Historical Figure: Otto Von Bismarck

By Marco Lozzi and Grazia Cecchini

Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck-Schönhausen was born in 1815 as a Prussian aristocrat of the rigid and authoritarian Junker landowning caste.

In the geographic center of northern Germany, in a poor and desolate land, the Prussians were a strong-willed population, resistant to hard fatigue, vigorous through the use of arms, and proud of their military successes. The country had a military-type organization, and its inhabitants were accustomed to strict discipline. The "nation of duty" spread to all classes. Always ready to face fatigue, severe with themselves and with others, the Prussian citizens, from first to last, felt like workers in the same factory.

Prussia was an essentially military power, with a good bureaucracy, prosperous in commerce and literature. Until he was thirty-two years old, Bismarck led a turbulent, restless, and noisy life. Tall, strong, and athletic, he then retired to the country to live as a simple gentleman. He married and sought to integrate into society, dedicating himself to politics and obtaining an appointment in the unified Landtag (Prussian parliament).

1847-48. Berlin revolution against the King.

Bismarck fought for the recognition of divine right and other prerogatives of the King. The King, Frederick William IV, rewarded him by entrusting him with important posts: he would be a member of the second Chamber of the Prussian Landtag until 1851. Endowed with a great combative temperament and cold-blooded demeanor, he was always ready to impose, with solid confidence in his own criteria, his clear and precise ideas on any issue. He prevailed over his adversaries from the first parliamentary discussions. They, even hating him, were forced to acknowledge his gifts of gruff frankness, masculine courage, and wit. From his speeches, the profile of an insolent and sarcastic person emerged, fighting against the prevailing revolutionary liberalism of the epoch. Bismarck's arrogance in expressing his views, resembling the Sexual 6, is recognized. This attitude is based on the conviction of always being on the side of reason, of being superior to others, of knowing "the truth" or how things should be done, as well as the determination to present oneself as a "coherent" person—one who does what they say and does not admit doubts or contradictions.

The sexual subtype of E6 does not tolerate ambivalence and tries to master it through confident attitudes and the non-acceptance of ambiguity, either in themselves or in others. We also recognize irony in Bismarck as a typical trait of his character: a way of expressing anger and also a feeling of superiority, contemptuous, above all, toward the weak, hypocrites, and liars.

This coherent and ideologically correct attitude is also reflected in his oratory, which he refined over time: simple, direct, frank improvisation. He did not use the art of rhetoric but rather a familiar language. From his speeches, a natural force of language arises that responds to his particular talent for clarifying things, qualifying situations, facts, and individuals with adjectives, giving the word reinforced personal value of expression—an original mark that transforms the most common speech into an inimitable work of art. He used the weapon of irony, mixed with a dash of true humor that made the most serious matters acceptable, and with a great sense of timing.

Willpower is intertwined with the practical, positive, and realistic aspects of his actions. His hardness shows the brusque side of his character, almost military, which knows no other law than that of force and the supreme interest of the State that governs.

Although the Sexual 6 is an ambivalent character—and therefore has difficulties in making decisions and taking concrete action—it is surely the most active of the E6 subtypes. However, its actions are usually motivated by a defensive and sustained reaction to an ideal turned into an ideology. In Bismarck's case, the ideology of the strong state reflects the need to adhere to a belonging group that protects him. There is also a need to be on the side of the strong and the just. We would hate to suppose that the second active instinct in

him is social, reinforcing adherence to clear social norms observed by all, even bordering on fanaticism. This also explains his aversion to liberalism, which he perceived as a dangerous freedom for the group. His principles are: indisputable faith in the Monarchy, loyal devotion to the dynasty, respect for national tradition, and a religious spirit against exotic radicalism (which comes from values closely linked to the caste tradition and a simple religious conscience). At first glance, he seems substantially antediluvian, with a knee-jerk contempt for democracy as a product of false urban life, as opposed to the healthy and simple country life.

"Freedom is a vague concept." "Freedom is a luxury that not everyone can afford."

He was an ambassador, and the ten years of diplomatic activity (until 1862) gave balance to his character. Daily contact with foreigners opened him to the world. He developed more control over himself, and his horizons broadened. He invented the so-called Realpolitik—a politics of reality whose dogma was: "Achieve the goal with the fastest, safest, and most effective means, whatever that goal may be!"

This statement implies not only the search for effective action but also the will to control the environment and people. The control of the counterphobic E6 occurs through intimidation, anticipating dangers, and constant self-control—not being inconsistent and not giving in to useless "sentimentality," as it represents a weakness.

Bismarck openly affirmed that the usefulness was the measure of everything. For him, everything that does not yield in politics is a prejudice from which one must free oneself. He considered imagination and feeling as two great enemies to fight.

He stands out as a man of strong will. An anecdote describes this character trait. The Diet of the German Confederation had sent him to Frankfurt as a representative of Prussia. In the room he had been assigned at the hotel, there was no bell, and although he had requested one, it had not been installed. One morning, there was a great disturbance in the hotel following a series of shots. Everyone ran to his room, thinking it was a tragedy. They found Bismarck there, who very calmly said that he had adopted this system for calling the waiter. Naturally, he got the bell.

