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Norcouldthe Jews-as-capitalistdepictionescapefromthe playbookof KarlMarx,himself
a rabbi’s grandson.Marx,accordingto professorsIan BurumaandAvishaiMargalit,
“likenedJewishcapitaliststo lice,feedingoff the poorlike filthyparasites.”^143 In 1843
Marxspat,“Whatis the secularbasisof Judaism?... Huckstering. Whatis his”—the
Jew’s—“worldlyGod?Money.... Thegodofpracticalneedand self-interestis money.”
Reflecton howalikeMarxand U.S.progressiveJacobRiis soundon that point.AndMarx
continues,“Moneyis the jealousgod of Israel,in face of whichno othergod mayexist....
Thechimericalnationalityof the Jewis the nationalityof the merchant,of the manof
moneyin general”^144 (emphasesMarx’s). Anti-Semiticsocialistsgleefullyreprintedthis
tractof Marx’s. Theysaidthatit borea specialauthenticity,for it waswrittenby a Jew
whoadmittedthe shamefultruthabouthis ownpeople.^145 Anddo not forgetthat,despite
his ownsympathiesfor internationaltrade,ImmanuelKantlikewisedenouncedJewsas
capitalists.
Earlierin Germany’s past,the originalProtestant,MartinLuther,mixedanti-financier
sentimentswithanti-Semitism,characterizingJewsas “a perniciousrace,oppressingall
menby theirusuryand rapine.We musteverkeepour guardagainstthem.” Consequent-
ly, if “I weremasterof the country,I wouldnot allowthemto practiceusury.”^146
Thisis howHitlerput it to OttoWagenerin a conversationfromthe 1930s.“The Jew is
not a socialist!Oncebeforehe nailedto the crossthe greatCreatorof the conceptof socialist
redemption!He will do so againwheneverhe can!For he is an individualist,an economic
liberalist,an egotist.. .”^147 (emphasisWagener’s). In the wordsofMeinKampf, “the
financialaristocracy” of “unscrupulousJewishbusinessmen” consistsof “spiritualrob-
ber-barons...”^148 The archetypalJew “cameto lookuponthe commercialdomainand all
moneytransactionsas a privilegebelongingexclusivelyto himselfandhe exploitedit
ruthlessly.” Later,“financeand tradehad becomehis completemonopoly.”^149 The cost of
this,the Führer’s manifestomaintains,is “the socialstratificationof the people.” Andit
presseson, “By wayof stockshares” the Semitictycoon“pusheshis wayinto the circuitof
nationalproductionwhichhe turnsintoa purchasableor rathertradableobject....
Finally,the Jewishinfluenceon economicaffairsgrowswithterrifyingspeedthroughthe
stockexchange.He becomesthe owner,or at leastthe controller,of the nationallabor
force.”^150 But the archetypalJew’s “extortionatetyrannybecameso unbearablethatpeo-
ple rebelledagainsthis controlandusedphysicalviolenceagainsthim.” Consequently,
angryvigilantemobs“haveseizedJewishpropertyandruinedthe Jew in theirurgeto
protectthemselves.. .” Hitler,expectedly,approvesof this violence,whichhe claimsto
be justifiedretribution.Then,Hitlerregrets,the archetypalJew“paidcourtto govern-
ments,withservileflattery,usedhis moneyto ingratiatehimselffurtherand thusregular-
ly securedfor himselfonceagainthe privilegeof exploitinghis victim.”^151 Notethe
similaritybetweenthe conclusionof Hitler’s spiel,withthe accusationof variouscorpora-
tion-hatersthat corporationshavepurchasedtoo muchinfluencein Westerngovernments
and transformedtheminto acorporatocracy.
In his best-sellingbookDude,Where’s My Country?, MichaelMooresimilarlyrantsthat
the stockexchangeis a tool that capitalistsutilizeto manipulatethe masses.By the end of
the 1980s,the booksays,“... the richwereprettymuchtappedout withtheirexcess
profits.. .” At thatjuncture,“the gamebecame,‘Hey,let’s convincethe middleclassto
giveustheirmoneyandwecan get evenricher!’” The middleclassdid indeedget into this
racket,and“it wasa sham.It wasall a ruseconcoctedby the corporatepowers-that-be
whoneverhad any intentionof lettingyou intotheirclub.Theyjust neededyourmoney
to takethemto thatnextlevel.... Theyknewthe Big Boomof the 1990scouldn’t last,so
theyneededyourmoneyto... inflatethe valueof theircompanies” and havethe shares
of equitiesrise in price,“so whenit wastimeto cashout,theywouldbe set for life, no
matterhowbadthe economygot.” Thenthe stockmarkettanked,andthe middle-class