Reader Robert asked:
But really, how would you explain Germany leaving the rest of continental Europe in the dust, so to speak?
Here is how this worked on the example of a country I know best, namely, Spain. For centuries, Spain has had an image of a not-fully-European country. There is this famous saying, “Africa begins in the Pyrenees” that has produced an enormous amount of shame and discomfort.
In the efforts finally to become fully European, Spaniards sought the entrance to the European Union. The prestige of being called “European” was so painfully desired that the country agreed to destroy its entire productive economy and allow Germans to sell their goods instead of the local goods that weren’t produced any longer. Later on, other peripheral countries did the same.
Germany is now selling admission tickets to a prestigious identity label. To buy admission to this label, one country after another destroys its productive economy and adopts the goods and services of the countries that have positioned themselves as gatekeepers to this identity label: Germany, UK, and France. France has mostly taken itself out of the running in the last decade because of its immigration policies. The UK is going in the same direction. So who’s left? Right you are, Germany.
At this very moment, Germany is trying to force Ukraine to buy the identity label and destroy its agriculture to help out German farmers.
Of course, this explanation is a little more complex than the childish blabber about “work ethic.” But this is a blog for people with brains, so let’s analyze and avoid platitudes gleaned from the NYTimes and TV shows.
Clarissa's Blog 
If Spain and Portugal would like to apply for readmission to Africa we are willing to consider it. After it was a Golden Age in Iberia when it was under African rule.
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“After it was a Golden Age in Iberia when it was under African rule.”
– Will you ever say something I can finally disagree with? It is disturbing how I always have to agree with everything you say. 🙂
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Well I typed to fast and meant “After all it was a Golden Age in Iberia when it was under African rule.” But, I am pretty sure that it is illegal for people working at US universities to agree with anything I write on my blog or a comment to another blog.
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Yes, I’m really glad I’m doing this anonymously. 😉
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I’m missing a motive here.
Why would Germany want to wreck so many economies? Evil? Stupid? Something else/
I think what the scenario you lay out has some merit, but falls short of describing Germany’s current success (and failure of almost everywhere else in Europe).
The current economic mess has a lot of factors (including the fiction that Germany and Greece (or Spain) could ever share a currency (which assumes that Germany’s and other Euro countries’ economic interests would always be pointing in the same direction.
And unfortunately Ukraine is getting more fubared by the minute, rapidly turning into Belarus II .
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“Why would Germany want to wreck so many economies?”
– Because it’s profitable to do that.
WWI = Germany goes to war (among other reasons) because it’s the only growing economy without any colonies. WWII = Germany goes to war (among other reasons) because it’s the only growing economy without any colonies.
Now a way has finally been found to access endless new markets and have them destroy all competition with their own hands without going to war.
This is neither evil nor stupid. It’s simply very profitable.
Of course, it would have been nice if Germans could figure this all out a little sooner. But. . . they are Germans. 🙂
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