I have been reading most of the fundraising appeals sent out by think tanks and other organizations that promote a free economy. Almost all of these requests present the frightening scenario of a more “socialist” United States, seeking to convince donors that their organization has the best strategy to oppose the socialist road to serfdom.
The growing acceptance of socialism by young voters is indeed a problem that sooner or later will have a negative effect on the business climate of the United States and our future as a free society.
The United States, however, is not the only country where the younger generation sees socialism and other totalitarian doctrines in a more favorable light. Last month I was in Oxford at a meeting of the Vanenburg Society (the major conference of the Center for European Renewal, a group of leading conservative intellectuals). One of the subjects of discussion was a multi-country research project entitled “Totalitarianism in the Postmodern Age: A Summary of the Report on Young People’s Attitudes to Totalitarianism.” The project’s leading scholar was Rev. Piotr Mazurkiewicz, head of the Department of Political Theory and Thought at the Institute of Political Science, part of Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw.
Totalitarianism in the Postmodern Age: a summary of main findings of young people in Europe by ... [+]
The project analyzed seven European countries: Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. The results showed some commonalities but also broad differences among the youth of those countries. The postmodern age, in which very few people are “convinced about the existence and recognizability of objective truth,” create the conditions that might lead to different types of totalitarianism, according to Mazurkiewicz and his co-writers. The authors of the study speak of a new totalitarianism characterized as a “bipolar affective disorder: antipathy toward ‘the other,’ especially to those who are deemed to be guardians of the old order (even symbolically) and thus representing a threat to the process of emancipation; and also enthusiastic engagement in the activities of one’s own group who regard themselves as ‘enlightened.’”
Political correctness goes hand-in-hand with this new totalitarianism. A portion of the youth shows “a readiness to submit to the leadership of an elite” and approves of “the use of violence or other forms of repression to silence the voice and denigrate the social standing of any opposition. The tools which sustain this leadership include, among others, the use of violence, propaganda and derision. The context conducive to such policy is a state of social rootlessness and passivity, enabling the ‘atomization of the masses’ (in the sense understood by Hannah Arendt), together with actual events which radically alter social reality.”
The authors state that most studies of totalitarianism have shown intermediate institutions between the individual and the state (family, church, etc.) have acted as safeguards against totalitarianism. In the case of the seven countries examined, the report notes that the “only permanent element of rootedness–irrespective of the nationality of respondents and their financial status–remains the family, as both their support mechanism and a point of reference.” The report finds no proof that other “institutions are taking over the role of the family.”
The “progressive decomposition of the institutions of marriage and the family, occurring also in the laws surrounding them,” together with increased secularization, is leading to a situation in which young people see the state as the only connecting element in society. The seven countries analyzed, however, show differences in this regard. In Poland and Slovakia, for instance, there is much greater respect for the role of the Church than in the other countries. Austria is where the Church has lost the most authority, at least among youth; 41% of Austrian youth see religion negatively, while only 21% view it positively. In general, “respondents rarely point to anyone whom they may consider as authoritative.” Parents and teachers are the only exceptions.
The countries of eastern Europe still have the highest youth opposition to radical socialist policies. Radical socialism receives its highest support in Austria at 36%, followed by Germany at 31%. Even though communist regimes killed many more innocent victims than the Nazis, contemporary youth view communism more positively than National Socialism. The summary of the report states that although “an absolute majority in all the survey countries supported the elimination of Nazi views from public discourse (from 53% in Germany to 74% in Poland), the elimination of communist views gained more supporters than detractors only in the countries of eastern central Europe.
In Austria and Germany, those who voiced acceptance of communist views in the public arena were clearly more numerous that those who were against such a presence (31% to 29% in Austria, 35% to 29% in Germany). The survey shows that Austria and Germany are more fertile ground for the dissemination of communist ideology. So far communists have not gained much
Despite that surveys show that the Austrian youth is soft on socialism, Sebastian Kurz was again victorious in the last election
VIENNA, AUSTRIA - SEPTEMBER 29: Former Chancellor Sebastian Kurz of the Austrian People's Party ... [+]
ground in Austria and Germany, and the future is still uncertain. Unlike Marxists and Nazis of the past, current collectivist iterations do not have a manual or a textbook, a unifying ideology or dream. Some would argue that radical Islam has a manual, but given the constant sectarian battles within the faith, I doubt it will serve as an effective political manifesto.
