Totalitarianism, utilitarianism and the nazi economy: a discussion after Hannah Arendt

Abstract

The German economy under the nazi regime has been characterized by Arendt, in The origins of totalitarianism, as being no utilitarian as well as suffering of “wasteful incompetence”. Taking these traits in mind, this paper aims at gathering evidence on the irrationality of nazi economics from recent literature on the economic history of the period to qualify the incongruity between the politics of the Third Reich and the utilitarian principles that would rule the economic system. In doing so, the paper highlights the prevalence of the ideological dimension over the main economic decisions of the nazi regime.