Althouse: "The German economy, once known for its efficiency, orderliness and stability, is in a terrible mess."

June 1, 2026

"The German economy, once known for its efficiency, orderliness and stability, is in a terrible mess."

"It’s not just that the numbers are dire.... No, the worst of it is that our dynamic economy gave postwar Germany a sense of identity. For all our flaws, we had a country that functioned better than others...."

I'm reading "Germany Has Lost What It Did Best," a guest essay by Konstantin Richter, in the NYT.

51 comments:

RideSpaceMountain said...: "Terrible mess". They spelled suicide wrong.; 6/1/26, 8:16 AM
gilbar said...: so, to review..
Germany.. FUCKED
in fact, All of Europe.. FUCKED
China.. FUCKED

the world is basically.. FUCKED; 6/1/26, 8:17 AM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: Gee, "unplug all the nuke plants and hope for more wind" really wasn't the huge boost the green (reds) thought it was going to be. Too bad Germans forgot about physics and logic. Sad! But worst than that was going all-in on Claus Schwab's plan to replace the electorate with a new one, one more likely to vote for socialism.

Any country still sending this signal is going to kill itself with immigration: "Send us your welfare cases that hate civilization and let our citizens feed and clothe and house them for you."; 6/1/26, 8:17 AM
Kirk Parker said...: Replace the electorate with a new one? They really are immivaders, aren't they?; 6/1/26, 8:24 AM
Michael said...: Germans really fucked up by not stopping Biden from blowing up Nordstream and thus cutting themselves off from cheap energy. Successful economies thrive on inexpensive sources of power. Americans are now rediscovering this fact as electric rates skyrocket as demand is outstripping supply, the result of our 40 year moratorium on new nuclear plants.; 6/1/26, 8:34 AM
Enigma said...: This is the consequence of putting the utopian pacifist, green, nuclear-freeze teens of the 1970s and 1980s in power. It's half a stubborn overreaction to Germany's WW1 and WW2 militancy, and half the product of regression to the mean over a few generations. See the logic of Nena's "99 Luftballoons."

The importation of low-income non-German servants to support the European retirees...easy times make for soft people... A few decades ago, the Germans routinely lectured the USA on its economic and other failings during every G7 event. Pride goes before destruction.; 6/1/26, 8:36 AM
narciso said...: Its dead joachim; 6/1/26, 8:37 AM
narciso said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 6/1/26, 8:37 AM
Jaq said...: Who would have thought that blowing up Germany’s source of cheap energy would harm their industry? Nuclear does not provide chemical feedstocks, BTW.

Who would have guessed that through jiggery pokerey, the globalists could install a former blackrock executive, and he would begin financializing their economy and getting money from borrowing instead of making stuff, like the US has done.; 6/1/26, 8:37 AM
Dave Begley said...: German electricity is 3x to 5x the US average. That’s because Germany has gone Green. Industrial companies are leaving Germany. Add in their expensive social benefits for immigrants and you have a recipe for economic disaster.

The Germans did it to themselves. No sympathy from me. Germany is the perfect example of what not to do and what will happen to the US if the Dems were fully in charge here.; 6/1/26, 8:41 AM
Jaq said...: It’s ironic that the Green Party is probably the most pro-war in Germany. Shades of Moonraker.; 6/1/26, 8:41 AM
Wince said...: Seems likely there will be an eventual shift to the right. How hard and how right?; 6/1/26, 8:41 AM
Jaq said...: Germany did not blow up Nordstream.; 6/1/26, 8:42 AM
Dude1394 said...: Anyone falling for net zero is committing suicide.; 6/1/26, 8:43 AM
Wasn’t me said...: Angela Merkel should thank god there was a previous German leader who sported a silly mustache or she would go down in history as the worst thing to ever happen to the country; 6/1/26, 8:43 AM
Original Mike said...: What? Kaka Rich's exemplary economic model is crumbling?; 6/1/26, 8:44 AM
Jamie said...: The piece struck me as incoherent, somehow. Or maybe just didn't pass the sniff test. The author says that Germany economic woes stem from "detached" foreign investment, insufficient technical education or students willing to study technical things, and... other stuff? And his correctives are more governmental support (which I read as subsidies) for domestic enterprises, a renewed focus on (including financing of) technical university-level education, and an acknowledgement that the workforce is going to have to work longer hours and years to pay for the social welfare system. So, more tax money, everywhere, with no plan for how actually to garner those taxes from a tax base that's already stretched.

