Austerity Is Survival, Not Necessity
III. Plenary Session Vote #3 “Austerity Is Not Necessity—It Is Survival!”
Yesterday Brüning had deliberately dragged me into the debate to refute my arguments and hammer home the necessity of austerity, only to be thoroughly trounced. It seemed he had adjusted his strategy. With the first vote scheduled for September 20, he needed to secure a majority before then.
“That is correct. Austerity may well become a noose tightening around the German people’s lives. But Germany is in no position to choose between hot rice and cold. There are only two paths left: watch Germany collapse, or choose the means to survive!”
If we reject austerity, Germany will fall… In other words, from Brüning’s perspective, the communist alternative of an “economy by the people” is synonymous with national ruin. He is not entirely wrong. Marx defined the final form of society as the “withering away of the state.” If that were achieved, the existing ruling class would be swept away and power would pass to the entire nation. To a man like Brüning, who places institutions and systems above all else, that outcome is indistinguishable from the destruction of the state itself. Yet that does not make his crude binary acceptable. In the end, he is saying the state matters more than its people.
“Germany is eternal, and democracy must remain unshakable. Even to preserve that democracy, this austerity is indispensable. Should we fail to enact it, Germany’s credit will collapse, and we will cross a point of no return. The will of the people is, of course, important. But there are times when necessity overrides it. If the present budget fails to pass and Germany falls, then the very people Germany must protect will fall with it. Without enduring the present, there can be no future. Austerity may be a poisoned chalice forced upon the German people, but if we refuse to drink, democracy will destroy itself!”
Brüning finished his appeal and set the microphone down. His logic had not improved since last time, so I raised my hand at once—only to be cut off.
“The Labor Party’s Deputy Heinz already received ample speaking time yesterday. We will give other members the opportunity to speak first.”
The refusal was swift and absolute. Fair enough, I supposed. I had done most of the talking yesterday…
“May I ask a question?”
“The Social Democratic Party’s Deputy Crispien, you have the floor.”
Arthur Crispien, the SPD veteran I had spoken with earlier, rose from his seat with the microphone. Murmurs rippled through the Social Democratic benches, but he paid them no mind.
“You stated that austerity is essential to save German democracy?”
“That is correct, Deputy.”
“On what grounds do you believe austerity will save Germany?”
“The core objective is to restore Germany’s national financial credibility, encourage foreign investment, secure a reduction in the war reparations imposed in 1919, and achieve a trade surplus through exports.”
“You are aware that your austerity measures run counter to the medical, educational, labor, and unemployment support policies we have built over the eleven years since the Empire’s constitutional reforms.”
“I am aware of that, Deputy. But as you know, Germany is not in ordinary times; we face a state of emergency.”
“Does a state of emergency permit us to starve Germans to death for the sake of national credit rather than the national economy?”
“Deputy Crispien, national credit is directly tied to the national economy. Supply creates demand. Germany currently suffers rising unemployment due to the mass withdrawal of foreign capital amid the crisis. The only way to resolve this is to restore Germany’s shattered credit, encourage private investment once more, create jobs, and revive the economy.”
Brüning had clearly come far better prepared than he had been the day before or the day before that.
“You will also recall the events of 1923, Deputy.”
“Ah… I remember them well.”
“In an attempt to pay reparations, Germany printed unlimited quantities of marks. The currency’s value plummeted without end, the economy deteriorated further, and prices remained uncontrollable until the currency reform that replaced the old mark with the Reichsmark.”
Yes, that had happened. It was precisely why the modern German government was determined to avoid, at all costs, the option of “printing money to stimulate the economy.”
“We must prevent such a situation from recurring. That is why, even if the German people’s lives grow harsher, the state cannot flood the market with currency.”
“Even when the currency’s value has risen excessively, as it has now?”
“Of course.”
Although the 1924 currency reform, the cancellation of reparations, and the Dawes Plan had turned the episode into something of a historical footnote, the memory of the immediate postwar years still made any form of government-led economic stimulus deeply suspect—especially to Brüning, who had lived through it firsthand.
“Nevertheless, I cannot support your austerity program. More precisely, I cannot support the extension of austerity to the social security systems we have established.”
“But if we cut budgets elsewhere while sparing welfare institutions, would that not constitute even more unequal treatment?”
“Welfare institutions exist for the people, Chancellor—not for anything else. They provide subsidies to those who cannot work through no fault of their own and create the means for them to sustain their livelihoods, allowing them to return to the economic stage.”
“Yet that very method may also become the instrument that kills the unemployed and the workers, Deputy Crispien. Of course, welfare expenditures ensure that every citizen receives at least a minimum allowance to survive. But if those expenditures ultimately prevent the recovery of Germany’s credit and block economic reconstruction, are they not simply plunging the people deeper into the abyss?”
