John Weeks: > "The agreement accepted by President Barack Obama to temporarily resolve > the debt limit conflict revealed him, in the eyes of the Tea Party > Republicans, as a weak opponent unable to match them in a straight > fight, much as Heinrich Brüning, German Chancellor 1930-32, was viewed > by the Nazis." > Louis: > This is silly. The Tea Party has not carried out any kinds of violence > against working people in its entire history, for the simple reason that > it was not necessary. The Weimar Republic was marked by civil war in the > streets....
If we must have Wiemar analogies, it's that Obama is a lot like Hindenburg, giving in too easily to the extreme Right on the Debt Ceiling agreement. But that would be wrong: Obama is not Hindenburg, because the social context is totally different. Louis is totally right that the US in 2011 and Germany in the early 1930s are totally different in terms of the social forces arrayed and the degree and form of the conflict between them. Let's think of a better analogy, please! the Gilded Age (Louis) or Scroogean capitalism (me) seems much more apt. -- Jim Devine / "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante. _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
