•
Among other things in such a society, we would want a stable and
prosperous economy, one with full employment and living
wages.
•We
would want affordable housing, whether in
the purchasing or renting of a home.
•We
would want a system of health care accessible to everyone,
regardless of economic circumstance.
•We
would want generous provision for disability, maturnity
leave and retirement.
•We
would want free access to college education
and vocational training for any qualified applicant.
•We
would want a healthy farming community,
one which favors small family farms over large agribusiness conglomerates.
•We would want the kind of public safety
where one didn't have to live in gated communities to feel secure,
and where one could walk down the street of any city at any time,
day or night—without fear of being mugged, assaulted, or
worse.
•We would
want rigorous protection of the environment
under a regime that is more concerned about the condition of our
forests, our earth, our air and our waters than about corporate
profit and pollution.
Today we have
none of these things. Why? Do these expectations of a good society
sound unreasonable, or utopian?
I say to you that they are not—as is proven by the
fact that there once was a society which had all of these things and
more.
This society first came to my attention when I had the opportunity
to meet and talk to people who had the privilege of living in such
a society. In talking about their experience, they invariably described
it as the happiest and most memorable time of their lives, and they
looked back upon it with deepest fondness.
The society I am talking about was none other than—National
Socialist Germany under Adolf Hitler.
I would like to take a few moments to describe and summarize some
of the social and economic achievements of this remarkable
society. In so doing, I think it will help to explain why the people
I have just mentioned felt the way they did.
* * *
But first, we
have to go back and consider the condition of Germany following the
First World War.
There was mass starvation in the land. There was a vindictive
peace treaty—the Treaty of Versailles—which imposed humongous
reparations on the German people and caused great suffering.
There was runaway inflation, and money became worthless.
People were actually living in hovels and going hungry.
After that came the Great Depression, in which 7 million Germans were
thrown out of work and the economy collapsed.
UNEMPLOYMENT & THE ECONOMY
Then Hitler came to power in 1933. Immediately he set about turning
things around. His first challenge was that of unemployment, as well
as that of restoring Germany's ruined agriculture.
The problem was aggravated by the fact that the German economy was
bankrupt. It didn't have gold reserves. It had no foreign credit.
At the same time, it was suffering under the burden of crushing reparations
payments. It seemed like situation impossible.
But that didn't stop Hitler.
"Okay," he said. "We don't have gold. But we do have
workers willing to work. They will be our gold."
He then came up with a very simple solution to put it all together.
He launched a program of public works: flood control, repairing
public buildings and private residences and constructing new ones,
building roads, bridges, canals, port facilities, but most notably
the famous Autobahn—the first extensive superhighway
system in the world. In so doing, he was able to put millions back
to work.
How did he pay for it all? The treasury was broke. Foreign bankers
wouldn't give him any credit.
What he did was simply go around the international banks and create
his own banking system, based—not on the gold standard or some
other superfluous metal—but on the productivity of
the German worker himself: He introduced the work standard.
Here's how it worked. The projected cost of the various public works
programs was fixed at $1 billion Reichsmarks. An exact number of non-inflationary
bills of exchange, called Labor Treasury Certificates,
were then issued against that cost.
The workers were then paid; and with their new purchasing power, they
began to spend their earnings in shops and businesses across the country,
which in turn enabled these to create more jobs and hire more people.
With this as a stimulus, the German economy gradually took off. Within
two years, the core unemployment problem was licked, and the country
was back on its feet. And all of this with a solid, stable currency
and no debt or inflation.
Meanwhile, by comparison, the economies of the United States, England
and the other Western countries remained stagnant, with millions out
of work and living on the dole. Not until these countries started
to crank up their war industries were they able to solve
their unemployment problem.
At the same time that Hitler was reviving Germany's economy and putting
millions back to work, he was also able to restore his country's crippled
foreign trade. Denied foreign credit and faced with an economic boycott
in England and America, Hitler came up with a very simple but ingenious
device: the barter system, in which equipment and
commodities were exchanged directly with foreign countries, circumventing
the international banks.
For example, if Germany had manufactured goods which Argentina wanted,
and Argentina had grain or beef which Germany wanted, the two countries
would simply draw up a contract and swap—without recourse
to an international middleman. He was cut out of the deal completely.
Again, this system of direct exchange occurred without debt or
trade deficit—something which upset some people.
In a word, what Hitler did was smash the prevailing finance-capitalist
system of debt and usury—which, as we now know, was a primary
cause of World War II.
By making a moral distinction between productive
capital and speculative capital, Hitler
set himself on a collision course with those international financial
interests, whose ox he had gored and whose very existence as parasites
was now threatened by the success of the National Socialist model.
They were prepared to do anything—indeed, drag the entire world
into war—to maintain their parasitic existence and not allow
other countries to follow the National Socialist example.
But that's another story for another time. I won't get into it here.
This, then, was the economic miracle which made all of Hitler's other
social programs possible, some of which I have already touched on.
*
* *
THE
FARMER
I mentioned the restoration of the German farming community as a high
priority of the National Socialist government.
This was more than a matter of mere economics. In National Socialist
thinking, a nation can prosper only if it has a sound rural population.
