tenthring
Banned
Social Darwinism, Eugenics, Anti-Semitism, and some kind of roughly similar racial hierarchy were pretty widespread at the time. Many of the things the Nazi's are famous for today were extremely common in the world at the time, including Anglo leadership.
What was unique about Nazi-ism was its extreme variant on fascism. Fascism is simultaneously reactionary and revolutionary. Hitler wanted to bring back some kind of pagan Germanic warrior ideal out of Tacitus. At the same time he wanted to use 20th century modern scientific methods to do so. Further, he proposed that Liberal and Christian ideals were in the way they needed to be swept aside.
It's a hybrid ideology, which is one reason people sometimes argue over whether its rightist or leftist. It's best to see it as a breakdown of conservatism. As trust in traditional institutions, methods, and values fails people turn to something more radical which promises to accomplish many of the same goals traditional conservatives have failed to achieve. Hence why many Nazi voters were former DNVP. Essentially they became disillusioned with the DNVP and wanted to go with a group that could "really get things done."
Believe me, if the progressives in the Anglo world could have gotten his hands on the totalitarian means of "perfect scientific management" the way the the Nazi's did they would have. Our liberal controls on government power are the main reason they had to stop at "sterilization of the unfit" rather then death camps.
Without Hitler its hard to say what would happen. It could have been more like Mussolini, where once in power there isn't any "greater ambition" beyond self aggrandizement. Or someone just as radical or even more so might take over.
What really matters about Germany is that at both the legal level and the social/cultural level there was a failure of classical liberal ideals. The specific ghastly form that takes varies, but its always horrible.
What was unique about Nazi-ism was its extreme variant on fascism. Fascism is simultaneously reactionary and revolutionary. Hitler wanted to bring back some kind of pagan Germanic warrior ideal out of Tacitus. At the same time he wanted to use 20th century modern scientific methods to do so. Further, he proposed that Liberal and Christian ideals were in the way they needed to be swept aside.
It's a hybrid ideology, which is one reason people sometimes argue over whether its rightist or leftist. It's best to see it as a breakdown of conservatism. As trust in traditional institutions, methods, and values fails people turn to something more radical which promises to accomplish many of the same goals traditional conservatives have failed to achieve. Hence why many Nazi voters were former DNVP. Essentially they became disillusioned with the DNVP and wanted to go with a group that could "really get things done."
Believe me, if the progressives in the Anglo world could have gotten his hands on the totalitarian means of "perfect scientific management" the way the the Nazi's did they would have. Our liberal controls on government power are the main reason they had to stop at "sterilization of the unfit" rather then death camps.
Without Hitler its hard to say what would happen. It could have been more like Mussolini, where once in power there isn't any "greater ambition" beyond self aggrandizement. Or someone just as radical or even more so might take over.
What really matters about Germany is that at both the legal level and the social/cultural level there was a failure of classical liberal ideals. The specific ghastly form that takes varies, but its always horrible.