Regarding the role of religion and the family, the survey showed major differences among the nations analyzed. In both Austria and Germany, for example, respondents answered that, when it comes to totalitarianism, religion plays a mostly negative role. The opposite is the case in Poland and Slovakia. Responses were also influenced by family composition: Those raised by a father and a mother were less tolerant of totalitarian views, be they Nazi or communist. The responses led the authors of the study to state that “it appears that we can positively verify the hypothesis that the systemic safeguards against totalitarianism lie in the bosom of the Christian religion and the family unit.”
I asked some of the young policy players in these countries about the results of the survey. Karina Walinowicz, the director of the Center for Religious Freedom at Ordo Iuris, a Polish think tank focusing on rule-of-law issues, told me: “The Church and the family in Poland and Slovakia were the only spaces where a person could feel safe and live through communism without losing their national identity.” Walinowicz pointed out that Poland and Slovakia–unlike Austria and West Germany–experienced communist oppression, which still lives in the memory of their societies. In addition to creating safe havens, the Church and the family acted as repositories and transmitters of knowledge.
Miriam Lexmann, former director of EU Regional Program Director at the International Republican Institute, has been involved in programs in several of the countries researched in the report. A Slovakia native, she is not so sure that young people in post-communist countries are less vulnerable to a rebirth of a socialist or communist regime. “The problem lies in the fact that the new totalitarianism will certainly come in new clothes, and thus the young people might not recognize its similarities with the regime they oppose.” In other words, young people across Europe are vulnerable to embracing totalitarianism without recognizing it.
Another relevant factor for Lexmann is young people in post-communist countries “are less interested in politics than their Western fellows, and their trust in democracy as a system is also lower.” When it comes to political correctness, she does not see a clear East/West divide. For her, “[T]he only clear difference that gives hope is the higher regard for family and God in the post-communist countries–a value that can unfortunately be lost very quickly under the current extreme progressive pressure.”
Despite the report’s finding that Austrian youth are more open to communism, recent elections there are bringing Sebastian Kurz back to power. He is only 33 years old and chairman of the Austrian People’s Party. If successful as chancellor of Austria, he can help change minds and hearts for freedom. Beyond politics, the Austrian Institute of Economics and Social Philosophy, a think tank founded in 2014, has been working to make free-market ideas attractive to youth. Last month the institute hosted a program for students and young professionals on the topic “Market Economy and Entrepreneurship–Their Contribution to a Free and Human Society.” Stefan Beig, general secretary of the think tank, is convinced that “in recent years the Austrian population has become massively more displeased with growing taxes and fees. The top income tax rate is 50%, and the top corporate tax rate is 25%. The overall tax burden equals 42.7% of total domestic income. There is now a widespread recognition that the state can only give its citizens what it takes away from them beforehand. Some tax relief for families was therefore decided and the present Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz announced further reductions of the income tax.”
On the topic of authority, it is understandable that major segments of Austrian youth have lost respect for religion and for the moral authority of the Church. The abuse scandals are one major reason for this, but another is the push for policies related to such causes as climate change and poverty, which have taken on a quasi-religious structure and fervor. The Church has yet to find a way to communicate its message in an attractive manner, and it is seen as being in retreat. Stefan Beig adds that while in places like Poland the Church is seen “as a social force from below that fights for human freedoms,” it is seen as part of the problem in Austria and Germany. In these countries, churches receive support through the tax system and have more money than followers.
The survey did not ask questions about economic aspects of life–such as private property, trade, taxes and regulation–and to me as an economist this seems a glaring weakness. Most totalitarian regimes, especially the socialists, have violated the human right to ownership, production and exchange. The experts involved in the project were political scientists or sociologists, so I understand their neglect. There was no economist on the team.
Though the complete report is still not available in English, the long summary and this research project is of value for those who want to understand today’s world and try to prevent a resurgence of totalitarianism and socialism.
