As Populist Socialism Rises A Class War Bloodbath Looms

“The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence. If ‘Thou shalt not covet’ and ‘Thou shalt not steal’ were not commandments of Heaven, they must be made inviolable precepts in every society before it can be civilized or made free.”

–John Adams, 1787

I remember my Brother-In-Law’s father telling us the tale of what it was like to grow up during the waning days of the Weimar Republic, and the onset of Hitler coming to power.

One of the things he noted, was that among the majority thinking of Germans during the early 1930′s, was that Hitler and his Nazis were a fringe minority of malcontents that they needed not worry about. They had faith their fellow German citizens would see through his insanity and relegate him and his National Socialist Workers Party to the ash heap of relevance.

He called them brigands, rioters, trouble-makers and accusers. He said they were people from largely wealthy station or middle class means that sought a perverted revenge for the economic woes they suffered as the global depression deepened, and they chose Hitler’s vision for a return to ‘fairness’ in Germany rather than the subtle efforts of the Communists.

As our Founders noted, revolutions happen when a tireless minority continue to set brushfires in people’s minds. And while a majority of Germans rejected Hitler, the tireless minority set fires both figural, and literal.

It can be a good thing when those brushfires are rooted in a biblical and civil morality that puts the Law of God and natural law on a pinnacle to be obtained, but horrifying when those brushfires are rooted in jealousy, greed, vengeance and the desire to rule. The tireless minority setting such brushfires can easily overthrow a civil society, and in fact that was the case in Russia, China and yes – in 1930′s Germany.

Hitler was written off by the majority as relevant when he lost 2 bids for the German Presidency in 1932 to Paul Von Hindenburg. An overwhelming majority of Germans, near 70% – rejected Hitler and his Nazi ideology in the first election. Sadly, Hindenburg did not receive a majority percentage so a runoff between the top 3 was held a month later – and Hitler lost almost as badly in the run-off election.

Hitler seemed finished politically. But the German people underestimated what Hitler’s intentions for the German Republic actually were. Hindenburg’s appointed Chancellor Franz Von Pappen was, if anything – a stooge for the Nazi’s. He dissolved the Reichstag and called for new congressional elections. It was during those legislative elections that Hitler’s plan to take over Germany under totalitarian rule were put into full motion.

The Nazis went to work organizing protests and rallies in the streets. Chaos was stoked and violence spread from one city to the next, until martial law had to be declared in Berlin itself. The chaos and violence had it’s desired effect: The Nazi party won 230 seats in the Reichstag, and while they never gained a majority – the chaos that ensued in the Reichstag ensured that Hindenburg could not get a majority coalition to pass any legislation. With the Nazis holding positions in the cabinet, consolidating power by using the threat of violence was an easy task. Hindenburg caved to the minority Nazi populists – and appointed Hitler as Chancellor in order to appease the growing riots in the streets.

Why the history lesson?

Because while Conservatives and most Americans today disregard the hippie OWS crowds and think Obama is finished politically with his low poll numbers, history shows that similar demagogues with a desire to ‘fundamentally transform’ a society, often can and do succeed in overthrowing the civil society and establish a horrifying tyranny.

Socialists who are in a clear minority of a society, achieve their ends by always using street chaos and protests to invite and incite violence. That is what the Occupy Wall Street movement is all about, and history screams a clear warning when such crowds and protests are stoked by their handlers for the purpose of achieving a political transformation. We ignore these facts at our own individual peril.

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