The reason for this is obvious, I guess.

Kurt Vonnegut (who’s been saying some … regrettable … stuff of late) writes about this in the prefaces to several of his novels. Germans in this nation are sort of the invisible people. Maybe it’s for the best.

Germans are depressed–not just journalists and politicians–and have been so much of the time I’ve been here, though probably are more so now. An American can’t help but notice the fatalistic streak of the German people, a certain feeling that not only are things not good and not likely to get better but that one can do little to nothing about it oneself.

Socialism makes people weak because it fosters dependency; stupid because they don’t have compete; and poor because it doesn’t create wealth. Absorbing an entire country in which two generations were made even more impoverished by Soviet Communism only makes matters worse. Their elites are undoubtedly depressed because they are smart enough to know Germany has entered a long cul de sac, but not smart enough to figure out how to secure the illusory benefits of Socialism while avoiding the obvious and unavoidable tradeoffs. Invariably things will have to get worse before they get better. We should give them our compassion more than our gloating.

(And I think many germans, if asked about balancing the ledger, would reply that opposing war and promoting international peace and goodwill *is* something on the other side of the ledger…)

Regarding how generous the germans are, saying they’re miserable because they do nothing for the world is slanderous. Whether their peacekeepers are actually all that useful is irrelevant – I don’t think the general population of any first-world country are well-informed about what their or their neighbours’ troops are doing in Afghanistan, so I don’t see that it can possibly affect their perception of generosity and their state of mind. Quoting the matter of Iraq is ridiculous – look, I’m proud of my country for the fact that we finally knocked Saddam Hussein from power, but the germans were, by and large, convinced that the Iraq war was a very bad and wrong thing. Of course they weren’t going to go along with it. From their point of view the right thing to do was lobby against it and protest in the streets; and when the war fought anyway, to contribute aid and reconstruction assistance after. And, that’s what they did. I’m not going to credit it to them as wisdom, but it should be credited to them as taking “the opportunity to do some good”, as they saw it.

Whether, as individuals, they’re prepared to “do something for somebody” – well, we can look at the amounts of private giving for that. 2004 private giving as % of GDP (for foreign causes) runs:
Norway (0.48%) > USA (0.12%) > Germany (0.08%) > Canada (0.07%) > UK (0.06%) > France (0.03%) > Sweden (0.02%) = Denmark (0.02%).
So, far more generous than their neighbours; somewhat stingier than the US; and a lot stingier than the norwegians (who, presumably, should be renowned across the world for their sunny disposition.) So, OK, maybe the norwegians have a right to talk as if the germans give nothing to the world.

(Data from here and here. Caveat: rather approximate. GDP is normalised to PPP, but which measure was, helpfully, not specified; so I normalised charitable giving to The Economist’s Big Mac scale.)

(I’d address why I don’t feel giving to internal causes is relevant but this is long-winded enough already.)

For Germans accustomed to their government’s cradle-to-grave social policies, the need to contract those policies’ many expansive provisions is a source of ongoing disappointment.

When one adds to this the massive influx of Turkish immigrants, with the resentments and fissures that creates, and disappointment that the assimilation of the East has not been as seamless or joyful as expected, you have some understanding of what’s going on in Germany right now.

(The German inability and apparent unwillingness to assimilate Turks into Germany could create situations similar to those that recently arose in France.)

I think you’re right, Jeff.

Mark Daniels

Nick:
I do not know enough about the ins and outs of what Germany accomplished or didn’t accomplish in Afghanistan. It wouldn’t surprise me though if what you are saying is true, as it would only be testament to something I do know: the German military is hopelessly out of date, out of shape, and out of money. Again, because of its history, because of the rules imposed by the WWII occupying forces, and because of many Germans’ fear of a repeat of history, any discussion about funding of the military beyond basic upkeep immediately raises eyebrows in Germany, to say the least. It’s not that they couldn’t run a better armed force, but that the majority of Germans seems to be happy with the status quo, i.e. a very limited military force with as little international combat involvement as necessary. This is the reason why the number of peacekeeping missions involving German forces far outweighs the number of combat missions.

A Russian or Ukrainian mail order bride would fix ‘em up.

I think that democratic socialism squeezes the life out of societies like a python. It gradually squeezes the freedom out of a people until they are left feeling helpless and suffocated. People trade little economic freedoms for little economic securities until decades later they discover they have no freedom left at all.

They reach a point were each individuals knows that they can make few choices on their own. Any significant change requires pulling the consent of the entire population. Knowing they cannot get such a consensus, individual feel absolutely helpless to effect their own lives.

To be happy, people need more than material security. They need the ability to control their own lives and make their own decisions. The socialist model robs them of that.

As a businessman and one whose family is highly regarded throughout the country, his opinions were very disturbing.

Ask anyone who actually owns a business: Trying to guarantee the number of hours in a workweek is like trying to capture smoke. Even if you succeed, it ain’t smoke for long.

We need to set the best example we can, with free markets and encouragement for small business. That’s the best help we can provide.

leon, I see zero evidence in these posts of Europeans “addressing” anything in a meaningful way. Rather, they speak of the malaise, depression, and feelings of hopelessness in their fading societies.

To address a problem requires action, not brooding.

Yes, economically and demographically, Socialist Europe is looking quite doomed.

Hey, I’ve got an idea, let’s emulate them.