Wednesday, December 13, 2017

It's Christmas soon, so let's talk - Nazis

Vox talks about a new study that suggests it was economic austerity policy that helped lead to the rise of Hitler:
The standard explanation is that German voters flocked to the party in Germany in 1932 and 1933 in response to the pain of the Great Depression, which conventional parties proved unable to end. But others have sought to explain Hitler’s coup, in whole or in part, by reference to German culture’s obsession with order and authority, to centuries of virulent German anti-Semitism, and to the popularity of local clubs like veteran associations, chess clubs, and choirs that the Nazis used to help recruit.

A new paper by a team of economic historians focuses on another culprit: austerity, and specifically the package of harsh spending cuts and tax hikes that Germany's conservative Chancellor Heinrich Brüning enacted from 1930 to 1932.

In the paper, released through the National Bureau of Economic Research, Gregori Galofré-Vilà of Bocconi University, Christopher M. Meissner of UC Davis, Martin McKee of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and David Stuckler at Bocconi are clear that they don’t think austerity tells the whole story. It’s one factor among many. But they think austerity helps fill in some gaps in the conventional, Great Depression-focused narrative of the rise of the Nazis.
Over to you, Homer!

6 comments:

not trampis said...

Bruning , no fan of democracy, introduced austerity which made the great Depression much worse. the Nazis who were then an asterisk in voting suddenly surged.
It was easily the main factor. two other factors were in the frame.

Once the Nazis were a 'mainstream ' party they were seen as the best defence against the soviets. They were also seen as 'tough on crime' indeed they introduced broken windows before anyone had heard of the expression.

So Classical economics brought us the Nazis. Thank you Katesy

Jason Soon said...

I thought you liked the Nazis because they brought in work summer camps for the unemployed Homes?

not trampis said...

oh dear another item you clearly know nothing about. They did not bring in summer camps as you want to call them at all. If you actually has read anything about them you would see great similarities between what the Nazis did and what occurred in the USA.

wow another subject you know nothing about. It is growing!
One thing that cannot be denied is that classical economics gave us the Nazis and even Hayek recanted on what he said in support of those policies

not trampis said...

let me be charitable. Soony read a book called soldiers of labour!

you will actually learn something

anon said...

Homer Paxton loves Nazi economic policy. Loves it

not trampis said...

No JC I just know what happened then and you never did.