Germany -- Foreign relations; Germany -- Intellectual life; Germany -- Politics and government; World War, 1914-1918
That is why we find in Prussia the most exclusive aristocratic
government in the world. As a sop to Southern German opinion, Bismarck
was compelled to grant universal suffrage for the Reichstag, but in
the Prussian Parliament, or “Landtag,” Bismarck, the Junker of blood
and iron, retained the good old principle of aristocratic government.
Under the three-class voting system of the Landtag, one voter
constituting by himself the first class may have as much political
power as the twenty thousand electors constituting the third class.
That is also why the Prussian Junker retains by right of birth a
monopoly in the higher ranks of the Army, of the Diplomatic and Civil
Service. The Junker is born to greatness even as the princely families
of Germany have been born to a monopoly of all the thrones of Europe.
XI.
As the race theory must inevitably lead to megalomania and reaction,
so it must inevitably lead to militarism. As it is incompatible with
democracy, so it is incompatible with peace. As we pointed out at the
beginning of this analysis, if it be indeed true that there are some
races which are born to rule, it is their duty to assert their will to
power over inferior races. If “the true Teutonic type”—to use the
words of Sven Hedin—be indeed superior to the Celt, to the
Anglo-Saxon, to the Slav, and to the Latin, he is morally bound to
assert that superiority. The Teuton will not only achieve the victory,
he will deserve it. _Die Weltgeschichte ist das Weltgericht_ (World
history is world judgment). History is not a conflict between
abstractions, between truth and error, between higher and lower
principles, between conflicting ideals; it is, above all, the tragic
conflict between higher and lower races. War is necessary and war is
beneficial. War is not only the instrument, it is also the criterion,
of progress. “Might is Right” ceases to be an immoral principle.
“Might is Right” is the ultimate formula of the most sublime morality,
for Might is but the Right of the strong to establish the rule of the
noble over the ignoble elements of humanity.
CHAPTER XI
A SLUMP IN GERMAN THEOLOGY
I.
In the universal readjustment—or, to use the favourite expression of
Nietzsche, in the “transvaluation”—of political and spiritual values
which must follow the war, we may confidently expect a general slump
in all German values. There will be a slump in German education and in
German erudition, in German music and in German watering-places. There
will be a slump in that “exclusive morality” for which Lord Haldane
could not find an equivalent in the English language, and for which,
in his famous Montreal address, he could only find an equivalent in
the German word _Sittlichkeit_. But, most important of all, there will
be a lamentable slump in the most highly prized of all German
values—German theology.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account