Socialismand Fascism 161ing but a grotesquedistortionof trueSocialistthought.We andwe alonecouldbecome
the genuineSocialistsin Germany,or, for that matter,in Europe.”^74
In the earlydaysof publishingNationalSocialistLetters, Goebbelshadstrongalliesin
the brothersOttoand GregorStrasser,whosharedin the ferventanti-commercialism.The
Strassers’ “program,” GeorgeL. Mosseremarks,was“‘anti-capitalist’—in thatit main-
tainedthatcapitalistexploitation(thatis, Jewishusury)hadreducedGermanyto eco-
nomicandfinancialdestitution.. .” Additionally,“the Strasserbrothersconcretizedthe
anti-bourgeoiselementin the revolutionarydrive.. .” Theyhungeredfor the stateto be in
chargeof the “divisionof propertyand profits.” Mossewritesthat OttoStrasserespecially
calledfor “nationalizationof all landandthe abolitionof all unearnedincome,” thatis,
usury.^75 Otto“deniedthe sanctityof privatepropertyandevenadvocatedthe complete
nationalizationof land... Strasser’s proposalswereas follows:capitalpropertywas to be
apportionedin sucha waythat the workerswouldholdthe rightsto 10 percent,the state
41 percent,and the privateownersthe remaining49 percent;profits,meanwhile,wereto
go 49 percentto the workersand 51 percentto the owners.”^76
JoachimFestobservesthat whenNSDAPmembers“joinedin the Berlinmetalworkers
strike” in the early1930s,“Hitlerexplainedthe situationterselyby tellingthe employers
thatstrikingNaziswerestill betterthanstrikingMarxists.”^77 Hitler,Goebbels,andthe
rest of the NaziPartyinterpretedtheirowneconomicprogramto be a progressivemove-
mentthatwouldcorrectthe harmsthatcapitalismallegedlyimposed,withoutresorting
to full-blowncommunism.^78
Universityof NebraskahistorianAlanE. SteinweisadducesthatNaziPartyleaders
successfullymarketedtheirideologyby portrayingthemselvesas the bettersocialists,for
manyGermansthoughtthatNazieconomics“representeda ‘ThirdWay,’ an alternative”
bothto the laissez-faire“liberalsocialand economicorder” and to “the Marxistmodel.”^79
HenryAshbyTurner,RichardSteigmann-Gall,JoachimFest,andColumbiaU’s Fritz
SternagreewithSteinweis’s assessment—thatthe Nazisbelievedthemselvesto be, and
successfullypresentedthemselvesas, leadinga “thirdway” betweenthe extremesof
laissezfaireand communism.^80
Amonggovernists,talkof sucha ThirdWayhas not lost popularity.MichaelMoore
urgesthe continuanceof this searchfor a ThirdWaybetweenlaissezfaireand governism:
“I wishsomebodywouldinventa systemthattakesthe bestthingsof capitalismand
socialismand putsthemtogether.The thingsfromcapitalismthatencourageindividual-
ity and creativityand ingenuity,and thosethingsfromsocialismthatsay no one shallbe
left behind.Whycan’t we havethat?”^81
OttoWagener(1888–1971),whoservedas an economicadvisorto Hitlerandas a
majorgeneralin his army,wroteaboutHitlercomingto a similarconclusionin a conver-
sationfrom1930.Wagenertoldthe Führerthat“economicfreedom” has “creatednew
autocracies,in the factoriesand the large” business“concerns,wherethe workers... were
turnedevenmoredirectlyintoslavesthantheyeverhadbeenunderthe scepterof a
feudallord.... Man’s aspirationsare evil—we shouldsay,selfish—fromchildhood;the
Bibletellsus somethingof the sort.PerhapsChristwasone of the firstto contrastman’s
liberalisticattitudewiththe socialiststance.”^82 To Wagener,Hitlerrejoined,“In our pro-
gram,we haveevengivenexpressionto this hurdleby coiningthe maxim,‘publicneed
beforeprivategreed.’” The Führerrecognizesthatthereis an individualentrepreneurial
strivingin almosteveryone,but thatthisstrivingmustbe faultedfor being“selfish.”
Hencethe Naziregimeintendsto takethatstrivingandtransformit, placing“ it in the
serviceof all, in the serviceof the wholenation—yes, perhapsin timein the serviceof all
mankind... Communismresultsin a welfarestatewherethe standardsare averaged
downward.” In contrast,we nationalsocialistsare the oneswhoshalltrulyprovide“for
the needsof the people—that is, in the serviceof the community.. .” Thisidealshallarise