Nowhere is there any mention of high energy costs. In fact, he specifically calls out the fact that automakers sold lots of cars in Asia but didn't invest in "much-needed" manufacturing shifts to all-electric vehicles. Running on what, I wonder? No mention, either, of importing lots of low-skilled, assimilation-resistant immigrants.

It kind of reminds me of the DNC's "autopsy," acknowledging that Mistakes Were Made, but getting both the mistakes and the solutions wrong, seemingly on purpose to avoid rocking any boats.; 6/1/26, 8:46 AM
narciso said...: The parrot is still pining; 6/1/26, 8:50 AM
n.n said...: The novel green - as in naive - deal.; 6/1/26, 8:55 AM
gilbar said...: Enigma said...
"..Pride goes before destruction.."

well; it IS Pride Month, after all.. SO; The World is FUCKED!; 6/1/26, 8:57 AM
Original Mike said...: "Nowhere is there any mention of high energy costs."

Denial ain't just a river in Egypt.

Blowing up the nuclear plant cooling towers was particularly heinous.; 6/1/26, 8:59 AM
Indefinitely Extended Excursion™️ along with $1.8bn of Kleptocracy said...: What Germany needs in my opinion:
1. more centralization and consolidation —> anyone that has dealt with municipalities, Stadtwerke, Sparkassen and other local institutions. Germany is not that big and can do with more centralization.
2. faster permitting laws —> this takes forever for anyone that has gone through it. And your draw of luck as it is different at each and every level. God forbid you run into a field hamster…
3. less taxes on labor, more on inheritance and capital
4. a domestically focussed 401k with tax advantages (for invest EU schemes) —> investment in stock markets is still one of the lowest.
5. less export dependency, more domestic consumption
6. radical digitalization —> they still use fax here…
7. social security reforms tied to immigration reforms —> you only get welfare after [x] years of contribution
8. actual investment into infrastructure —> fiber, roads, 5G coverage, trains. Plenty of opportunities.
9. saying goodbye to the “schwarze” Null… yes, you leave no debts to the next generation, but also a country in shambles so what’s the point?
10. A pragmatic approach to energy —> Don’t see renewables as an ideological tool, but as a pragmatic one. Energy independence through renewables combined with gas/nuclear for base load.; 6/1/26, 9:09 AM
William said...: As someone noted, the German are always trying to purify things. They tried to purify their religion with Luther, their reason with Kant, their race with Hitler, and now their environment with the Green Movement. They results so far are mixed: some results were catastrophic, but other efforts just met with disaster.......Many people think that Hitler was the most disastrous leader in Germany's history. I would argue that that title belongs to Martin Luther. Luther's teachings led to the Peasant Revolt and later the Thirty Years War. The Thirty Years War left large parts of Germany depopulated for generations. He meant well though. In many ways, he's a much more sympathetic figure than Hitler. Many of these Green Politicians are even more sympathic.; 6/1/26, 9:15 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: "Germany Has Lost What It Did Best..."

But they've imported a lot of people who hate Jews. They'll get their magic back.

I am Laslo.; 6/1/26, 9:17 AM
Original Mike said...: "5. less export dependency, more domestic consumption"

You touted their export economy as their genius.; 6/1/26, 9:18 AM
RCOCEAN II said...: The German Leadership has destroyed the country. First by getting rid of nuclear power plants for no good reason, then going to defacto war against Russia. When the LNG pipeline was destroyed, they seemed to be happy about it. No they're paying up the wazoo for Non-Russian LNG.

