Originally posted by darthgoober
The original nazis were left wing, their support of socialism and unions is right there in the name.
Originally posted by darthgoober
It was their whole platform to get things going though and it's not like they adopted a nationwide capitalist system once they got started. At least I've never heard of such a thing.
Originally posted by darthgoober
Yeah fascism... all power given to the government to control virtually every aspect of the average citizens life. This is also distinctly NOT right wing. The modern day right wing are proponents of of small government and capitalism, two things the nazis were totally against.
Originally posted by darthgoober
I'm just pointing out that the nazi ideology is a corrupted/extreme left wing system.
Sorry, but no. The Nazis were right wing and pro-capitalism. Not only did Hitler defend private property, but his election campaigns were bankrolled by the chief capitalists in the country, such as the famous steelmaker Krupp. This was one of the main attacks against Hitler by actual left wingers - that he was too attached to business. During the Nazi regime, private profits soared, and the regime undertook a wave of privatisations, which involved transferring state owned assets to private hands (which would actually reduce the size of government). That is distinctly not left wing, it's solidly right wing.
Indeed, according to former nazi Otto Strasser, Hitler privately condemned workplace democracy, the nationalisation of industry and any amount of profit sharing (all left wing ideas). And although he did publicly call himself a 'socialist' , this was not in reference to Marxist Socialism, but his own brand of National Socialism which retained private industry, and he privately appeared to reject the socialist label altogether. And when close associate of Hitler, Leon Degrelle, chose to name the leader after the war who best resembled Hitler's approach on the economy, he pointed to none other than Ronald Reagan.
But anyway, sources:
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Der Sinn Des Hitlergrusses ("The Meaning Of Hitler's Greeting", left wing attack ad):
Graph on capital returns in Nazi Germany (as seen in The Wages of Destruction by Adam Tooze - Page ~99):
Here's a study by the University of Barcelona on this:
The Great Depression spurred State ownership in Western capitalist countries. [Weimar] Germany was no exception; the last governments of the Weimar Republic took over firms in diverse sectors. Later, the Nazi regime transferred public ownership and public services to the private sector. In doing so, they went against the mainstream trends in the Western capitalist countries, none of which
systematically reprivatized firms during the 1930s. Privatization in Nazi Germany was also unique in transferring to private hands the delivery of public services previously provided by government. The firms and the services transferred to private ownership belonged to diverse
sectors.
http://www.ub.edu/graap/nazi.pdf
And another by the University of Cambridge:
Private property in the industry of the Third Reich is often considered a mere nominal provision without much substance. However, that is not correct,because firms, despite the rationing and licensing activities of the state, still had ample scope to devise their own production and investment profiles. Even regarding war-related projects, freedom of contract was generally respected; instead of using power, the state offered firms a number of contract options to choose from. There were several motives behind this attitude of the regime, among them the conviction that private property provided important incentives for increasing efficiency.
http://piketty.pse.ens.fr/files/capitalisback/CountryData/Germany/Other/Pre1950Series/RefsHistoricalGermanAccounts/BuchheimScherner06.pdf
Musings of devoted Nazi, Leon Degrelle:
Today, our whole era is dying economically because we have succumbed to fearful hesitation. Enrichment follows investment, not the other way around.Since Hitler, only Ronald Reagan has seemed to understand this. As President, he realized that to restore prosperity in the United States meant boldly stimulating the economy with credits and a drastic reduction in taxes, instead of waiting for the country to emerge from economic stagnation on its own.
http://www.ihr.org/jhr/v12/v12p299_degrelle.html
Hitler and I, by Otto Strasser:
'If you wish to preserve the capitalist regime, Herr Hitler, you have no right to talk of socialism.
For our supporters are socialists, and your programme demands the socialization of private
enterprise.''That word "socialism" is the trouble,' said Hitler. He shrugged his shoulders, appeared to reflect
for a moment and then went on:
'I have never said that all enterprises should be socialized. On the contrary, I have maintained
that we might socialize enterprises prejudicial to the interests of the nation. Unless they were so
guilty, I should consider it a crime to destroy essential elements in our economic life. Take
Italian Fascism. Our National-Socialist state, like the Fascist state, will safeguard both
employers' and workers' interests while reserving the right of arbitration in case of dispute.'
'But under Fascism the problem of labour and capital remains unsolved... Capitalism has remained intact, just as you
yourself propose to leave it intact.'
'Herr Strasser ' said Hitler, exasperated by my answer, 'there is only one economic system, and that is responsibility and authority on
the part of directors and executives. I ask Herr Amann to be responsible to me for the work of his
subordinates and to exercise his authority over them... That is how it has been for thousands of years, and that is how it will always be.'
...
'But that,' Hitler replied, looking at his watch and showing signs of acute impatience, 'that is no
reason for granting the workers a share in the profits of the enterprises that employ them, and
more particularly for giving them the right to be consulted. A strong State will see that
production is carried on in the national interests, and, if these interests are contravened, can
proceed to expropriate the enterprise concerned and take over its administration.'
https://archive.org/stream/HitlerAndI_246/HitlerAndI_djvu.txt
Now, clearly, the Nazis were not perfect free marketeers. They did not hesitate to regulate industry when they felt it necessary, and some were indeed legitimate socialists. However, these were purged after Hitler took power, and his leftist programme had simply been a ploy to draw them in.
The only time when Hitler would ever take over industry, as he says above, was when it was absolutely demanded by the national interests, but in almost all other circumstances he defended the right to private property and capitalism. And by the way, it is usual for even staunchly capitalist states to take over industry in emergencies. The US and UK did similar things in WW1/2.