. For the collective good of course–wanna join up? Let the experts decide, what’s for dinner, what’s for entertainment–who’s on American Idol?
Here’s Walker:
http://www.americanthinker.com/2014/02/our_weimar_republic.html
And here’s Angelo, the most important essay on politics I have read–ever:
http://spectator.org/articles/39326/americas-ruling-class-and-perils-revolution
I think the entire left/right concept is nothing more than an artificial construct designed to divide and conquer the public on polarizing issues. Anarchists are the ultimate believers in individual rights. Their premise is that no government agency should exist to control individual actions. After that would be minarchist like most libertarians who want the smallest government practical. The other end of the spectrum would be totalitarianism. It doesn’t matter whether the government calls itself communist, socialist, fascist, or capitalist; if the government is allowed to directly impose its will on the people by force of law backed by a militarized police force then it is headed toward totalitarianism.
It has been a slight of hand for decades now to insist that the right and left are bracketed by communists on the left and Nazis on the right. You are correct in pointing out that Nazis are socialists. Reality is that the left starts wth Nazis on the right and ends in anarchists on the far left. Communists are inbetween. The real political spectrum has those that believe in individual rights on the right to anarchists on the left. How anyone that actually believes in individual rights is liberal or progressive is beyond me.
If the Tea Parties comprise “disenfranchised folks,” how are they a threat? Actually, the Tea Parties are getting people elected, and they are having an effect on GOP policy. So, they are probably a threat to the GOP establishment.
Your assertion that the “radical German right” was responsible for the fall of the Weimar Republic and for the takeover by the Nazis is incorrect. The traditional/conservative German right, although they may have desired to see a return to monarchy, loathed the Nazis. The Nazis used the legal tools of the ballot box, effective PR, and persistent unrest in the streets to win a plurality in the Reichstag. The plurality plus the persistent unrest in the streets forced the president (Hindenburg) to appoint Hitler as Chancellor believing that he and the Nazis could be constrained by the Weimar constitution and their lacking a majority. So, Hitler came to power legally, and the Nazis then used legal means to enact legislation that effectively dissolved the Weimar Republic.
And “Nazi” is the German abbreviation for “National SOCIALIST German Workers Party” (emphasis mine). Socialists are on the left.
Also, it is not the Tea Parties nor the NRA who are constantly in the streets, occupying private property (and trashing them), burning effigies, and calling those with whom they disagree names and demanding that their views and opinions (and facts) not be heard. These are tactics of the “extreme” left.
The Tea Parties (plural) advocate the principles espoused in the Declaration and embodied as the supreme law of the land in the Constitution. This advocacy is neither left nor right, but American.
I must admit that I didn’t read Codevilla’s piece I just skimmed over it but I did bookmark it so I can read it carefully later. However what little I took away from it I don’t agree with. He is clearly well informed and eloquent but misguided and misguiding. Speak of ruling classes and political classes and there is no difference between democrats and republicans and whining that republicans are feckless against democrats is all pretty much bunk. That is the kind of thing cheerleaders and rabble rousers who sit on the side lines and complain that the game isn’t being played right regurgitate adnauseam. It sounds like the play book for the Tea Party and other disenfranchised folks. Instead of jacking their jaws to the choir why aren’t they getting themselves elected and really show us how it’s done. I can tell you why, it’s too damn much work and dirty work at that. I couldn’t do it but then again I don’t sit on my can writing diatribes against those who do.
You are way over the top on this. Your persistent and usually extreme right wing commentary is not helpful in bringing attention to the just cause of climate skepticism. It was the radical German right that brought down the Weimar Republic and brought on Hitler. If there is any comparison to be made, it is to the NRA and the tea party of today, but I won’t go there and neither should you.