WHY THE HITLER ANALOGY MATTERS
“The first person to invoke Hitler loses the argument” say the purveyors of conventional wisdom. “Hitler analogies are cliché” and “Analogies blot out variations,” say others who object to equating Trump with Hitler. Such variations can range from the trivial (Trump has no mustache, doesn’t wear military uniforms or run around “Sieg Heiling,” etc.) to the substantial (Trump makes no demands for lebensraum in neighboring Mexico or Canada).
However, I believe there is great utility in the Hitler analogy insofar as it reveals the repetition of a core political dynamic between followers and leader portending a dreaded similar outcome: an authoritarian government resorting to extra-constitutional means to impose its will on the people; curtailment of personal liberties and essential freedoms of press, religion, expression, peaceful assembly, political association, equality under the law and from unreasonable search and seizure, cruel and unusual punishment, and forced self-incrimination; and additionally, persecution of minorities and vilification of an external enemy said to pose an existential threat against which the population is incited to wage total war resulting in massive loss of life and destruction.
If we disregard or discount analogies, of what use is Santayana’s famous dictum “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”? Of what use is the phrase “Never again.”? The statement attributed to Mark Twain — “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme.” — makes due allowances for “variations" while preserving the essential utility of Santayana’s warning. Just as watches may vary in their appearance and clockwork, they all produce the same outcome, namely telling time. Therefore, it is useful to recognize a watch for what it is and what it does, despite variations. Accordingly, with due regard for variations, I suggest paying close attention to what is without question the most chilling of all historical analogies.
What, then, are the essential core elements of a Trump=Hitler analogy? There are two ways of looking at it: 1) the qualities shared by both leaders and 2) the political context (i.e. the popular will) empowering them. Most observers tend to focus on the former, whereas I believe the latter is the more important perspective inasmuch as I am convinced that the times make the man rather than the other way around. For example, Churchill would have remained a footnote of history as a rambunctious imperialist warmonger had it not been for World War II. Likewise, Hitler might never have risen to power if the Allies at Versailles been as magnanimous in victory as they were after World War II. Therefore, at present I am more concerned with similarities, then and now, of the political context giving rise to Trump than I am with the manifest (and important) similarities between the two men. I believe the sociopolitical/economic context drives the course of history, empowering Trump as the instrument by which the dreaded course could be realized. More importantly, I fear that unless the political context is altered, we may indeed be condemned to repeat the catastrophic past of Weimar and, later, Nazi Germany.
The similarities between sociopolitical and economic conditions in Germany in 1933 when Hitler came to power and the U.S. in 2017 as Trump assumes the presidency include:
National humiliation and injured pride as a result of defeat in war: World War I in Germany, and for the U.S., Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq
Economic turmoil giving rise to social discontent within working classes demanding change
Massive displacement of workers from traditional occupations resulting from technological change (the second industrial revolution in 1920’s-1930s Germany, the automation revolution in the U.S. today) adding to social discontent and polarization
Widespread reverence for the military as the vehicle for restoring national pride, honor and prosperity, ignoring Eisenhower’s warning about “undue influence in the councils of government by the military-industrial complex"
A population deeply divided by right- and left-wing ideology to the point of mutual contempt and vilification, resulting in dysfunctional government and the accumulation of unsustainable government debt
Wide disparities between rich and poor creating resentments which the rich promptly deflect by blaming “others"
An economically oppressed segment of the population receptive to persecuting “others” as the scapegoat responsible for their economic woes. Jews and Bolsheviks in Nazi Germany; Mexicans and other immigrants in the U.S. today
External adversaries painted as posing a threat to national economic aspirations and eventually as an existentialist threat to the nation and way of life: England, France and Russia in 1930s Germany; in the U.S. today China and Asia on the economic front, extremist Islam as the existentialist threat from abroad
Conditions of economic and personal insecurity, social unrest and widespread fear prompting a call for a strong leader who will confront “the other;” restore order; promote prosperity, jobs, national pride and military strength: Hitler and Trump share the same message
Without these preconditions, neither leader would have risen to power.
