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To: Soliton
I am very familiar with Plato's Republic, having studied it at university.

Now please provide specific evidence that Hitler was inspired directly by Plato--or had even read the Republic. The circumstantial stuff you provided to this point proves absolutely nothing except there were some points of affinity between Socrates's political theory and what was actually implemented by the Nazis.

BTW, the Soviets adopted some of Plato's tenets as well--rule by enlightened "philosopher kings" (the politboro), collective raising of children, etc. But few people would argue that Plato was at the core of their ideology and not Marx.
317 posted on 06/24/2008 6:52:13 AM PDT by Antoninus (Every second spent bashing McCain is time that could be spent helping Conservatives downticket.)
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To: Antoninus

The point I was making, and stated explicitly was that Hitler’s actions were designed to create a master race within the human species (after Plato) and not a new species (after Darwin).

I will not look through all of Hitler’s writings to see if he cites Plato directly. I have said that he never cites Darwin as an influence, but he does reference christianity. I do not believe I have ever said he cited Plato.

From Mein Kampf:

“We all feel that in the distant future many may be faced with problems which can be solved only by a superior race of human beings, a race destined to become master of all the other peoples and which will have at its disposal the means and resources of the whole world.”

“What makes a people or, to be more correct, a race, is not language but blood.”

“All these opinions have this common feature and failing: that they are not grounded in a recognition of the profound truth that the capacity for creating cultural values is essentially based on the racial element and that, in accordance with this fact, the paramount purpose of the State is to preserve and improve the race; for this is an indispensable condition of all progress in human civilization.”

“Thus the indispensable prerequisite for the existence of a superior quality of human beings is not the State but the race, which is alone capable of producing that higher human quality.”

“The constructive principle of Aryan humanity is thus displaced by the destructive principle of the Jews, They become the ‘ferment of decomposition’ among nations and races and, in a broad sense, the wreckers of human civilization”

Again, Hitler’s eugenics programs, including the haulocaust and the Lebensborn programs, followed Plato’s methods for creating a superior race within our species. Darwin was concerned with the evolution of one species into another. Therefore Darwin could not have been a source for these programs.


318 posted on 06/24/2008 8:28:41 AM PDT by Soliton (Investigate, study, learn, then express an opinion)
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