RE: Why are people so affraid of anarchy
September 7, 2017 at 9:46 pm
(This post was last modified: September 7, 2017 at 10:02 pm by Anomalocaris.)
(September 7, 2017 at 7:52 pm)Thumpalumpacus Wrote:(September 7, 2017 at 7:30 pm)Anomalocaris Wrote: Well, he still came to power through a mechanism within the nominally democratic system, just like trump.
No, not "just like Trump". He was appointed in a state where Hindenburg appointed Chancellors using the so-called "emergency powers".
Rather than recapitulate an argument I've had in another thread, I'll simply link you to that thread; you can read up on it here.
Hitler was not placed in office by any democratic means. "Nominally democratic" is rather like "kind of pregnant."
Uh, no. "Emergency powers" were enacted after Hitler had been appointed chancellor by Hindenburg. It had nothing to do with Hitler being appointed in the first place.
Hindenburg appointed Hitler chancellor using article 48 of the Weimar constitution. Article 48 was part of the original constitutional framework that gave Weimar Republic its appearance of democracy. While it gave the president the right to issue emergency decrees, these decrees are part of the constitution's system of Checks and balances. It's own check and balance is the fact that emergency decrees issued under article 48 can be cancelled or voided by a simple majority vote in the Reichstag. Furthermore, the use of article 48 is far from Un usual. It was invoked at least 140 times during Weimar republic's 14 year existence, many during the period the period between hyperinflation of the early 20s and the depression at the end of the 1920s, when Weimar democracy is considered to have functioned most smoothly.
So Hitler certainly gained power through a basic and commonly used mechanism of the Weimar democratic framework. The democracy also had a constitutional check against this mechanism, a simple majority reichstag vote to void Hitler's appointment. It did not so act.