Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for August 19, 2011

yesterday leftwingpatriot said: "Please stop equating National Socialism to modern Liberalism or Social Democracy. ".Um, where did you get that idea? If three philosophies happen to have a few things in common re economics, they can still be drastically different from one another overall..The two specific Nazi policies I cited – nationalization of unions and the elimination of securities trading – are NOT ideas hawked by the vast majority of the American left. I don’t think the British Labour Party and its Euro-mainland counterparts embrace those ideas, either..The Commie nations had muscular command economies. Does that sound like I’m equating Stalin and Ceaucescu with Attlee?.Different governments have different reasons for instituting command economies – building up the state (Hitler), eliminating economic risk (Western welfare statists), eliminating physical risk (Western nanny statists), paying lip service to economic egalitarianism but in practice forcing the populace into privation to build up the state (Commies)..Yes, Hitler saw Jews and Commies as his chief enemies. That doesn’t contradict my claim that he had a vendetta against capitalists. Who do you think he saw as the driving force behind capitalism? Quoting Chapter 10: “The function of the so-called liberal Press was…to break the national backbone of the people, thus preparing the nation to become the slaves of international finance and its masters, the Jews.”.(Thus the claim that Marxists conspired to turn over the German State Railway “to international capitalists” means that Hitler believed that Marxists were colluding with Jews so the latter would scarf up the rail system.).DT cautioned to be aware that Hitler didn’t always tell the truth. I think Mein Kampf was pretty honest..Stumbled across this: Capitalism in Germany (Time, Apr 07, 1941). Interesting read.