Weber- Politics as a vocation

“Whosoever contracts with violent means for whatever ends--and every politician does--is exposed to its specific consequences. This holds especially for the crusader, religious and revolutionary alike. Let us confidently take the present as an example. He who wants to establish absolute justice on earth by force requires a following, a human 'machine.' He must hold out the necessary internal and external premiums, heavenly or worldly reward, to this 'machine' or else the machine will not function. Under the conditions of the modern class struggle, the internal premiums consist of the satisfying of hatred and the craving for revenge; above all, resentment and the need for pseudo-ethical self-righteousness: the opponents must be slandered and accused of heresy. The external rewards are adventure, victory, booty, power, and spoils. The leader and his success are completely dependent upon the functioning of his machine and hence not on his own motives.”   “…Whoever wants to engage in politics at all, and especially in politics as a vocation, has to realize these ethical paradoxes. He must know that he is responsible for what may become of himself under the impact of these paradoxes...”

I choose these two excerpts from the speech because they highlight how political leaders in defense of their territories are legally allowed to use violence and force perpetuated by their followers against those resistant to their beliefs and causes. The price paid is not cheap, the “human machine “tasked with carrying out this mandate have to be adequately compensated since politics is their vocation and they will not give their support without reward.  Any person interested in pursuing politics as a vocation will be faced with this ethical dilemma; as such politics is not a vocation for the faint hearted individual.

How does Weber’s early writing on technical leadership, rationalization, and bureaucracy anticipate Junger’s later writings on technology? Weber in his speech and the excerpt noted above spoke of the “following, a human machine” driven by internal cravings for revenge and satisfying hatred and resentment against their perceived enemies. These followers, or human machines also thrive on the “adventure, victory booty, power and spoils” reaped from their perpetuation of violence. These followers operate like a well oiled, specialized machine.

In his writings Junger also speaks of the growing integration of technology in life and the growth of the lumpenproletariat, a mass of alienated, homeless persons who became the well oiled killing machines utilized by the Nazis. According to Junger “The masses kill with machines, they tear apart and trample underfoot; by contrast, the lumpenproletariat is directly familiar with the joys of torture. The masses are moved morally; they unite in situations of excitement and indignation. They must be convinced that the opponent is evil and that they are prosecuting justice against this evil. The lumpenproletariat is beyond moral valuations and thus always and everywhere ready to seize the opportunity, i.e., with every disturbance of the social order regardless of origin. The lumpenproletariat therefore functions beyond the more limited space of politics; instead, one must regard the lumpenproletariat as a kind of underground army reserve that the social order keeps on alert. “

Weimar Constitution

Article 37
“No member of Reichstag or of a Landtag may, without approval by the house the person in question is member of, for the term of session, be arrested or interviewed in the investigation of an punishable activity, unless the member was caught in the act or at least the day after.
The same approval is required for any other limitation of personal liberty which might harm the member's ability to fulfil his mandate.
Any criminal procedure against a Reichstag or Landtag member, any detention or otherwise limitation of his personal liberty will be, at the house's request, suspended for the duration of the legislative period.”

           Article 37 states that members of the general parliament (Reichstag) and the members of the provincial parliament (Landtag) who were elected for a term of four years could not be investigated or arrested for any suspected criminal offences during their term of office. The only way they could be arrested or investigated was if they were caught in the act or if the house (parliament) gave approval for this to occur. This approval was also necessary in the event of any action that could restrict their personal freedom and hence prevent the member from carrying out their duties as an elected member of the parliament. For all intents and purposes they were immune from punishment for any perceived or actual wrong doing committed during their tenure of office.

I choose this article because it shows how this provision could have and most probably worked against the then government as its members of the “Reichstag” could have used this immunity to carry on covert and subversive activities which eventually resulted in its demise.

Article 155
“ The distribution and usage of real estate is supervised by the state in order to prevent abuse and in order to strive to secure healthy housing to all German families, especially those with many children. War veterans have to be given special consideration in the homestead law to be written.
Real estate, the acquisition of which is necessary to answer the demand for housing, to promote settlement and cultivation of the soil and to elevate agricultural cultivation, may be expropriated. Fideicommissa are to be abolished.
The owner of the soil is obliged to the community to cultivate and exploit the soil. Any increase in the value of the real estate which does not result from the investment of labour or capital has to be made utilizable to the community.
All mineral wealth and all economically utilizable natural energy sources are under state supervision. Private rights are to be transferred into state property by the means of legislation.”

            Article 155 states that the state supervised the distribution and use of real estate as a means of ensuring that every German family had appropriate housing, especially large families with many children and war veterans. In order to achieve this, the government when necessary expropriated real estate for the public’s welfare and the good of the community. Private owners of land had to utilize their property in ways that ensured it also benefited the community and was not solely for their personal enrichment. In certain circumstances private property with mineral wealth and natural energy sources were taken over by the state.

I choose this article because it highlights the good intentions of the German government during that period. It shows that they genuinely wanted to alleviate the hardships and suffering of the people and to ensure that no one would be homeless.

German Revolution (1918-1919)

"The cessation of the class struggle was, therefore, a deplorably one-sided affair. While capitalist oppression and exploitation, the worst enemies of the working class, remain; socialist and labour union leaders have generously delivered the working class, without a struggle, into the hands of the enemy for the duration of the war. While the ruling classes are fully armed with the property and supremacy rights, the working class, at the advice of the social democracy, has laid down its arms."

This above excerpt taken from chapter (6) of Rosa Luxemburg’s Junuis Pamphlet seeks to expose how the members of the German working class were duped into giving up their struggle and losing in one fell swoop all that they had fought hard to achieve. The working class lead by their labor unions and socialist leaders, in the name of national unity and defense of the fatherland against the advancing enemy, voted in favor of the war credits necessary for the government to wage the war. The following quote  sealed the fate of the German people; “We are now facing the irrevocable fact of war. We are threatened by the horrors of invasion. The decision, today, is not for or against war; for us there can be but one question: by what means is this war to be conducted? Much, aye everything, is at stake for our people and its future, if Russian despotism, stained with the blood of its own people, should be the victor. This danger must be averted, the civilisation and the independence of our people must be safeguarded. Therefore we will carry out what we have always promised: in the hour of danger we will not desert our fatherland. In this we feel that we stand in harmony with the International, which has always recognised the right of every people to its national independence, as we stand in agreement with

the International in emphatically denouncing every war of conquest. Actuated by these motives, we vote in favour of the war credits demanded by the Government.”  
With the above words the people’s “leaders” gave away the people’s power, giving them up without further struggle into the hands of those controlling the system they had fought so long and hard against. The people were lead to believe that this war was a fight for their freedom and their existence as a nation.With this at stake, they were held captive in the clutches of the ruling classes who continued with their oppressive and exploitative ways,in reality sacrificing nothing compared to the what the people gave up. It was truly a one sided affair because the people gave up their struggle under the false pretext of defending their freedom and homeland and instead they were re-enslaved by their own ruling class.

I choose this passage because it really struck a chord with me and shows so much similarity with today’s world political systems. Today as back then the working class people are still the ones giving up the most and being betrayed by the people whom they choose as their leaders and representatives.