What’s Wrong with Admiring Hitler?

Reminder: Our online Zoom conference on open borders continues on Monday, October 28, with Benjamin Powell,  director of the Free Market Institute at Texas Tech University and professor of economics at Texas Tech University’s Rawls College of Business.  7 p.m.-8 p.m. Eastern Time.  Register here.

Reminder: I’ll be speaking at the JFK Lancer conference and also at the CAPA conference, which are being held on November 22-24 in Dallas. Both of them are fantastic JFK-assassination-related conferences. I highly recommend registering for both and then picking and choosing which sessions you would like to attend at both conferences. I will have some of my JFK books there to autograph and sell at a discounted price. I hope to see you there!

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According to an article in the New York Times, former Homeland Security secretary John Kelly, who also served as Donald Trump’s longest-serving chief of staff, “confirmed previous reports that Mr. Trump had made admiring statements about Hitler.” Kelly made the statement in the context of discussing Trump’s authoritarian proclivities. Trump isn’t the only one though. According to an article in the Daily Mail, a fifth of Gen Z Americans (i.e., 12-27 years old) believe that Hitler had “some good ideas.”

Needless to say, American statists, including those in the U.S. mainstream press, are up in arms over Trump’s “admiring statements about Hitler.” But the discomforting fact is that American statists, whether they realize it or not, also admire and agree with much of what Hitler stood for.

Of course, Hitler has long been defined by the Holocaust. But the Holocaust didn’t get launched until the middle of World War II. What about the entire decade of the 1930s, when Hitler was serving as chancellor of Germany? How do American statists feel about the pre-war/pre-Holocaust Hitler? Well, let’s consider some of Hitler’s positions.

1. Hitler was a big supporter of Social Security, which is a socialist program that is near and dear to the hearts of every American statist. Why, even reform-oriented libertarians favor the continuation of this socialist program for at least one generation and possibly longer.

In fact, the concept of Social Security originated in Germany, and so it’s no surprise that Hitler would favor it, especially given that his philosophy was based on national socialism. The concept was made part of the American system in the 1930s and has remained a permanent and extremely popular part of American life ever since.

In fact, it’s revealing that some reform-oriented libertarians favor a reform plan in which young people are permitted to opt out of receiving Social Security (even while having to continue paying the taxes to fund the continuation of the system for the current generation of seniors) but, at the same time, being required by law to deposit retirement funds into a government-approved retirement account. Why is that revealing? Because that’s the essence of economic fascism, something else that Kelly accused Trump of favoring. In fact, that’s the type of retirement program that was adopted by Chilean dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet, who was the very model of a fascist dictator, one who is still widely admired within both the Chilean and American right-wing.

2. It’s no different with Medicare and Medicaid. Hitler strongly believed

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Article from The Future of Freedom Foundation

Future of Freedom Foundation

The Future of Freedom Foundation (FFF) is a leading voice in libertarian thought, tirelessly advocating for individual liberty, free markets, and limited government. Established in 1989, the FFF is more than just a think tank; it’s a hub for intellectual exploration and policy advocacy that draws on the classical liberal tradition and Austrian economics. Through insightful articles, videos, and events featuring top libertarian minds, the organization provides a robust critique of mainstream politics and policies, championing instead the principles that underlie a truly free society. For anyone seeking a principled stand for freedom and limited government, the Future of Freedom Foundation serves as an invaluable resource and an inspiring beacon.