Click on the link or the title for a post at David's Mediankritik that highlights the divisions that still exist in Germany, as evidenced by the political demographics of Sunday's parliamentary elections. The post includes a map similar to the red state/blue state maps seen after U.S elections, as well as, a map representing a national breakdown of the unemployment fears, by region.
What we see is a political philosophy broken down by region, in the mold of what was once East and West Germany, during Cold War. Both regions had years of re-education after WWII and modeled their systems after those that rebuilt them.
The West built a vibrant economy that was once the envy of Western Europe. They took many of the principles already engrained into the German economic community and built upon them, encouraged by the U.S, Britain, and others in the NATO community. In the East, the Soviets deconstructed everything possible (both the good and the bad) to create a socialist state that would have the masses as completely dependent on the state, as possible.
Both sides have had a whole generation to teach, learn, and adopt (as their own) the attitudes that are still prevalent in each region, today. Old habits and ways die hard. The majority of European economies that are struggling right now are those from the former Warsaw Pact nations, yet many of the people in these countries are convinced that going back to the old way of doing business, is preferable to the model that was created by the former West Germany.
In other words, the East is dragging down the West. The reason? Socialism facilitates laziness. The areas that were once ruled by socialists are still suffering from a lack of initiative and a poor work ethic. Look at the map of the unemployment fears, if you are skeptical.
This problem should come as no surprise, as it has been recognized and written about in the past.
The Wall came down in 1990 and as early as 1993 experts like Peter Neckermann, the then vice president and chief economist for Nationwide Insurance Companies, wrote about some of the woes of re-unification in an analysis piece entitled, Germany's Reunification Woes.
On October 3, 1990, East and West Germany celebrated unification. The celebration was rather subdued, perhaps in anticipation of the difficulties that lay ahead--difficulties that have proved far worse than anyone could have imagined.
It's been 12 years since that piece was penned. How did it progress from there? In 1999, CNN ran a story entitled, Germans now divided by 'the wall in the head'.
Berlin (CNN) -- Physical remnants of the Berlin Wall are hard to find --- it has been mostly dismantled during the past decade. But the mentalities that created the wall and kept it up for nearly three decades have been slower to change.
Today, the elections of Sunday have taught us that things aren't progressing, as expected. Six years have past since this article was published and one cannot refute that there has been no real measurable progress to date, and that there may not be any real measurable progress anytime soon.
Why do we care?
Mustang at Social Sense has posted a piece entitled, The Socialist Road. In it, he illustrates why we should care and why we should not be surprised at the responses we see and what many people expect out of government. What we see in the aftermath of Katrina is not much different than what the former East Germany expected for years, and what they would still expect today, if for some reason a calamity like this were to befall them.
Look, the West took out extensive loans to rebuild the East. The West was convinced that the East should not be required to bear any real responsibility or incur any cost of the rebuilding process. So in essence, they got more handouts in place of the opportunity to contribute and have a stake in the process. So is it any wonder that East Germans are still dependent?
In the case of Katrina the federal government is giving handouts to displaced people and plans to spend about $200 billion on rebuilding the gulf coast. Most of the people affected that will receive money will use it wisely and will be back, working hard and will return as strong as ever. But a sizeable portion will, no doubt, take the handouts offered and be in the same shape they were before the hurricane. Just like the shape the East Germans were in before reunification, and like they are today, fifteen years after.
This is why I say, socialism fails people. It always has and it always will. You can dress it up however you want, the facts speak for themselves.
8 comments:
Speak with any West German and you get a sense of anger and frustration, not only about the lost jobs and depressed wages experienced when East Germany was reunified, but also about the socialist attitude ingrained in many east-Germans. Gone was the work ethic that resulted in West Germany’s rise to an economic superpower. And then, of course, add to this the infusion of people from the Middle East who streamed into Germany to compete with East Germans for low wage jobs. It is common to hear many Germans complain about the lack of economic opportunities, and many college-educated people are moving to other countries — but opportunities are drying up all across Europe.
Select any Western European country today, and you find that people have come to rely upon the government for every aspect of modern day living. In exchange, they are taking home only about 40% of their earned income, the balance going to support an increasingly large tax base that will support a utopian society. Europeans from Russia to Italy, from Belgium to Croatia will tell you that they prefer a nation where you can live comfortably and not have any individual civic responsibility. This attitude baffles me.
If you stop and think about it, the socialist attitude helps to explains why Middle Eastern immigrants are overwhelming European countries; governments want the incursion of more workers to pay for social programs, while citizens stand back and watch because “it isn’t any of their concern.” Meanwhile, birth rates are dropping dramatically among native Europeans, and increasing rapidly among immigrant populations. By the year 2050, 30% of France’s population will be of Middle Eastern origin. So then, beyond giving up their work ethic, their sense of self-determination, European socialists are also giving up their birthright.
We are living in interesting times. Good post, LA . . . continue the march!
Thanks Mustang.
The SPD (Schroeder's socialist party) was such a minority when I lived there. But that was a quarter century ago.
but I thought it was a "workers paradise"?
I just dont understand how so many cant get past the logic failure of socialism. If you make everything equal, and remove all motivations (personal motiviations that is) from a job... no one will keep trying harder.
The only reason Russia did anything of note under socialism is becuase they held a gun to the workers heads.
This is an important lesson. Character, for an individual, and culture, for a people, change very slowly. This is something Aristotle emphasized in his Ethics. Character isn’t the result of assenting to a syllogism. It is cultivated over an extended period with practice and thought. The East Germans still haven’t gotten it down. Self-reliance, independent thought, individual initiative – one must dedicate oneself to creating such a character.
Socialism undercuts the need to cultivate character. And in the end the vaulted security it is supposed to offer isn't worthy of person seeking to live a life with dignity.
Good article and good points by Mustang. I've been meaning to write about culture and character over on my "liberty and culture" blog. It's named that way for a purpose.
Socialist attitude in former East Germany..... Are things so bad in "New Europe"? Most of the countries in Eastern and Central Europe are ex-communists. Unlike former East Germany, they have no patrons. As an independent state, they need to manage everything by themselves.
Even though, socialist mentality may still remain in this region. This is an interesting topic. NATO and EU expansion is critically important to the global security. Also, Eastern Europe has a great potential, as a market and a source of labor. The problem mentioned in this article is beyond Germany but whole Europe.
Here's my theory (noting that this will get me into trouble with those who disagree):
Europe (generally) is a socialist mess because those Europeans who valued hard work, had a strong work ethic, a spirit of individuality, a sense of greatness, who desired to realize their dreams no matter how vaulted they might have been, and those who refused to knuckle under to governmental domination, all migrated to the Americas. They became Americans. They tamed the west, they fought in two world wars and saved Europe from despots. They invented new technologies, made trips into outer space, saved lives through medical innovation, and developed post-industrial economies. These people made America a clear "winner."
What was left behind in Europe were those people who . . . well, became socialists. They wanted something for nothing; they think that there is nothing worth putting oneself at great personal risk, and they are content to "let someone else do it." As a result, Europe has become a land of losers. Since Europeans value nothing, nothing has value.
LA, I have a "Quiz" on my site you have got to check out.
Thanks for sharing David's Mediankritik link. It's a very interesting story and the charts were great.
Post a Comment