Faith Club

29.4.09 21:24
Borkenau argued that the economic crises caused by World War I led to the strongest capitalists forming a “new economic elite”. But as the “new economic elite” continually revitalized itself through ever more destructive competition, more and more ordinary people felt the effects, thus leading the State to step in. But as the State became more involved in the economy, a “new political elite” emerged which superseded the previous “economic elite”, and claimed total power for itself in both the economy and politics. In Borkenau's opinion, Fascism in Italy, National Socialism in Germany and Communism in Russia all in different ways reflected the unfolding of this process. Nazi dictatorship was based on Wehrwirtschaft (War Economy) thus requiring the policy of endless expansion in all directions. In 1939, Borkenau published The New German Empire, where he warned that Adolf Hitler was intent upon world conquest. In Borkenau's view, the nearest historical counterpart to German policy was French expansionism during the French Revolution and the age of Napoleon.

Lenin created the first totalitarian dictatorship with all power concentrated into the hands of the state, which was completely unconstrained by any class forces as all previous regimes had been. Borkenau argued that the key to understanding Soviet politics was that under the Soviet regime's surface of unity lay fierce power struggles within the Soviet elite. Within the Soviet government there were vast chefstvo (patronage) networks extending down from the elite to the lowest levels of power.

(via maita)