(I think the important takeaway isn't what form of government or alternative system might better, but the overwhelming inherent dangers of mob rule. Millions of gullible people wanting something terrible doesn't transmute the morality of genocide.)
> 90% of the people voted for Mein Kampf and the Nuremberg rallies and the repudiation of the Treaty of Versailles and Kristallnacht; the mandate was overwhelming.
> Since I first published this essay, some people have cited Shirer to different effect, that Hitler actually gained supreme power by an act of the Reichstag on Match 23 1933, and was already dictator at the time of the 1934 elections. This is a quibble. The particular route by which Hitler was able to subvert the Weimar Republic's democracy is far less important than the simple fact that he was able to do so.
Is it a quibble? I do not know sufficient history, so: how reliable are the results of those 1934 elections, how rigged were they? If the people didn't actually vote, thenh a large part of his argument falls away.
I do think we'll end up with anarchism as our form of "government" (at least in some places) far in the future when (/if) we achieve post-scarcity society (a la Culture novels). Or we might get benevolent-AI-controlled governments (might become possible within a few hundred years!), or perhaps a combination of both. Interesting times to live in - and perhaps some or many of us will get to live through those, if Calico or BioViva achieve some of their goals.
> This would be the last contested election held in Germany before World War II. Two weeks after the election, Hitler was able to pass an Enabling Act on 23 March with the support of all non-socialist parties, which effectively gave Hitler dictatorial powers. Within months, the Nazis banned all other parties, dissolved the Reichstag and replaced it with a rubberstamp legislature comprising only Nazis and pro-Nazi "guests."
> Non-Nazi parties were formally outlawed on 14 July, and the Reichstag abdicated its democratic responsibilities.
> The Act did not infringe upon the powers of the President, and Hitler would not fully achieve full dictatorial power until after the death of Hindenburg in August 1934.[62] Hindenburg remained commander-in-chief of the military and retained the power to negotiate foreign treaties.
> was associated with widespread intimidation of voters, and Hitler used the resultant large "yes" vote to claim public support for his activities as the de facto head of state of Germany. In fact, he had assumed these offices and powers immediately (and illegally) upon von Hindenburg's death and used the referendum to legitimize this move, taking the title Führer und Reichskanzler (Führer and Chancellor). ...
> The government used widespread intimidation and electoral fraud to secure a large "yes" vote. This included stationing brownshirts at polling stations and forcing clubs and societies to march to polling stations escorted by Nazi storm troopers and then vote in public. In some place polling booths were removed or banners reading "only traitors enter here" hung over the entrances to discourage secret voting. In addition, many ballot papers were pre-marked with "yes" votes, spoiled ballot papers were frequently counted as having been "yes" votes, and many "no" votes were recorded to have been in favour of the referendum question. The extent of this forgery meant that in some areas the number of votes recorded to have been cast was greater than the number of people able to vote.
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[ 2.6 ms ] story [ 14.0 ms ] thread> Since I first published this essay, some people have cited Shirer to different effect, that Hitler actually gained supreme power by an act of the Reichstag on Match 23 1933, and was already dictator at the time of the 1934 elections. This is a quibble. The particular route by which Hitler was able to subvert the Weimar Republic's democracy is far less important than the simple fact that he was able to do so.
Is it a quibble? I do not know sufficient history, so: how reliable are the results of those 1934 elections, how rigged were they? If the people didn't actually vote, thenh a large part of his argument falls away.
I do think we'll end up with anarchism as our form of "government" (at least in some places) far in the future when (/if) we achieve post-scarcity society (a la Culture novels). Or we might get benevolent-AI-controlled governments (might become possible within a few hundred years!), or perhaps a combination of both. Interesting times to live in - and perhaps some or many of us will get to live through those, if Calico or BioViva achieve some of their goals.
> This would be the last contested election held in Germany before World War II. Two weeks after the election, Hitler was able to pass an Enabling Act on 23 March with the support of all non-socialist parties, which effectively gave Hitler dictatorial powers. Within months, the Nazis banned all other parties, dissolved the Reichstag and replaced it with a rubberstamp legislature comprising only Nazis and pro-Nazi "guests."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler%27s_rise_to_power :
> Non-Nazi parties were formally outlawed on 14 July, and the Reichstag abdicated its democratic responsibilities.
> The Act did not infringe upon the powers of the President, and Hitler would not fully achieve full dictatorial power until after the death of Hindenburg in August 1934.[62] Hindenburg remained commander-in-chief of the military and retained the power to negotiate foreign treaties.
The 1934 referendum (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_referendum,_1934 ):
> was associated with widespread intimidation of voters, and Hitler used the resultant large "yes" vote to claim public support for his activities as the de facto head of state of Germany. In fact, he had assumed these offices and powers immediately (and illegally) upon von Hindenburg's death and used the referendum to legitimize this move, taking the title Führer und Reichskanzler (Führer and Chancellor). ...
> The government used widespread intimidation and electoral fraud to secure a large "yes" vote. This included stationing brownshirts at polling stations and forcing clubs and societies to march to polling stations escorted by Nazi storm troopers and then vote in public. In some place polling booths were removed or banners reading "only traitors enter here" hung over the entrances to discourage secret voting. In addition, many ballot papers were pre-marked with "yes" votes, spoiled ballot papers were frequently counted as having been "yes" votes, and many "no" votes were recorded to have been in favour of the referendum question. The extent of this forgery meant that in some areas the number of votes recorded to have been cast was greater than the number of people able to vote.
In other words, very rigged.