He was precisely the man the King needed to carry out his work. And Bismarck needed someone to make him jump off the other side of the precipice at which he had stopped. From 1862 to 1890, without interruption, he was Prime Minister, then Chancellor, and at the same time Minister of Foreign Affairs.

It would seem that, in the King of Prussia, Bismarck found the strong authority that he recognized as worthy of his services—not to submit, but to develop an important role at his side.

The bulwarks of his thought and action are the Prussian hegemony in Germany and the formation of a state that extended to the German Empire of the Hohenzollerns. In this way, he initiated a political program that led Prussia to become a dominant state, first in the Germanic world and later, in Europe: Austria, Hungary, Italy, France…

Until the German II Reich and Versailles. In a few years, especially after 1870, he reformed everything: administration, justice, finances, and the military. Inspired by an ideology of unity and a strong state that protects its citizens, and sustained by the conviction that it is necessary to be strong to prevent destruction, Bismarck was convinced that Prussia must conquer the world. His political history is marked by external and internal wars: in the Diets, first against the revolutionaries and then against the Austrian ministers; the Danish, Austrian, and French wars; internally, supporting the Catholic Church and social democracy. In all the battles, he always managed to isolate the enemy—truly a great diplomatic skill.

In the absence of an enemy, a true statesman has to invent one.

The world is divided between friends and enemies for all the E6 subtypes. In the case of the Sexual 6, the enemy is a stimulus that feeds his strength and makes him always feel prepared against a possible attack. It is as if the enemy could help him feel more "compact" and solid. This attitude is also sustained by the base distrust that tells him that no one is really a faithful ally.

Reading his speeches, his family letters, and non-political missives reveals several notes of a little-suspected but true humanity. Attention to nature is perceived, nostalgia for country life, the pleasure of spiritual arguments, science, art, and especially poetry. Bismarck draws from the many readings of the best poets—both classical and modern—that he knew and recited by heart, whose abundant quotes he intertwined with his political speeches. But there was also a profoundly human interest in the humble, the workers, and the peasants; the sincere desire to help them, the generous effort to serve the cause of justice, truth, and peace. (That formidable force of the State that destiny would place in his hands, which Bismarck would often put at the service of war, power, and ambition.)

During the final phase of his political life, the struggle for social democracy was very present, which he developed in parallel to the government's decisions in favor of the working class and the creation of a code of social laws, summarized in the three great laws on insurance in case of illness, accident, old age, and inability to work.

The ideals of justice and equality, typical of this character, are not linked to a feeling of compassion. They are not derived from maternal affection that would not only protect the other but also offer them that comforting relationship that comforts and welcomes. The

need to help others emanates from force, from a paternal-patriarchal attitude that Bismarck assumed as a duty and for which he fought tenaciously.

The instrument to achieve the great purposes was material Force. The basis of his thought: "Force before right!" That idea, put into practice, realized the dream work faster than anyone could imagine and ended up becoming the regulating norm of German politics and, therefore, of German national thought for almost a century. Internal militarization and wars against the neighbors: the great questions are resolved with iron and blood.

Bismarck was the politician who transformed Prussia into the nucleus and engine of nascent Germany, and later into one of the most important states in Europe.

Bismarck embodies the principle of monarchical authority with the unprejudiced use of democratic instruments (universal suffrage), in constant tension and conflict with Parliament, with dictatorial and Caesarian forms regarding rigor and order. He was the most loved and most hated politician. He was neither a hero nor a scoundrel. He represented the ambiguity and ambivalence of Germany.

It gave rise to the feeling of German nationality that still persists today. While Kant, Lessing, and Goethe had proudly considered themselves citizens of the world, with Bismarck, the new concept of the nation took shape—the feeling of nationality and national consciousness. It is clear how half a century of such exaltation can lead German patriotism to the proudest and most abhorrent exaggerations, and how this fits with the German persecutory ideology, which led to the massacre of ethnic groups.

The generation after 1871 (who grew up during the government—though not under Bismarck) ended up soaking up his glory to such an extent that they judged German civilization to be superior to others and saw it as their duty to impose it on everyone. How? By force of arms, naturally! The German people, convinced that they were more intelligent, more educated, and stronger, believed they had been called by God to impose their civilization on all humanity, and that in the face of this great mission, the rights of others could be sacrificed without any qualms.

This social characteristic mirrors Bismarck's individuality: a narcissistic impulse that led him to think of himself as a special envoy, a saving hero for humanity. With that narcissism, he defended himself from the fear of being attacked, destroyed, or humiliated.

The authoritarian structure initiated by Bismarck, with its aggressive and militaristic touch, was imprinted on Germany, eventually leading the country, first, to the disaster of the First World War, and later, with the determination to recover what was lost, to the catastrophe of Nazism and World War II, with a warlord named Hitler as its guide.

Bismarck's Aphorisms:

• "The stupid learn from experience; I prefer to learn from the experience of others." • "Never believe in anything until it has been officially disproved." • "We Germans fear God and fear nothing else in the world." • "The stronger we are, the less likely war is." • "Politics is the art of the possible, the science of the relative." • "If you want to fool the world, tell the truth."