Tuesday 26 November 2013

“Make me a German”

As Russell W. said in sending me this hour-long BBC doco about a British family “learning to be German” in order to discover why it is so productive, “some good insights here.” [And also from one of the “made Germans’” blogs here.]

There are many. One of the early ones comes from a visit to Nuremberg’s former rally grounds, and the German reaction to losing the War. It seems to give support to historian John David Lewis’s thesis.

Another is how the culture values productivity. Highly. Along with going home early.

How Mittelstand companies reflect those values.

How German capital if used more for investment than consumption.

The all-pervasive ethic of duty. The continuing influence of Kinder-Küche-Kirche.

Oh, and immigrants…and pretending you’re not living next door to a racist.

5 comments:

AngryTory said...

Private health insurance (compulsory for low earners).
Dole for a maximum of 12 months (only for workers employed for at least 24 months immediately prior)
Dole rate much less than Basher Bennet's supposedly reformed dole
DBP rates very much less than Basher's so-called strict rules

It really is all quite possible - and quite easily.

Angry Tory said...

Reading the interview - the last comment Most of all, we must realize that we stand for the values of freedom, the sanctity of the individual, and reason. - goes against the title of the book: "Nothing less than Victory".

Were America ever to fight Islam, the war would last about two hours. Iran, Iraq, Paikstan, Mecca, the West Bank, Syria, and probably Indonesia would simply cease to exist as viable countries. The only Muslims left would be those in Western Europe - and it would be clear that unless the Western countries purged their populations the way the US had purged the Middle East, then those countries would follow.

Ideas matter only as long as someone is alive who holds to them. Iwo Jima was not won by "coveritng" the defenders or changing their ideas - but simply by wiping them all out.

Peter Cresswell said...

@Angry Tory: I suggest you read the interview again, or the book. Your comments in your last two paragraphs indicate you haven't properly understood the thesis.

Greig McGill said...

@AngryTory - your comments disturb me deeply. If I read you correctly, you seem to be advocating mass murder as a solution to ideological differences? I hope I have that wrong. Imagine you were raised in a Muslim society, indoctrinated from birth (as many religious people all over the world are) in the beliefs of your parents, unaware that free thought or dissent is even an option. It's an alien way of thinking, I know, but it is real.

Now imagine that AngryPC has just decided that you should be wiped out, rather than argued with. No chance for you to change your mind, or leave your religion and evil ideology behind. Just be wiped out. Do you think that's reasonable? Leaving aside that it's utterly lacking in compassion, and respect for the freedoms of others, do you honestly think it's OK to "kill them before (you fear) they kill us"? Self defence is one thing, but it's up to you to show you were in physical jeopardy before you act.

Religion is just a belief. It's not founded in reality. It can and does change and die. Read Ibn Warraq's "Why I Am Not a Muslim" if you need evidence of that. If you murder someone as a solution to a perceived threat, what makes you any better than that ideology you oppose?

RW said...

The video shows a number of things of interest. Yes, zee Chermans are more productive; due to economic and cultural values that differ from the rest of the west it seems. But, I can't help but notice how dull it all seems, the cultural habit of conformity is especially yawning; and worrying, in that one can see how conserving the way of things has them paranoid of outsiders like the turks. I think England, for all it's faults, looks like a far more an interest place to live.