Part I: The Left Looks at Germany’s Socialist Path, and Finds it Worthy
Most Germans—polls show, despite current economic difficulties, do not regret the fall of the Wall, the collapse of the Communist regime in the East, and the eventual reunification of their country. What doubts there are, however, come from the ranks of the Western Left, who seem to have the ability to regularly air their arguments in the op-ed pages of The New York Times. I read one such report in the paper’s pages while visiting Berlin, written by Katrin Bennhold and titled “Lessons From the Former East Germany.”
Bennhold beings by noting that “Like most people, I had slept through the fall of the Berlin Wall.” At the time, her parents, 60’s activists, sided with the millions of protesters gathered 20 years ago in East Berlin, who were demanding what she knows was “freedom and democratic rights.” But as activists of the Left, they feared that the collapse of the DDR (German Democratic Republic) would lead to the leaders of the West cutting apart the welfare state, and adopting a free-market capitalism influenced by what she calls the Reagan-Thatcher model. Their fear, she writes, was achieved. The West “simply swallowed East and in the process discarded 40 years of mostly bad but some good policies.”
She proceeds to identify those “good” policies that existed in the Communist East. They include child care policies that included a “network of day care centers,” paid maternity leave, and women who worked in various jobs. It was a society of both female crane operators and scientists, she writes. She gives as an example the career of the current German chancellor, Angela Merkel. Merkel was a physicist by training, but Bennhold simply ignores that even though Merkel obtained a higher education in the Communist state, she was hardly happy about her life there.
Bennhold should look at the message that Merkel gave Germans on the anniversary of the fall; the first female chancellor told her fellow Berliners: “The great theme [of the current celebration] is happiness and satisfaction that everything developed the way that it did.” Acknowledging that Germany has problems as a result, Merkel explained that “It was the fate of one generation that essentially had to pay for the inefficiency of the G.D.R.’s economy, and whose expectations could no longer be fulfilled.” The fall of the wall, Merkel said, “ the end of the Socialist Unity Party dictatorship and German reunification transformed my life. In short, I would not be chancellor, nor even politically active, if the wall were still standing. After Nov. 9, 1989, thoughts became thinkable that before had been completely unthinkable. For the first time, a person like me had the opportunity to engage in community life, to take on responsibility.” There was no alternative, she said. “Reunification in peace and freedom was a great blessing for our country. The integration process went well for the most part. I think we put things more or less on the right track at the time — otherwise the rebuilding of the Eastern states would not have gone so successfully.”
“not ask for capitalism,” only for “the freedom to live their lives outside state control”
This is a false dichotomy. Embracing capitalism is the only way to limit the power of the state. It is unfortunate that more people did not take seriously Friedrich Hayek’s Road to Serfdom written in 1944. Socialism even in its milder interpretations will inevitably lead to totalitarianism. It’s just a question of time. East Germany at is very best never had an economy equal to that of Mississippi’s. The lifestyle of our typical lower class citizens would have been the envy of its professional class.
Leon Wieseltier is the same guy who wrote an article a few years ago extolling the wonders of anal sex. The dude is really out to lunch. He also attended Harvard University. One has to feel sorry for people like that. I also recommend, “The Lives of Others.” This is an especially important film for those generally ignorant of that fairly recent era of German history. The G.D.R. was a police state where even loved ones spied on each other on behalf of the state. One was always fearful of inadvertently saying the wrong thing, or somehow getting in the crosshairs of a powerful regime official. Joe McCarthy at his worst never even tried to compete with these thugs. He was a warm and lovable puppy dog compared to them.
You might be interested in a video of a symposium at Australia’s Centre for Independent Studies entitled “The Fall of the Wall, 20 Years On.” The speakers talk about the event’s effect on Germany, Europe, Poland, and China. It’s about an hour and a half, but I found it worthwhile.
http://vimeo.com/7605992
BTW, I read in a biographical article about Merkel some time ago that she chose to study physics because it was the field least entangled with party doctrine.
Of course they miss the DDR. It was a totally Leftist State.
Oh, sure, they reject the terrible things, but there were so many GOOD things. They don’t understand that these (if such actually existed) were mere silver linings to the cloud, but still inseparable from the cloud.
“Don’t worry, folks. This time, THIS TIME, we’ll get it right!”
Damned government-lovers. Ptui! (My new epithet. Don’t forget to spit.)
Is there something significant about the German tricolor with the posthorn on it, rather than the compass and hammer, or is it just an embarrassing editorial error?
“she chose to study physics because it was the field least entangled with party doctrine.”