At the same time, they've decided to increase military spending and give massive aid to Ukraine. The whole result has been a disaster for German Manufacturing and therefore the rest of the economy. AFD has increased support, and if elected, would try to bring back some sanity. But good luck with that! The Dumbo German voters, like the USA ones, would rather vote for the same old same old and complain then vote for real change.; 6/1/26, 9:19 AM
RCOCEAN II said...: The sensible German policy would be to reestablish friendship with Russia, repair the Norstream pipeline, and start building nuclear plants.; 6/1/26, 9:21 AM
RCOCEAN II said...: They also need to get their birthrate up, and stop immigration. But that applies to almost all of Europe.; 6/1/26, 9:23 AM
Original Mike said...: "Energy independence through renewables combined with gas/nuclear for base load."

They blew up their cooling towers specifically so they can't backslide. They're riding this puppy into the ground.; 6/1/26, 9:24 AM
chuck said...: The Famous Exchange That Launched the German Economic Miracle

In June 1948, Ludwig Erhard unilaterally abolished price controls and rationing in West Germany — a bold move made on a Sunday when Allied authorities couldn’t easily intervene.
The next day, U.S. General Lucius D. Clay summoned him and said:
“Herr Erhard, my advisers tell me you’re making a terrible mistake.”
Erhard calmly replied:
“Don’t listen to them, General. My advisers tell me the same thing.”; 6/1/26, 9:30 AM
Original Mike said...: Rich has held out two economies worthy of emulation. Given how Germany has crashed and burned, China has reason to be nervous.; 6/1/26, 9:30 AM
Josephbleau said...: The Kaiser and Hitler destroyed Germany first, the Merkel destroyed it a second time. Natural resources are there to let you get started on development, you need to use them to leverage the next stage of using other resources. Flint and obsidian gives way to bronze and steel, wood gives way to coal, oil and gas and nuclear, but it’s not automatic. The children must grow up to be conscientious scientific people, not just dreamers.

A society can’t get so philosophically advanced that all the kids want to have trust funds and be something in the media. It needs people willing to suffer through physical creation.; 6/1/26, 9:44 AM
Dude1394 said...: I really wish Trump would completely wash out hands of Ukraine/russia and remove all sanctions against Russia. They should be our allies.; 6/1/26, 9:50 AM
Dude1394 said...: The recent speech by scott bessent on the value of making things was presidential inspirational. Germany/europe/USA would be wise to listen.; 6/1/26, 9:52 AM
Hey Skipper said...: Dave Begley said...
German electricity is 3x to 5x the US average.

It is worse than that. Strip off US states following the same suicidal energy policies as Germany — California, New York, et al — and the US average comes way down.

CA electricity is three times the cost of Idaho. That means Germany's electricity is 9 to 15 times as expensive as it is here.

There are 14 states with energy costs within one cent per KWH of Idaho's.; 6/1/26, 9:56 AM
Enigma said...: Post-WW2 W. Germany engaged in a rigid political centrism to shut down both their left and right wing factions. This is when they rebuilt and adapted war technology for an export economy. Also see Japan's post-WW2 economic model. E. Germany focused on being the best controlling Communists possible (e.g., see The Lives of Others, 2006).

By the 1980s the western left was extremely unhappy with being shut down by the center/right industrialists (the left were pacifists, green, anti-nuke). The dynamics then changed with E. German reunification during the 1990s - nominally right-wing anti-immigration AfD dominates in the East today.

Angela Merkel got the shakes during public events in 2019. Last of the old-time forceful centrists...leaking out her true beliefs about the dying economic model? They now can't decide between shifting to the left (immigration; no nukes) and old-time right (no immigration)?; 6/1/26, 9:59 AM
Narr said...: Nobody does Idealism better than the Krauts. Poor Krauts.; 6/1/26, 10:04 AM
Leland said...: I see you cut off your nose…; 6/1/26, 10:06 AM
Joe Bar said...: When we left Germany in 1995, you could already see signs of the decline. The Germans just weren't working as hard as their neighbors in the newly opened East. There was lots of apathy and disinterest in the future.; 6/1/26, 10:14 AM
Achilles said...: Indefinitely Extended Excursion™️ along with $1.8bn of Kleptocracy said...
What Germany needs in my opinion:
1. more centralization and consolidation —>

I am shocked that someone who supports censorship and jailing political opponents and to have the largest corporations in the world ally with the US federal government to persecute his political opponents wants Germany to have more centralization and consolidation.

