National Socialists Are Socialists Too

in #socialism8 years ago (edited)

This should be obvious to anyone who looks at the title of the party. National Socialists are indeed Socialists.

Image of Hitler

This is a concept lost on many of the young, trendy Bernie Sanders supporters today running around sporting the label.

Fans of Donald Trump should also be aware. I would bet your average Trump supporter is oblivious to the fact they support a Socialist platform.

Perhaps this is an aspect of history no longer taught in schools. Or perhaps, more likely, they would rather their movement not be tainted with the murderous history of Socialist movements.

Voters today may be shocked to see how much of the 25-Point Program of the National Socialist German Workers' Party sounds very much like the talking points of the major party candidates making speeches on the campaign trail. If you replace all references to Germany with the United States, you may not be able to tell the difference.

We Make Bad Deals

Common themes of the National Socialists' Platform center on empowering the German State. Germans thought themselves to be on the losing end in the peace treaties of Versailles and St. Germain following World War I.

Immigration Reform

Germany was extremely concerned with immigration. Immigrants fell under tight controls of legislation for foreigners. Additionally, the Party was keen on deporting non-Germans.

The Social Safety Net

Most damning, and most applicable to modern American politics, are the demands the National Socialists placed upon the State to care for its citizens.

The State was to "provid(e) the opportunity for a livelihood and way of life for the citizens."

They sought to create a healthy middle class through communalization of warehouses and their being leased at low cost to small firms.

They wanted an expansion of benefits to the elderly.

They placed responsibility in the State for a fundamental reconstruction of the national education program, with the aim to enable every capable and industrious German to obtain higher education.

Expansion of Centralized Government

To achieve these reforms, the National Socialists required an expansion of strong, centralized government.

To pay for such lofty social-welfare goals, many more economic reforms were needed, including the abolition of so-called "unearned income", or interest and the nationalization of industry with a division of profit.

Indeed, National Socialists fall in the same collectivist branch as every other brand of Socialist. Though their focus may be specifically on their own nation, while Socialism is more generally internationalist, this does not detract from the economic and social principles that underpin the ideology.

The full 25-Point Program can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Socialist_Program#The_25-point_Program_of_the_NSDA