The traditional family farm is regarded as of prime importance,
because it concerns a way of life whose moral and spiritual values
are vital to the health and well-being of society as a whole.
During the hard times in Germany before Hitler, many farmes saw their
lives ruined by falling commodity prices, exorbitant interest payments,
and foreclosure to unscrupulous Jewish land speculators. One can image
the desperation of these farmers, as they saw the loss of their farms—many
of which had been in the family for hundreds of years—and they,
too, were now forced to join the ranks of the unemployed.
Hitler was determined to put an end to this misery and injustice.
Not only were these farms restored to their rightful owners, but at
the same time they were made productive and self-sustaining.
And so Hitler created what was called the National Food Estate,
a public corporation which included not only the farmer himself, but
everyone else connected with the production, processing and distribution
of food: the canners, the millers, the bakers and middlemen, as well
as the local grocer.
The Food Estate guaranteed the farmer a market for his product
at a reasonable fixed price—high enough to cover his costs
of production and prepare for the next harvest season, but low enough,
so the customer could always count on a fair price.
By adjusting supply to consumer demand and allowing for individual
initiative and competition, but excluding speculation in
commodities, the food corporation was able to create a stable market,
which assured a dependable supply of food, upon which all parties—producer
and consumer—could rely.
*
* *
THE WORKER
Concerning the worker, Adolf Hitler himself had at one time been a
common day laborer, and he understood well the problems of the ordinary
workingman.
He considered man to be more than a disposable economic unit. He believed
in the idea of the whole person, as a productive and creative
member of his people; that he should have meaningful work and job
security; and that he should be treated with dignity and respect—and
not be downsized, for example, and handed a pink slip as a Christmas
present!
He believed that work should not be a drudge but rather a creative
effort, a source of fulfillment and personal pride, and that
the dignity and honor of every workingman and woman should be respected.
Accordingly, one of the first things he did after coming to power
was to order a clean-up of German factories. Drab, dreary
plant yards and coal piles were replaced with parks, swimming pools
and other amenities designed to humanize surroundings by providing
a bright, clean, cheerful environment, with plenty of sunshine and
fresh air.
One innovation introduced under National Socialism as part of its
efforts on behalf of working people was the KdF, the so-called Strength
Through Joy program.
The idea behind this program was that those who worked hard and produced
should be rewarded, not only with a decent salary, but also with special
amenities that make life more pleasant and allow one to recharge one's
batteries.
Under this program, ordinary workingmen and their families were given
special access to the arts, culture, popular entertainment and sport.
Above all, they were given the opportunity to travel, not only around
their own country but to other places as well. They could go on free,
two-week, overseas cruises, while in Germany itself they could take
a lengthy holiday for just 2 marks a day, including travel, meals
and lodging.
THE ENVIRONMENT
As someone who believed fervently in the laws of Nature, Hitler introduced
the first comprehensive measures to protect the environment, including
so-called scrubbers to eliminate pollution emissions from
coal-burning plants.
His critics said it could't be done. But Hitler said, "Do
it"—and it was done!
HOUSING
Hitler also ordered affordable housing, especially for young
married couples. Neat, sturdy houses, with garden space around them,
were built, which they could then purchase for 600-1,000 RM at no
interest and minuscule monthly payments.
The best part was that a quarter of the mortgage was canceled with
the birth of each child, so that after their fourth child a couple
would be home free! How's that for child- and family-friendly?
Older homes and apartments were refurbished and upgraded, and there
were no slums, such as we see in America's inner cities.
HEALTH CARE
No German had to worry about the expense of getting sick or injured.
Under National Socialism there was universal health care
at no cost. No weaseling, chiseling HMOs. No welching under the government
of Adolf Hitler, which made the health and well-being of its citizens
a top priority!
German hospitals offered the finest care and had the most modern equipment,
surpassing even that in the United States. Patients had a right to
choose their own doctor and hospital, and even the poorest were assured
full medical treatment. They could stay up to one year in
the hospital—with a special allowance of pocket money!
If they were still on the sick list after that, they could remain
indefinitely with public health funds.
SOCIAL SECURITY
The same went for retirement. German's citizens didn't have to worry
about a Social Security system going broke or their retirement accounts
disappearing.
COLLEGE EDUCATION
College education was free for all qualified applicants,
regardless of financial circumstance or family background. The same
applied to vocational and technical schools. Students didn't have
to worry about tuition or loan repayments. Those things were unknown
in Hitler's Germany.
PUBLIC SAFETY
In National Socialist Germany there was never concern about public
safety and rampant crime, such as we have today in America. One could
walk the streets of any German city or town any time, day or night,
without fear of being knocked in the head, killed or raped.
And, I might add, the number of police per capita in what some have
described as a "police state" was but a small fraction of
what we see in America today!
*
* *
This, then, is a brief snapshot of a society which we today come nowhere
close to matching, but one which stands as a model
for what a well-run, progressive and orderly society should look like.
In coming years, as you face the challenges of an increasingly sick
and dysfunctional society, I sincerely hope that you will pause from
time to time to think about the way a good and decent society should
function, as shown by this timeless example.
Thank you.