Oh my goodness, Merkel also sounds like someone who just graduated from an American Ivy League university in our present era! Our own liberal arts departments are usually dominated by deconstructionists and other anti-rational whack jobs. One can only remain relatively safe if they opt to study physics or another hard science area of study. We are creeping ever so closely toward the East German model. America does not have much more time.
“Reunification in peace and freedom was a great blessing for our country. The integration process went well for the most part. I think we put things more or less on the right track at the time — otherwise the rebuilding of the Eastern states would not have gone so successfully.”
Ms. Merkel, the reunification you tout was bought and paid for by the blood and treasure of the US and to a lesser extent the Brits. You ought to have the good grace to thank us. Of course being a Uropean and a particularly being a German you lack that grace. Let me remind you that Uropean civilization has killed millions in the last 100 years – your empires and ideologies have not served you well. In a just world the fall of the wall would have resulted in the trial and execution of thousands of commie aparats in the former East Germany. The killers and slavemasters got away and now they are bringing their sensibilities to your body politic. Deal with it if you dare.
Let’s try this on for size:
There were many things wrong with Germany between 1933-45 but we need to consider the positive things. Unemployment was ended, the standard of living rose to the highest level in the world. Germany had high quality medical care for all and it was quite egalitarian. That works for me. How about you?
I had a German friend in Graduate School in the 1970′s who once said that East Germany hadn’t had a change in Government since 1933.
In light of reunification it is worth reading Jeffrey Herf’s book, War by Other Means, about the Euro missile crisis where Helmut Schmidt who belonged to the Schumacher, anti Communist, wing of the Social Democrats was in support of American missiles to counter Soviet intermediate range missiles or force Moscow to withdraw them. The wing of Schmidt’s party led by Willy Brandt in contrast sought accommodation with the East downplaying the horrors of Communist dictatorship for “the sake of peace” and opposed the placement of the missiles that, in the end, led to the zero option and the removal of all intermediate missiles. Reagan played a key role as did Chancellor Kohl of the Christian Democrats who came from the tradition of Adenauer, who had transformed German conservatives from allies of the Nazis to genuine democrats connected to the Atlantic alliance. Both sides of the political spectrum are constantly under pressure from their far left or far right wings. Today’s task is to stop Jihadist Islam and liberals and conservatives need to work together against the far left allied with the jihadis as they did against the Nazis who were supported by the Jihadis in the 30s and 40s. For that story see Herf’s new book on Nazi propaganda to the Arab world.
@RKV: I dont think you have to lecture the Chancelor, who is the most pro-American Chancelor Germany had since Ludwig Erhard, on the role of the US and to a lesser extent the Brits (who opposed the reunification actively) had in German reunification. She was talking about the civil uprising of her fellow Germans that brought down the wall at that point despite of the fear of russian tanks intervening. She never forgets to mention Germanies allies. Concerning ideologies u only focus on the worst possible side and dont consider people like Friedrich van Hayek and Leo Strauss who contributed greately to American Conservatism. Speaking about a lack of grace…
“… Slavoj Zizek, international director of the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities in London.”
I bleed for old Slavoj suffering untold iniquities in some well paid social “science” talking shop? These English people are stuffing money down his throat! He no doubt, is forced to endure fancy hotels at conferences. He is condemned to choosing his vacation spots anywhere in the world. Stop! stop this injustice! Save this victim of the Berlin Wall’s destruction and let him escape to a totalitarian country where he can be happy.
Blow it out your ear comrade.
No surprises. A few months after the Berlin Wall went up, “The Nation” (where else?) had a piece about how the Wall was leading to a nascent DDR patriotism. Riiiiight.
if you remember the last anniversary fest of DDR before that the Berlin wall broke down, when Gorbachev and his spouse were invited, and that they didn’t praise the DDR government, you couldn’t miss that these parades look like the Nazy Parades
Well, yeah, all those commie paradises were wonderful…..as long as you didn’t have to live there, or could leave any time you wanted, or had access to hard currency…..
Especially Cuba. It is warm and has hot chicks. (Oh, sorry, they all went there for the fabulous revolutionary slogans and free health care. Yeah…)
this article: Ron Radosh » The Western Left Misses the Old Communist East Germany Share and
I believe it was John Derbyshire who noted that whenever a totalitarian boot was smashing a human face, there would be a well heeled Western leftist to point out that the face at least had health care and a 100% literacy rate.
It’s basically the “made the trains run on time” argument. It’s not only fallacious, but grossly insulting in its trivial dismissal of bleak and continuous suffering.
Does the fact that the GDR had some progressive benefits that would make sense in a market based society somehow make you uncomfortable? Because the Right seems to see everything as all-or-nothing and these points are swept off the table because of the narrow-mindedness of idealogues.
Perhaps you could benefit from some classes in Heuristics and Reasoning?