Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from The Foundations of Germany: A Documentary Account Revealing the Causes of Her Strength, Wealth, and Efficiency
Incidentally this book reveals the failings of democracy, the defects of democratic organisation and administration. It is no doubt possible to combine the advantages of demo cratic with those of autocratic government, liberty with efficiency, order, and economy. Democracy need not, and should not, be synonymous with disorganisation, instability, amateurishness, drift, muddle, waste, improvidence, and unpreparedness for war. The present war has revealed the weakness of democracy. The views of the greatest German rulers and statesmen collected in this volume may indicate the cure. The experience of the present war may cause Germany to become more democratic and may cause the anglo-saxon democracies to become better prepared and better organised. The views of Frederick the Great on the defects of democracy and of cabinet government, which are given at length on pages 28 to 34 and 88 to 42, should be particularly interesting at the present moment.
The present volume on Germany bears the sub-title A Documentary Account revealing the Causes of her Strength, Wealth, and Efiiciency.' Frederick the Great is one of the few statesmen who laid down his guiding principles and views in a number of secret State papers, political testaments, &c., for the use of his successors. Owing to the indiscretion of his worthless nephew, King Frederick William II, these were published shortly after his death. They are practically unknown to the general public. The most important of these invaluable documents will be found in the original French in Chapters XIV to XVIII. I would draw particular attention to them.
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