“Political and scientific anti-Semitism would have remained insignificant without economic anti-Semitism. The economic rise of Jews was the main reason that hatred for Jews became part of the culture of the broad masses.” – Why The Germans? Why The Jews?
History repeats itself. In 1971, Ayn Rand christened modern politics the “Age of Envy”. A time when individuals were attacked for their success, their achievement, and their virtue. Now political parties around the globe have realigned and coalesced around race, gender, ethnicity, and cultural issues, a virtual victim’s lobby. Alluring prey for dubious politicians to gain power, using envy as their trap.
While adolescent Germans in 1910 chanted “I To We”, today’s youngsters are flocking en masse to Bernie Sander’s call of “We Not Me”. These socialist parties consist largely of the young and the foolish with dreams of redistribution, the death of capitalism, and, of course, free college and healthcare for all. Hitler went on to exploit the fairness gap by promising utopia to his followers once their enemies were summarily defeated. A romantic notion that would soon warm the hearts of many Soviet-loving Bernie Bros. All united under the common cry of equality. Envy is back, masquerading as social justice, wrapped in victimhood. Here we go again.
Webster’s dictionary defines envy as "a feeling of discontent and ill will at another's excellence or good fortune". It starts with comparison; the proverbial keeping up with the Joneses; by exposing one’s own inadequacy for not keeping pace. Bitterness and hatred ensue. Believing that you are poor because someone else is rich is ripe picking for politicians to swoop in and save the day. We have lost any appreciation for the virtue of achievement and have little recognition of the consequences of one’s bad choices. The rich are demons, the poor are angels. Period.
While the Holocaust has been called the greatest crime in history, many have tried to explain how just one percent of the German population could attract such hatred. In Gotz Aly’s 2011 book, “Why the Germans, Why the Jews”, Aly analyzes literature from 1800 to 1930, describing the conditions that existed for Jews in the lead-up to the Holocaust. His assessment reveals that anti-Semitism was not due to racism or religion, but material wealth and the superior positions that industrious Jews attained in business and education. The Germans, feeling exploited, branded Jews as robber barons, a name also given to American entrepreneurs. Their hatred was so profound, as Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel noted in his classic book “Night”, that as Jewish prisoners passed through German villages, the people saw them and were indifferent, even while knowing their fate.
As Aly further notes, the diasporic history of the Jews made them more adaptable to change, allowing them to adjust more easily to the opportunities available following the Enlightenment. They were enthusiastic about education and upward mobility. German Gentiles, on the other hand, were increasingly drawn to collectivist schemes that touted equality and security. This weakness was easily exploited by those who sought power, by convincing those of inferior status that their feelings of envy were justified. The devastating result was the extermination of 82 percent of German Jews during a three-year killing spree, while their German neighbors did nothing.
We’ve often heard, “Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it”. Now another storm of resentment and bitterness is brewing, led by self-righteous charlatans fanning the flames of conflict and division. Trained to believe that all inequality is a sign of discrimination, progressivism has found its new enemies in capitalism, whites, and Christianity. Fueled by blind partisanship, every attempt is made to destroy the achievers, to demean them, and to ruin them because dissenters of the prevailing narrative aren’t just wrong; they’re evil. Remember the call for climate skeptics to be jailed or charged with crimes, or worse?
While a hatred for the successful, the entrepreneurs, and the honorable may have returned, Aly’s treatise reminds us of the consequences of allowing this nihilism to spread.
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