This blog is really entertaining today.

LOL!; 6/1/26, 10:18 AM
Temujin said...: German leaders killed their own economy to feel better about themselves, in a leftist sort of way. Net Zero was an idea one would sell if it wanted to sabotage a Western nation. It was sold to German leaders. As was open borders. And no one did this more than Angela Merkel.
One other key point. The Muslim population in Germany today is approaching 7% of the population. Why do I point that out? Well...besides the upswing in rapes and knifings, there is a key mindset in the Muslim community: From Dan Burmawi: A Muslim population does not accept the permanent sovereignty of a non-Muslim one, and will reach for whatever grievance the era makes available to dissolve it. This works in stages. At the current levels in Germany, between 5%-10% of the population, Muslim populations transition from integration to parallelism. No-go zones begin to form. Police avoid intervention. Sharia enforcement takes hold. And much more.

So they've got that working for them now. It only gets worse as their share of the population grows.; 6/1/26, 10:29 AM
Achilles said...: Temujin said...
German leaders killed their own economy to feel better about themselves, in a leftist sort of way. Net Zero was an idea one would sell if it wanted to sabotage a Western nation.

The if you change your model to German leadership hating the people that live in their country and they are trying to destroy it it fits better than your charitable version.; 6/1/26, 10:33 AM
Aggie said...: I think it's remarkable that the essayist treats the state of the German economy as some kind of accidental loss, as a 'whoops' moment. Especially given all of the steps necessary to so thoroughly demolish the economic engine, not only that, but to make it impossible to recover quickly.

It's more a case of 'mission accomplished'. Now energy is too expensive to allow any profitable manufacturing by heavy and mid-size industry, and too expensive for the average wage earner to enjoy a fully-sustaining lifestyle, and they're competing for resources with third worlders that have won the lottery - at the citizen's expense. Germany will take at least a decade to recover.

The really stark picture is that this essayist doesn't grasp the outcome of an intentional strategy. Whoops, we lost our economy somewhere, how unfortunate. The sad thing is that those who are responsible for this murder will walk free, maybe walk free and richer at the end of it. Without consequences, without outrage at what has been done, there can be no meaningful course correction.

What an outcome. Remember the 'Peace Dividend'? Well, this is a disaster that will pay negative dividends for years and years to come.; 6/1/26, 10:39 AM
CJinPA said...: the worst of it is that our dynamic economy gave postwar Germany a sense of identity.

Stats from Grok:
Germany's population went from around 7% foreigners (mostly European/Mediterranean/Turkish guest workers) and near-homogeneity in 1980, to 20%+ foreign-born and 25–31% with migration background, reflecting decades of net immigration from a wider range of European, Middle Eastern, African, and Asian sources. This has made it one of Europe’s more diverse large countries.

Up to 40% of residents in Frankfurt and Berlin have a migration background.

Economies don't give a nation its identity.; 6/1/26, 11:19 AM
Tina Trent said...: Importing vile young male rapist immigrants. No Octoberfest for you!; 6/1/26, 12:02 PM
Original Mike said...: German homosexuals have quickly turned against mass immigration and now overwhelmingly vote for the AfD party.

Not surprising, really. Though I bet the leftists are bewildered.; 6/1/26, 12:12 PM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: True. Net zero is was and always will be a lie. It is an unachievable state not seen in nature or even a laboratory. Without carbon, there is no LIFE.

See the Greens are not simply dumb anti-capitalist, anti-civilization, and anti-logic. They are fundamentally anti-Life.; 6/1/26, 12:29 PM
Marcus Bressler said...: Scheiße!!; 6/1/26, 12:30 PM
Jersey Fled said...: “ Automakers, for instance, sold millions of cars in East Asia but failed to invest in a much-needed transformation to electric vehicles.”

They still don’t get it, do they.; 6/1/26, 12:36 PM
Jersey Fled said...: The last paragraph is a gem. What the author finally prescribes is a return to … wishful thinking.; 6/1/26, 12:57 PM
Narr said...: Cherman unicorn farts are ze best unicorn farts in ze worlt!; 6/1/26, 1:00 PM