Fundamentalist Economic Policy

Abstract

While Germany is widely seen as one of the world’s economic superstars, it is about to lose a great deal of its wealth. The reason is a fundamentalist economic policy which aims at rescuing the Euro, the world clime, and solving to a great deal the world refugee crisis, paying for millions of immigrants entering the country since autumn 2015. The estimates of the risks for the current generation of taxpayers amount to some 4.8 trillion Euro, nearly 60,000 Euro per head. The author concludes that a return to a Popper-style Open Society, with ethics of responsibility replacing the ethics of conviction, would lead back to a more rational policy style. Even more, it would help to restore the rule of law, thereby being an ethical value in itself. However, at the time being, German government prefers a fundamentalist approach, neglecting conflicts of interest, direct and indirect costs, and opportunity costs, i.e., brushing aside more efficient means to achieve the “ultimate values” which picture this kind of policy.