From Luther to Hitler [antikvár]

Editor's IntroductionIdeas, as well as men, may have a life that is worth telling about. Professor McGovern gives us here a unique biographical study. Through a period of four centuries he has traced the growth of certain doctrines which, according to official apologists, provide a foundation for the Fascist and Nazi regimes. Such a biography of ideas possesses great value as showing persistent continuity, in spite of all lapses and modifications ; it also makes a more dramatic appeal because of its bearing upon the political phenomena of today.The relation between philosophical doctrines and human conduct will, of course, always be debatable. Does theory determine practice, or does practice determine theory? Has some pre-existing theory been seized upon to justify a course of action and then erroneously assumed to be the reason for such action post hoc, ergo propter hoc? Whatever view we take, Doctor McGovern's contribution has great significance. It is significant, first of all, because Fascists and Nazis alike profess to have a philosophical basis for their political systems; and, secondly, because the fate of democracy elsewhere may be involved. Not long ago men spoke of democracy as permanent and as destined to encompass the whole world. Its onward march was "irresistible"; to discuss the comparative merits of other forms of government would be a waste of time; once having acquired control, the people would never relinquish it. This was the language commonly employed twenty years ago and even more recently. Then came the shock the recurrence of despotism, the establishment of the so-called dictatorships. Whether or not the explanation of this débâcle lies in the domain of theory, what Professor McGovern tells us about the Italian and German ideologies and their genetic background has wider implications. Democracy appears to be on the defensive; and, in combating the enemy, it should know something about the philosophical weapons that are being used against it.In addition to its timeliness, this book has several other claims to distinction. Professor McGovern has the gift of making obscure and recondite philosophers, like Hegel and Green, comprehensible to the layman; and his scholarly equipment will save him from the accusation of being clear at the expense of accuracy. He does not write with the pedantry that so often afflicts the academic mind when it enters the region of philosophy. His exposition is never labored or abstruse. Instead of con-