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that the German economy does not fulfill the requirements of their defini–
tion; they conclude that Germany is therefore free from the ills which
they suppose capitalism to he heir to. The first and last steps in their
argument have been especially sketchy. The empirical demonstration that
German fascism does not meet the requirements of their several definitions
ia
the part of their argument that was impressive. Burnham's evidence,
however, consists in mere assertion with a tone of scientific authority. For
example, what he has to say about the sad plight of German profits is
patently falsified by Mrs. Sweezy's computations. The most familiar form
of evidence cited is the case of individual capitalists who have been ousted
and individual party people who have become powerful. However, it now
appears that this rearrangement has been greatly exaggerated; its sig–
nificance would in any case be unclear.
A lot of business men have become politicians. And a lot of poli–
ticians have become business men. Does this have any more than bio–
graphical interest? Is it merely a change in the personnel of German
capitalism? Is there any fundamental conflict of interest between these
two groups? The people who have used this change in the relative for–
tunes of "the politicians" and "the economic men" (I use quotes because
it
is clear that the distinction is getting harder and harder to make) have
usessed its significance on the basis of an inadequately formulated theory
of the relation of politics to economics. Politics,
Fortune
magazine tells
ns, has superseded economics. Its view seems to be that the economic
laws have been suspended by political edict. (Like a veto of the law of
gravitation.) And similarly MacDonald states: "The State can solve its
economic difficulties-so far as these are caused by the workings of capi–
talist factors-by almost any means it chooses, including, if necessary, a
proclamation by the Fuhrer that the moon is made of green cheese, fol–
lowed by a decree of the Four Year Plan Authority that all hanks and
corporations must subscribe a certain percentage of their capital to finance
the Hermann Goering Cheese Works to exploit lunar food resources." I
would he interested
in
seeing an analysis of the workings of the Goering
Green Cheese Works, and of the form of society whose economic difficul–
ties are solved on this model.
In reviewing Burnham's hook, the editor of
Business Week
com–
plained that "the author never gets around to detailing how his managerial
society will work." I have a similar complaint about the writings of all
the
theorists of the New Economic Order. Though these men have been
discussing the structure of an economy, they have been extremely forbear–
ing
in the use of any economic analysis. Indeed, I am not convinced that
they have the secret of the workings of the
old
order. And this lack turns
out to he crucial, for to prove that the Nazi economy is not subject to the
recurrent crises of capitalism, these men have to link the first and last
steps of their argument. They must show that the characteristics which
they find lacking in Germany are the characteristics which bring about
