Is Germany building its “Fourth Reich”? They certainly have a notorious track record of choosing Self-Destruction over, say, Preservation…
Why even write about Germany? I mean the last time Germany’s politics were on my personal radar was a look at the “Third Reich” back in High School history class. Decades have passed since then but yet has German leadership really evolved much, in regard to their practice of instituting citizen freedoms et. al. through public policy? The Germans still make great beers from what I hear, at least according to Americans I know who have traveled there. I myself have never set foot in Germany, nor am I certain I ever want to at this writing. What sparked all this was the briefest of ideas, the idea of me one day relocating to Western Europe. I mean I was thinking I could do that sort of thing, maybe, as I’m pretty much less attached to any particular soil than I’ve ever been in this life. So it sounded like an idea that had wings until one begins to look into who’s running the countries that make up “Western” Europe, and really the folks who run Eastern Europe as well. I mean who among us would voluntarily live under Socialist or Communist rule? These are the only two choices I see for Western Europeans in modern times.

Socialism and Communism and isms to infinity are what defines Europe these days, they seem quite accustomed to having some Dictator or Royal Family run their country and tell them what to do as well as what not to do. And what people like me, ordinary U.S. citizens, tend to forget is that “Where Germany goes, so goes all of Europe”. That’s what’s scary because for a good while Germany has been quite enmeshed in Leftist Socialism, along with being very partial to Communist Dictator, Vladimir Putin’s, energy supplies? After all Germans don’t care where they get stuff, they’ll trade with killers just to get what they need, they don’t care about morals or ethics, or making sacrifices to do the right thing. The German government appears still void of scruples since the end of WWII. Either way, they appear quite gullible from a 50,000 ft. level. It might be related to the fact that they never needed to pay for their errors in judgement, and the United States made sure of it!

People like me that witnessed the Berlin Wall come down in 1989 (?) were convinced that East Berliners would be so consumed with the niceties of capitalism and personal freedoms, that they would fall in love with the West. Then West Berliners could show them how to live and none of the old Soviet style Communism would ever survive in a new re-united Germany, right? [Or so we all thought]. Sorry to say that I don’t think that happened. East Germany spent decades under the Communist Soviet bloc and seems to have imparted their own influences on a united Germany. The combined country has been run by Leftist Socialists like Angela Merkel for many years. The Germans are a very industrious people, and always have been, not lazy like the Italians but they are also easily influenced by progressive politics. Therefore, I do not see Germans as good stewards of their own, or their country. What I see instead is a country that was coddled for too long – protected from enemies by the United States after WWII. Basically over-protected, where they should have been allowed to fail and forced to pick up their own pieces, but were never given that opportunity. So while their political ideas impose a governor on their growth, Germans are industrious and innovative which seems to be the thing that’s been holding the ship together.

In the future will we have to rescue Germany [and France and Italy] again? God, I hope not! But I’d never say never…
Unfortunately, for most countries of Western Europe today I do not see a return to anything approaching pro-business conservatism [de-regulation] until such a time that a catalyst comes along large enough to destroy their progressive design for big government overreach [including Climate Change initiatives]. These Socialist movements are all characterized by high taxes, over-regulation and economies that continuously perform below potential. Socialism is basically a train wreck for capitalists and their markets. And Socialist Progressive movements create the same results all over, it matters not which country one is talking about, its affects on economies and people are the same, devastating.