Where does this myth that 1930s-40s fascists were hyper-efficient arise from? They made many catastrophic errors in domestic policy, not to mention warfare. Do we keep repeating the idea that they were efficient solely because they excelled at using industrial tools for genocide?
-
-
Replying to @magi_jay
My understanding was it’s a misunderstanding of ironic commentary at the time. So the classic “at least they made the trains run on time” was actually a sarcastic refrain, the trains were late as ever, things were just as dysfunctional, they just lied about it.
2 replies 0 retweets 10 likes -
Replying to @MarkHoofnagle @magi_jay
Ian Kershaw is great at describing how chaotic the government was under Hitler, who liked to set different departments competing with each other on the same issues to see who could most please him, often with no clear delineation of responsibility.
1 reply 1 retweet 12 likes -
Kershaw called this “working toward the Führer.” Basically, Hitler would set the priorities and goals, and he’d let his ministers and underlings fight it out to determine how to get it done. The result was often anything but efficient.
1 reply 0 retweets 10 likes -
A byproduct of “working towards the Führer” was that his underlings’ competition often resulted in ever more radical policies to implement Hitler’s goals.
2 replies 0 retweets 8 likes -
Also, Hitler was not a creature of bureaucracy. He loathed the mundane tasks and duties of governing, particularly paperwork. The result was not infrequently paralysis.
1 reply 0 retweets 8 likes -
Ummm damn you just described a certain other politician to a T(rump).
1 reply 0 retweets 2 likes
A comparison that I made explicit on multiple occasions over the last four years...
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.