Germany debates capitalism... what will happen?

[VetLegion]

It filtered through the media that Germans are discussing capitalism, and that things have heated up so much that a group of German businessmen are going to meet Schroeder to get his clear stance on the issue

Well to pondering does capitalism make sense and to Germans on this board for not informing us of what is going on. If Germany is about to go commie, I think it deserves some attention.

[MrFun]

Isn't Germany already pretty much a socialist country anyway?

[chequita guevara]

No.

[Gamecube64]

Yet another reason to learn German

Wo ist da flouhoffen?

Guten tag genii!

Duetsch ist Zieben! (don't know what this means... German is awesome/cool?)

[Hueij]

Originally posted by MrFun
Isn't Germany already pretty much a socialist country anyway?

USsian I presume?

[Spiffor]

Re: Germany debates capitalism... what will happen?

Originally posted by VetLegion
Well to pondering does capitalism make sense and to Germans on this board for not informing us of what is going on. If Germany is about to go commie, I think it deserves some attention.

@ Germany to go Commie.

It seems VetLegion has really no idea of the current ideological dynamics in the EU

[MrFun]

Originally posted by Hueij

USsian I presume?

Yes, I'm an American.

[VetLegion]

It must be the DDR sleepers being accidentally triggered by something. I wonder what..

[Flubber]

Originally posted by MrFun
Isn't Germany already pretty much a socialist country anyway?

I actually prefer capitalism with a social safety net. You retain most of the advantages of capitalism while offering everyone a certain minimum standard of living.

[VetLegion]

Re: Re: Germany debates capitalism... what will happen?

Originally posted by Spiffor

@ Germany to go Commie.

It seems VetLegion has really no idea of the current ideological dynamics in the EU

Imagine representatives from IBM, GM and Coca Cola asking for a reception at the White House so that they can be assured that the president isn't leaning to communism.

I'd say it's gotten pretty serious in Germany. Who knows what happens next. Nationalisation of key industries doesn't seem far. Capital flight? It all depends what Schroeder answers when they press him

[Theben]

I seriously doubt it. I'm sure Schroeder knows what side his bread is buttered on.

More like U.S. companies are worried that Schroeder shows some slight concern about completely dismantling the German social safety net.

[VetLegion]

I really hope the revolution can wait until after the World Cup.

[Lawrence of Arabia]

as much as id hate to see it, the Christian Democrats need to take charge in germany if anything positive is going to happen. schroeder is not moving fast enough.

its obvious that this way isnt working - if it was, we wouldnt see anemic growth levels of 1.2% per year. obviously the structure of the economis is not conducive to work. therefore, you need to radically change it.

[Spiffor]

Re: Re: Re: Germany debates capitalism... what will happen?

Originally posted by VetLegion
Imagine representatives from IBM, GM and Coca Cola asking for a reception at the White House so that they can be assured that the president isn't leaning to communism.

Imagine a democrats gets in power, and a chunk of his majority opposes further reducing taxes. The debate is dramatized into a "debate on capitalism", and the businessmen use it as an opportunity to get more pork than they'd have.

Germany is very communism-hostile. For most Germans, communism was the enemy. Capitalism was the key to freedom and success. Now, it was a German-style capitalism indeed, one that relied heavily on social-democratic policies, on social responsibility of the businesses toward the workers. However, most responsibility was let to private actors.

Like in all countries which get economically raped after the end of an economic model that worked, there are some significant people who advocate going back to the old model (in Germany's case, the the "Rhenan" capitalism, instead of the "Angloo saxon" one, based on shareholders). It may sound scary abroad, because of the word soziale Marktwirtschaft ("social market economy"), but it has nothing to do with capitalism.

I could see Germmany stopping the crazy privatisations though, if the government finally became sane. Germany has a record for terrible pricatization (Deutsche Telekom, the botched attempt at privatizing Deutsche Bahn, and the economic catastrophe that followed the privatization of most of East Germany's industry)

I'd say it's gotten pretty serious in Germany. Who knows what happens next. Nationalisation of key industries doesn't seem far. Capital flight? It all depends what Schroeder answers when they press him [/QUOTE]

[Spiffor]

Originally posted by Lawrence of Arabia
as much as id hate to see it, the Christian Democrats need to take charge in germany if anything positive is going to happen. schroeder is not moving fast enough.

Yeah. They'll extend slave work to private companies, instead of restricting it to public services