Re: Similarity of Communist and National Socialist Oppression

[03643518060-0001@t-online.de (Brown)]

Dear List-members,

After listening to the very interesting exchange on the "Herrschaften"
of the Nazi & communists, I wanted to add a thoughts on the nature of
things today.

It is interesting to stand aside and see how strong the dialectic of
left and right remains 
and how everyone has football teams inspite of the seriousness of the
game to use Olaf's metaphor.  Nonetheless the numbers clearly point to
the blacker of all histories, that of Communism. The vilifacation of
Hitler and the Nazis is well deserved, but the origianl sin of the
german people is most problematic. Although, and I know some will have a
great difficulty with it, I find Nolte's position of great interest
(Look at the first EJ quote which is not to far from Nolte's thesis).
Namely the difference between "the two socialisms" are not so great and
that it is a national socialism reacting against an international
socialism seems possible.
I could not find the quote but Jünger also says words to the effect that
with the end of world war II we witnessed the end of the national state.
It is also important to note that both of their greatest contributions
are the systematic extermination of people, regardless of the other
issues of race/religion and class.

But how does all of this tie in with the our subject? The subject of
EJ's interpretation of the titanic and the sacred. Most certainly the
godlessness of the modern systems and the development of the
totalitarian state, which today has been rechristend "democracy" (how
democratic it is that we must enforce people to be democratic, which
raises a mulitude of questions.), have allowed the degradation of the
human being to a simple number, a meaningless being without consequence
that in the best instances can only be seen as part of the apparatus,
but when defective or identified as the problem must be liquidated. In
the worst case the human being is seen as an enemy of the state. We have
seen the so called democratic countries treat their enemies with the
same diligence that the so called totalitarian states do. The modern
state is by its nature totalitarian and this does not matter if it is
right or left. To quote EJ, "Die Gegner werden sich so ähnlich, daß man
sie unschwer als Verkleidungen ein und derselben Macht errät" Waldgang
GA Bd. 7, S. 321.* And now that we are moving to a world state the
methods of enforcement are no longer with secret police instead it is
technology i.e. bombers, cruise missles and their like.

So for example would the continuation of NATO as a force after the fall
of Iron Curtain mean that there is still a threat to Europe or can we
understand its behavior as a police force that is meant to keep the
opposition (Attempts at sovereignty?) to the World State at bay? How
does the World State's vacilation between empty threats™ and the use of
force either overt (as in the case Iraq, Sudan, and Afghanistan) or
covertly through banking measures and the devaluation of the money¢
serve democracy? Is it by the prevention of these threats to democracy
or is it because they might not be playing by the rules, the rules being
international economic practices? So effectively a war is being waged or
is it a war? "Wir leben in Zeiten, in denen Krieg und Frieden schwer zu
unterscheiden sind" Waldgang, S. 252.§
It is most certainly not a war of classical definitions. There is no
longer a clear demarcation between the friend and the enemy. 

So it is that the overcoming of this nihilistic world view is and can
only happen by the identifacation of the illness. Which opens up the
other major question in EJ's work, the question of nihilism. I want to
end this short subject with another EJ quote "Die Ausdeutung  der
jüngsten Vergangenheit ist daher eine Lebensfrage für uns. Wir müssen
sie in uns austragen. Die Fülle der Ereignisse, die uns in Anspruch
nahmen, fordert zur geistigen Bewältigung heraus, und das um so mehr,
als die Erklärungen, die von Außen geboten werden, nicht zureichen. Hier
liegt eine pädigogische Schatz verborgen, der gehoben werden muß." Der
Gordische Knoten.*

¢ Malaysia, Brazil and Africa, which interestingly enough are the worlds
most wealthy countries, are forced into poverty through unfair banking
practices.

™ In the case of Bosnia and Kosovo and the allowance of the Serbs
continued slaughter of Muslims compare to the attack on the famous
tyrrant Hussain?

English translations of EJ's quotes:

* "The enemies resemble each other so much that one guesses with little
difficulty the disguises are of one and the same power" Waldgang

§ "We live in times, in which war and peace are difficult to tell apart"

* " Therefore the interpretation of the recent past is a vital matter
for us. We have to deal with it. The host of events, which preoccupied
us, demand an intellectual clarification. All the more so because the
explanations offered from outside are not sufficient. This is were an
educational treasure lies, that must be raised." Der Gordische Knoten.

P. S. If anyone knows where that quote may be found about the end of the
national state please let the list and myself know.