222 Chapter 9
ment,writesAnthonyPadgen,basedon theirbeliefthatthe Enlightenmentphilosophers
“had madethe ‘I’ the centerof all inquiriesinto the humancondition.”^147
In BookTwowe toucheduponthe benefitsof internationaltradein materialgoods
andfinancialservices.Sadly,whereasmostimportsbenefitthosewhopurchasethem,
one importthat the USAand UnitedKingdombroughtin fromGermanyprovedharmful
to everynationthat housedit. Thatharmfulimportwas the philosophythat developedin
Germanyduringthe reignof the SecondReich.Insofaras Germanyeconomicallypros-
peredin the 1800s,it wasin spiteof, ratherthanbecauseof, the Romanticand governist
philosophiesbrewingthere.UnderBismarck’s governistregime,damagewasalready
beingdone.AlthoughGeorgeOrwelldoesnot agreewithhis assessmentfully,Orwell
splendidlyparaphrasesF. A. Hayek’s argumentfromThe Roadto Serfdom: “... in Germa-
ny the Naziswereableto succeedbecausemostof the Socialists,” Bismarck,andother
governists“had alreadydonemostof theirworkfor them,especiallythe intellectualwork
of weakeningthe desirefor liberty.”^148 VariousintellectualsfromFrance,England,and
the USAvisitedBismarck’s Germanyand,in theirpoorjudgment,foundthemselves
impressedby the Romanticphilosophyand governistpolicies.^149
“Around1900,” recordsFareedZakaria,“Germanywasseenby manyseriousobserv-
ers as the mostprogressivestatein the world.” Theyadmiredthe massive“welfare
state.”^150 Americangovernistscouldnot helpbut be intriguedby the mannerin which
Prussia’s governmentmandatedthatchildrenattendtax-fundedschools,^151 as wellby
variousotheraspectsof the welfarestate,suchas SocialSecurity.^152 Theyrelishedthatin
the industryof publiclibraries,the user-fee-fundedlibrariesweredrivenout of business
by the state-owned,tax-funded libraries.Suchvisiting Americanprofessorsas John
Dewey—whoabsorbedHegel’s ideason government^153 —and RichardT. Ely and Simon
Pattenreturnedto theirrespectiveuniversitiesandextolledthe greatnessof governism
and the purportedfailureof the Enlightenmentliberalphilosophy.^154
Youmayremember,fromBookOne,quotationsfromvarioustwentieth-centuryintel-
lectualsto the effectthat it waswonderfulwhenthe USAfinallyadoptedregulationsthat
compelledchildrento attendschools.Yes,the USAherewasmodelingitselfafterthe
systemof governmentschoolingestablishedin Germany.The Prussiangovernmentinsti-
tutedfull tax fundingfor schoolsin 1806,andin 1826enactedstatuesmandatingthat
everychildattendone.^155 The Prussianschoolsystem,of course,wasnot as competentas
thosegovernistsmadeit out to be. The pressuresthe childattendeesfacedwereexcruciat-
ing andunwarranted.GeorgeL. Mossereportsthatfrom 1883 to 1888in Prussia, 289
childrentooktheirownlives.One-hundredand ten of themwerehighschoolstudents.^156
A GermangovernistnamedFriedrichList(1789–1846)has beencitedas influencing
the Germansof Bismarck’s tenure,^157 manyof whoseprogramsthe Nazisadopted.List’s
teachingswereingrainedin the mindof PaulBang,the economicexpertfor the German
NationalVolkParty(DeutschnationaleVolkspartei,DNVP).ThisDNVPwasa role mod-
el for the sameDAPof AntonDrexler,whichHitlermadeintothe NS-DAP. Mosse
remarksthatBang“demandeda returnto the mercantilistideasof FriedrichList.” More-
over,the “Jewswerefree traders,and couldthusonlyopposethe truespiritualityof the
Volk.”^158 DrawingfrombothList’s governismandthe prevailingracism,the DNVP
mouthedthesewords—”Mammonismdoesnot residein the pursebut in the heart....
Manmustacceptthe taskwhichGodanddestinyhavegivenhimandsweara holy
loyaltyto the Volk.”^159 The sameFriedrichList whoinspiredPaulBangbecamean icon
amongthe sameAmericanprogressives^160 whowouldeventuallyprescribecompulsory
sterilizationand othereugenicistmeasures.
Amongthe influentialAmericansto takein the Germanicworldviewwasjuristand
politicalphilosopherFrancisLieber(1798–1872).Educatedin Germanyand influencedby
ImmanuelKant’s ethics,Liebersoughtto havethe Stateenforcecollectivesocialduties.