Voldemort's Rise: An Economic Inevitability
Historians generally trace the rise of Hitler and the Nazis back to the Treaty of Versailles and the crippling effect this had on Germany's economy in the 1920s. In this light it's easy to see how in the Harry Potter universe the Dark Lord Voldemort has managed to seize power not once but twice in a short fifteen-year period.
I find it hard to understand how the economy of the wizarding world is held together. By magic, would be the obvious answer. But if so, it is dark magic indeed. Wizard society is already quasi-fascist with its overbearing centralized bureaucracy and horrifically arbitrary criminal justice system. Throw into the equation an unsustainable economic model barely underpinned by slave labour in the form of house elves (thanks to Simon Dillon for pointing this out) and the stage is all set for an evil dictator to step in and take over the reins.
The majority of wizards and witches work either in the Ministry of Magic or at Hogwarts, that is to say in the civil service or education sectors. The only ones in the wizarding world who engage in any economic activity at all seem to be a minority group of small retailers operating in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. Now I severely doubt that the tax revenues from this tiny middle class could support such monolithic and costly institutions as the Ministry, Hogwarts and Azkaban.
Consequently we see why the old money of the evil pure-blood aristocracy continues to exert such a powerful influence. Why, we ask, does the Ministry continually persecute scapegoats rather than punishing truly murderous villains such as the Malfoys and the Lestranges? The answer is simple -- because they can't afford to.
Griphook the Goblin has good reason to fear a Voldemort regime. His race are the Jews of the Potter universe and Voldemort is the last in the line of a once-wealthy family brought to hardship by its own indolence. All too soon the Dark Lord will blame Goblin dominance of the banking sector and hoarding of wizard assets for the economic stagnation and the insular and culturally-ignorant wizarding community will happily follow suit. It is the Goblins who will pay the price for centuries of wizarding financial mismanagement.
Next week -- why Quidditch is the most poorly thought-out sport ever devised.
I find it hard to understand how the economy of the wizarding world is held together. By magic, would be the obvious answer. But if so, it is dark magic indeed. Wizard society is already quasi-fascist with its overbearing centralized bureaucracy and horrifically arbitrary criminal justice system. Throw into the equation an unsustainable economic model barely underpinned by slave labour in the form of house elves (thanks to Simon Dillon for pointing this out) and the stage is all set for an evil dictator to step in and take over the reins.
The majority of wizards and witches work either in the Ministry of Magic or at Hogwarts, that is to say in the civil service or education sectors. The only ones in the wizarding world who engage in any economic activity at all seem to be a minority group of small retailers operating in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. Now I severely doubt that the tax revenues from this tiny middle class could support such monolithic and costly institutions as the Ministry, Hogwarts and Azkaban.
Consequently we see why the old money of the evil pure-blood aristocracy continues to exert such a powerful influence. Why, we ask, does the Ministry continually persecute scapegoats rather than punishing truly murderous villains such as the Malfoys and the Lestranges? The answer is simple -- because they can't afford to.
Griphook the Goblin has good reason to fear a Voldemort regime. His race are the Jews of the Potter universe and Voldemort is the last in the line of a once-wealthy family brought to hardship by its own indolence. All too soon the Dark Lord will blame Goblin dominance of the banking sector and hoarding of wizard assets for the economic stagnation and the insular and culturally-ignorant wizarding community will happily follow suit. It is the Goblins who will pay the price for centuries of wizarding financial mismanagement.
Next week -- why Quidditch is the most poorly thought-out sport ever devised.
posted by Charlie @ 4:12 pm
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