Brüning’s logic contained no gaps once one accepted his premise that “austerity is indispensable.” Except, of course, for the fact that the premise itself was false.
“That is why this austerity does not demand unjust sacrifices only from the unemployed and the lower classes. As you have read, the budget bill I and my cabinet have prepared includes salary reductions for civil servants as well as cuts to medical, health, education, and unemployment relief expenditures. It aims to restore the budget and clear the debt through increased tax revenue and higher tariffs.”
“Hmm…”
Deputy Crispien hesitated in a way that struck me as odd. Why was he hesitating? During our earlier conversation he had not seemed like this at all… I could not understand why he refrained from declaring, as I would have, that ownership must pass directly to the workers rather than private capital. He could have demolished Brüning’s binary logic in a single stroke. Was he under some kind of pressure?
“I have heard you, Chancellor.”
“I ask that you give it your consideration. I would welcome a positive outcome, Deputy.”
Deputy Crispien set down the microphone and sat. Once again I raised my hand at once, and once again the chair cut me off with the same words.
“You already received sufficient speaking time yesterday, Deputy Heinz of the Labor Party. In the interest of equal speaking rights in this assembly, we will allow other members to speak first.”
“Boo! That’s too much! Give the Labor Party the floor!”
“The SPD gets to speak but the Labor Party doesn’t? Is the chair playing favorites?”
Even the Communist benches began to voice their discontent, but the chair ignored the noise from our side with perfect composure.
“No, seriously… That’s just unfair!”
“It’s fine. The chair has a point. I did almost all the talking yesterday…”
It was a fact that I had spoken more than anyone since the assembly opened two days ago. There was nothing to be done about it now.
“I have something I wish to ask.”
“Deputy von Hugenberg of the National People’s Party, you have the floor.”
A nobleman with a white beard rose from the far right end of the chamber.
“I will be direct. Why must we bow our heads to the West?”
…Even his question sounded aristocratic.
“It is not a matter of bowing our heads, Deputy. It is the only viable path to save Germany.”
“Why should Germany require foreigners to survive? Have we Germans not long proven that we can stand entirely on our own without foreign interference? I cannot fathom why we must lower ourselves before those impious English and French.”
The National People’s Party opposed austerity for reasons completely opposite to ours.
“As I have stated repeatedly, the National People’s Party’s proposals are absolutely unacceptable.”
Unlike his more conciliatory tone toward the SPD, Brüning was quite uncompromising toward the DNVP.
“Germany has already waged war—and lost. The noble cause of avenging the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to Kaiser Wilhelm, upon Serbia, as well as the goal of securing colonial hegemony over Britain, both ended in failure. We must not nurse grudges against the West or sharpen the blade of revenge. Instead, we must cooperate with the West to ensure that such a great war never occurs again and focus on restoring our international credit.”
Whether out of sheer determination not to lose on logical grounds, Brüning refused to yield even an inch to the National People’s Party.
“National glory and German order are nothing but empty promises if we sever ties with the Western capital that now controls the world economy.”
“Still, we could reduce our dependence. Our German nobles and Junkers possess the strength to rebuild the nation on their own. We have no need for austerity that sells Germany out to the West. Return to the nobility the rights that are rightfully theirs. We shall make Germany once again a great European empire second only to Britain.”
Brüning’s sigh was audible even from where I sat.
“Germany is a democratic state, Deputy von Hugenberg. The sovereign of Germany is the people, and all power derives from the people.”
“No. Germany is a monarchy before it is a democracy. The sovereign is not the people but His Majesty the Kaiser, and power is exercised in his name. Does the Chancellor mean to say that it would make no difference whether Germany is an empire or a republic?”
“What possible reason could there be for a republic to be unacceptable? You sit in a seat elected by the people’s votes, yet you speak as though nothing has changed.”
“On the contrary, rule by the people is Germany’s very tragedy. How can we entrust the ignorant masses with the power to guide Germany? Germany is ruled by His Majesty the Kaiser and the nobility. The people are merely subjects. Do not delude yourself into believing you exercise power delegated by His Majesty the Kaiser, Chancellor.”
Good grief. What a load of nonsense. Of course he had not been elected by the people. The amplified votes of wealthy nobles had gone to men like him.
“I do not oppose austerity, Chancellor. If it is the path to saving Germany, I have no reason to oppose it. But do not become overly subservient to Western power and capital. That is not what His Majesty the Kaiser would desire.”
“You need not worry on that account.”
Dealing directly with such men must be exhausting for the Chancellor, but our side paid it no mind. Their words were essentially meaningless anyway. What we had to overthrow were the capitalists who had cunningly seized control of the political sphere.
“May I also say a word, Mr. Speaker?”
A far more dangerous figure than the nobles lost in nostalgic dreams rose from the National People’s Party benches.
“Deputy Hitler of the National People’s Party, you have the floor.”