Trump, like Hitler, is authoritarian, departs from the traditional political mold, communicates effectively with the masses by adept mastery of the dominant means of communication (radio and newsreels in Hitler’s day; television and social media today); mobilizes and motivates a political base in large rallies; promises to fulfill the demands of “the people” to confront “the other;” restore order prosperity, national pride, military strength and unity. Like Hitler, Trump displays behavioral characteristics of megalomania, paranoia, insecurity, xenophobia, racism and vengefulness, prompting him to lash out at opponents/adversaries, and adopt Nazi propaganda methods including “the Big Lie." See: “Trump Adopted Hitler’s Playbook” from my blog.
In short, the sociopolitical and economic preconditions giving rise to Hitler as Chancellor of Germany are present in the U.S. today in varying degrees, engendering significant popular support for an analogous U.S. President. Important to note that both Hitler and Trump rose to power with support from a minority of voters, which, coupled with the previously mentioned character traits, produced a compensating tendency toward authoritarian government as the means of retaining political power and control in the face of significant political opposition by an underrepresented majority.
In Nazi Germany, using the Reichtag fire as a pretext, Hitler rammed through the Enabling Act of 1933 granting him dictatorial powers to bypass the Reichtag, rule by decree and suspend personal rights and liberties using national law enforcement under his control. In 2001, using 9/11 as a pretext, Bush rammed through the Patriot Acts and National Defense Authorization Acts which, while not granting power to bypass Congress and rule by decree, nevertheless grants the president the power to suspend political rights, freedoms and even terminate lives of both foreigners and American citizens the president classifies as “enemy combatants.” The definition of an enemy combatant is presently said to be limited to “Islamic terrorists,” but could be easily expanded in the face of staunch political opposition, to include any who threaten the power of a presidency besieged by a peacefully militant majority, such as we have witnessed today in the massive Women’s Marches in Washington, throughout the U.S. and, indeed, throughout the word.
The United States faces threats to domestic tranquility on many fronts including:
An economy threatened by the inevitability of a new financial panic and economic turmoil as previously caused by gross inequality of wealth and dislocations associated with the electronic revolution as described in my blog and book, The Predicament.
Economic security of workers in retirement threatened by the diversion of Social Security surpluses to pay for non-related government expenses and by policies enabling corporations to shuck their pension and healthcare obligations through bankruptcy.
The health of the population threatened by inadequate solutions to the problem of providing universal health care.
An educational deficiency
The physical wellbeing of the population threatened by climate change and the resolve of a majority in Congress to deny climate change and eviscerate laws and government agencies tasked with safeguarding the environment and worker safety.
National security of the U.S. threatened by continued escalation the conflagration between historical mortal enemies, sparked by catastrophic invasions of the Middle East.
Whether the United States remains on the present path toward a repetition of the German experience under Hitler or instead awakens to this danger and acts to choose another path to peace, tranquility, justice, and shared prosperity and wellbeing using a new democratic political process , will depend on whether Americans remember the past and understand its most important analogy.
UPDATE February 28, 2017:
I confess that I am anxious, and, at times frightened, by the similarities of the pathways leading to the rise of Hitler and Trump, and, if you are paying attention, so should you be. As president, Trump has already taken several steps in the direction of a police state by:
Increasing the number of law enforcement agents empowered to summarily round up and detain racial minorities.
Attacking and attempting to discredit the main restraints to his power: the press, the judiciary, citizen protesters, political opponents, the intelligence community.
Heightening popular anger and hostility toward “others” (i.e. non-whites) – Muslims (the travel ban), Jews (evidenced by the numerous threats to Jewish community centers and graveyards).
Perpetuating self-serving falsehoods in the style of Goebbels “Big Lie” propaganda.
Increasing military spending at a time when the U.S. military outspends nearly all the rest of the world combined (as we learned not only from Hitler, but also, George W. Bush, when you have a large and powerful military, the temptation is to use it).
So if you are dedicated to peace and liberty, my suggestion is that you complain, resist and organize with grace and integrity, rather than acquiesce to the Trump steamroller.