The Similarities and Differences Between Donald Trump and Adolf Hitler

 

By Steve Halpern

Since the election of President Donald Trump, there has been an increasing consolidation of power by the executive branch of government. The drive to deport people who were born in other countries has accelerated. The government openly supports the Israeli organized genocide, as well as an unprovoked war against the people of Iran. 

Masses of people protested against this consolidation in demonstrations demanding "No Kings." Some people have gone so far as to argue that today the United States is a fascist dictatorship. So, I believe it is useful to look at the historical record to determine what are the similarities and differences between Donald Trump and Adolf Hitler. 

To begin, both Hitler and Trump operate within the capitalist political-economic system. The essence of capitalism is the antagonistic relationship between the working class and the capitalists. While the working class produces everything, capitalists own the corporations where we work. Yet, the so-called news media calls this same system a "democracy."

One of the laws of capitalism is the need for the economy to continually grow. We see this in the increasing stock market prices. Yet as this market increases, tens of millions of people struggle to have enough food to eat. 

Capitalism in decline

So, we can say that both Hitler and Trump came to power during times when the capitalist economies in their countries were in periods of decline.

Germany lost the First World War. The allied powers made an agreement at the Versailles to punish Germany for the war. As a result, inflation in Germany skyrocketed. Middle class people saw their life savings disintegrate. The price of basic food items became unaffordable. 

In the United States there was an economic upturn from the end of the Second World War until the 1970's. During the beginning of this period, the United States produced about 60% of the commodities in the world.

Then, the United States needed to pay for the war against Vietnam and President Nixon took the U.S. dollar off the gold standard. Millions of manufacturing jobs either went overseas, or were automated. Today about 50% of the commodities in the world are manufactured in Asia.

So, since the 1970's millions of manufacturing jobs vanished. Those jobs were replaced with lower paying jobs. Presidential candidates argue that the rate of unemployment has gone down. Well, there are more jobs because wages and benefits have deteriorated. This happened because of the continual drive to lower production costs.

As a result, over 700 hospitsls closed, while health care costs have skyrocketed. 

Corporations did away with tens of thousands of pension plans. Now workers need to pay for their own pensions with 401K savings plans. 

Tuition at Rutgers University went from $200 in 1972 to $17,900 today. 

The prison population ballooned from about 300,000 to about 2,000,000 today. In the past, workers might earn $20 per hour at a factory job. Today inmates in prisons are paid about $2 per day and the government pays for housing prisoners in their dungeons. 

Creating scapegoats

So, in both Germany and the United States there was a justifiable rage against the deteriorating standard of living. Both Hitler and Trump created scapegoats to deflect the anger away from the real cause of the deteriorating conditions. These were the capitalists who continue to gouge out profits, even when the economy is in decline.

Hitler blamed the crisis on communists and Jews. Trump blamed the deteriorating conditions on immigrants. Recently, Trump followed Hitler's lead and falsly pointed to communists as the source of our problems.

In Germany there were Socialist and Communist Parties that combined to have the support of the majority of the population. Yet, while those parties claimed to support Marxism, they didn't take steps to lead a revolution that would have created a genuine workers government. 

So, both Hitler and Trump were elected with a minority of the voting population. Hitler came to power because of the division between the Social Democrats and the Communists. Trump initially came to power because of the undemocratic Electoral College. 

Hitler burned down the Reichstag that was the German capital. He replaced all government officials. He sent political opponents to concentration camps. After about six years, he consolidated power and began sending Jews, gays, and Gypsies to concentration camps. 

The secret to the upturn in the German economy under Hitler came from the fact that real wages plummeted by about 50%. Protesters against these conditions would be murdered or sent to concentration camps. 

Donald Trump is obsessed with issuing huge tariffs on nations all over the world. He argues that this will encourage manufacturing here. What are the facts?

Today, 50% of all manufactured commodities in the world come from Asia. Everyone knows that these industries will not return to the United States. So, the tariffs only benefit the most affluent people in this country who profit off of international competition.

Imperialism, the highest stage of capitalism

Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, the central leader of the Russian Revolution, argued that "Imperialism is the highest stage of capitalism." He documented how in the early 20th century imperialist cartels dominated economies all over the world. This drive to dominate the world was the primary reason why two world wars erupted.

Hitler understood that for the German economy to rebound, he needed to dominate nations all over Europe. Part of his economic recovery plan was about supporting massive investments in the military.

We might consider that the United States was the world's superpower since the Second World War. The U.S. dollar has been the international currency. 

The U.S. military went to war against the nations of Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq. The U.S. government ended those wars either with a defeat or lacking a decisive victory. 

Today several countries are breaking away from U.S. dominance. Yet, just as in the case of fascist Germany, capitalism in the United States is in the position of trying to maintain the dominant position in the world.

This led the Trump Administration to kidnap Venezuela's President Nicholas Maduro and his wife. Today the Trump Administration has expanded the embargo against Cuba to prohibit the island from getting the oil it needs to function.

President Trump argues that he is at war against Iran to prevent that nation from getting atomic weapons. However, Iran made extraordinary concessions to ensure that they would not develop atomic bombs. The United States rejected these efforts.

The real reasom for the war against the Iranian people is the U.S. drive to control the oil resources of the world.   

During the Battle for Stalingrad during the Second World War, Hitler's general pleaded with him to retreat, rather than face total defeat of his army. Hitler refused and demanded that his forces fight to the death. 

Today, the U.S. armed forces have been effectively defeated in its war against Iran. Yet President Trump demands that the military continue the war, and that the government give him more billions of dollars to murder more Iranians. 

As Lenin argued, these were not military mistakes in judgement. Imperialism is the highest stage of capitalism. Trump argues that the "War" budget be increased to $1.5 trillion. He makes this argument knowing that tens of millions of people in this country struggle to have enough food to eat. 

We can also say that President Biden increased funding to Israel to about $20 billion. This allowed Israel to unleash a genocide against Palestinians. This while working people here have experienced a dramatic decline in the standard of living.

Thinking about this seeming madness, I believe we can say that Presidents Obama, Biden, and Trump are in agreement with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher when she argued that "there is no other way."

There is another way

Well, I believe there is another way. However, that way requires a complete break from capitalist political-economic relations.

We all contribute to several enterprises that add no value to the goods and services we all need and want. I'm talking about profits to corporations, interest payments to banks, insurance premiums, advertising, corporate law, landlords, and the military.

Imagine for a moment, that the resources that support these enterprises were used to supply everyone with the goods and servies we all need and want. We would all have an improved standard of living, while working fewer years to provide for all the things we need.

Today, I disagree with those who argue that we live in a fascist environment. If that was the case, protest meetings and demonstrations would be prohibited. I would be arreated for writing this blog. Yet we see how the government is moving in that direction.

I don't believe that the working class will tolerate a continual world-wide depression. Yes, we are justifiably angry because of our deteriorating standard of living. This while billionaires are laughing all the way to the bank.

Working people are beginning to see that we don't have much of a future with the current system. When that system collapses, people will be looking for answers to fundamental questions. 

If working people fail to make a basic transitional change, then we will be seeing the unimaginable horrors of what fascist Germany brought to the world.