The Weimar Republic was the peak of Western civ.

[penguinfan]

Chomsky said:

The Weimar Republic was the peak of Western civilization and was regarded as a model of democracy

www.progressive.org/wx041210.html

I'm not sure if Chomskey is losing it (or if this is a common talking point by those on the Left), but since when has the Weimar Republic been known as the *peak* of Western civilization?

Any thoughts from the history buffs?

[perplexedseeker]

Well, regarding Chomsky losing it, he did give Jerry Fodor's new book about evolution a completely uncritical endorsement...

But I seem to recall from my A-level course of interwar history that at the time Weimar was considered a bold new experiment because of it's system of proportional representation. And we all know how well that turned out.

[noons]

Also, part of teaching about the Holocaust is that Germany was considered one of the most civilized, cultured, and advanced societies in the world - but in just a few short years became the center of the greatest genocide in world history.

It's meant as a warning to everyone else.