Germany, an economic fairy tale

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Germany, an economic fairy tale. Why it is no wonder that we got rich is a 2019 publication by business journalist and publicist Ulrike Herrmann . It was on the Spiegel bestseller list for business books.

content

In Chapter I, What Remains of the Nazi Period , the author presents the result of the war, in Chapter II the so-called economic miracle with the symbol of the D-Mark, which was actually invented by Edward A. Tenenbaum . The “miracle” did not only take place in West Germany. Erhard made a mistake by releasing the prices, the SPD had paid homage to socialism, which also damaged the economy. Chapter II is dedicated to Erhard, who is characterized as a “talented self-promoter”, “seller of white linen” and “profiteer of the Nazi regime”, so the programmatic titles of the subchapters. He had prepared reports of importance to the war effort and a memorandum on the post-war order that even interested the SS. According to the author, the alleged legend of the resistance is refuted. At the time after the war it is stated that Erhard failed not only as a professor but also as a minister, that he did not deserve the fame, and that Adenauer's dislike of him was justified.

Chapter IV tries to rectify the post-war history: The rescue of Germany came from outside, from Europe, the Marshall Plan , the European payments union and the export successes that were made possible by them. The myth of the social market economy is dealt with in Chapter V below. It was never about justice, the old pre-war elites continued to work seamlessly, the power of the big corporations continued unabated.

Crises, industry dismantling, the gold crisis and the new key currency of the dollar and the effect of the speculators determine the content of the Vl. Chapter The Crises Return, which also deals with the oil price shock and the Herstatt scandal . The Bundesbank as “state within the state” forms the core of Chapter VIII, above all its attempt to torpedo German unity and its dominance in the European monetary system, as described by Hermann.

Chapters VIII to XI depict the collapse of the GDR due to the "quirks" of the planned economy , the continued unsocial character of the new market economy, the "happiness of the rich" (Chapter IX), the financial crisis (Chapter X) and the euro crisis (Chapter XI) .

Reviews

Martin Hubert judges on Deutschlandfunk that Herrmann is undermining the legend of the economic miracle and the social market economy. Ludwig Erhard embodies "the myths like the undesirable developments of the German economic miracle": The D-Mark was introduced by the Americans, who also decided on the large number of reform plans. Erhard was also responsible for a wrong pricing policy. In contrast to the “heroic narrative”, circumstances such as food deliveries, the Marshall Plan and the European Payment Union of 1950 were responsible, as well as the fact that economic growth had already picked up before the currency reform: “Because German industrial plants were by no means completely destroyed in World War II be repaired quickly. ”In particular, the payments union forced and financially pushed by the USA contributed to the explosion of foreign trade. Added to this were the Coal and Steel Community , the European Economic Community and the increasing international demand for goods after the Korean War from 1950 to 1953. According to Herrmann, the wrong understanding of the economic miracle continues to have an impact in the interest rate policy of the Bundesbank, in the dogma of the thrifty state and in the one-sided export orientation.

Christian Rickens speaks in the Handelsblatt about Roland Tichy's fierce criticism from the Ludwig Erhard Foundation of Herrmann's portrayal of Erhard as a profiteer of the Nazi regime, in which Tichy suspects a covert attack on the social market economy. Rickens analyzes Erhard's behavior during the Nazi era and comes to the conclusion:

In fact, Erhard's role in National Socialism was ambivalent, like that of so many Germans. He apparently made up his alleged role as a Nazi victim. And in retrospect, Erhard's consulting jobs can be described as pragmatic or, less benevolently, as opportunistic. But sympathies for the Nazi ideology, a “thinking in ethnic categories” cannot be derived from it.

Richard Reichel comes to a very negative result in his review of the Ludwig-Erhard-Stiftung: One-sided selection of literature and the extensive lack of specialist sources contradict the superficial impression of scientific neutrality. With “pseudo-Keynesian” understanding, “facts would be bent and reinterpreted until the bars crack”. In the representation of the person of Erhard she follows one-sided Volker Hentschel . Overall, Reichel thinks, "Dilettantism and the 'stuck on' half-knowledge as the basis for presumptuous judgments are difficult to bear". Herrmann had achieved the achievement of "pounding recent German economic history into a far left to green worldview". Ursula Weidenfeld attributes to the author that the real motive for her criticism of Erhard's person and achievement is her assumption that ecology and economic growth are incompatible. “In order to slow down climate change and secure the future of the world, the growth doctrine must fall. A missionary is writing here. "

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Spiegel bestseller 5/2020. In: bestsellerliste.de. Retrieved January 24, 2020 .
  2. ↑ "Germany, an economic tale". In: deutschlandfunk.de. Retrieved January 20, 2020 .
  3. ↑ No prosperity for everyone? In: Ludwig Erhard Foundation. October 9, 2019, accessed January 23, 2020 .
  4. ↑ Book tip: "Germany, an economic fairy tale": Was Ludwig Erhard a profiteer of the Nazi regime? In: handelsblatt.com. Retrieved January 20, 2020 .
  5. ↑ Germany, an economic tale. In: Ludwig Erhard Foundation. October 30, 2019, accessed January 23, 2020 .
  6. ↑ Get off the pedestal, Mr. Erhard! In: Ludwig Erhard Foundation. September 30, 2019, accessed January 23, 2020 .
  7. ↑ Get off the pedestal, Mr. Erhard! In: deutschlandfunkkultur.de. Retrieved January 24, 2020 .

literature

  • Germany, an economic fairy tale. Why is it no wonder that we have become rich . Westend Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2019, ISBN 978-3-86489-263-9 .