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Entry: Jonah Goldberg Takes on Ron Paul Link: http://www.takimag.com/site/article/jonah_goldberg_takes_on_ron_paul#11703 Post contents: Peter, The "what ifs" of history are inherently uncertain, yet they are also extremely fascinating. My guess is that your estimate of Germany's durability is too optimistic. Look at the situation in the late 30s: the Nazi elite was rapidly becoming heavily corrupt (Goering, Goebbels); a serious split was opening between the army and the SS and the economy was being strangled by a growing, ever more intrusive government bureaucracy. I doubt if the system could have survived Hitler by long. The factional quarrels among the Nazis were so intense that with his authority gone either a civil war or an economy-paralyzing gridlock in decision-making would have been very probable. What this would have led into is difficult to say. Most likely a period of stagnation and chaos followed by a new effective dictator -- i.e., something quite similar to what happened in Russia. Sent at: 2008 07 24