30 Years of German Reunification – Austrian Economics Monthly – Competere/Pietro Paganini
I hosted the Austrian Economics Monthly, the webinar – seminar that the Austrian Economics Center organises with Competere.eu on key issues for Western liberal democracies. Check out the competere’s website here >>>
Watch the webinar again here >>>
30 Years of German Reunification
In 1989 the Berlin Wall fell opening the road the German reunification, the process in 1990 in which East Germany became part of the West Germany, and the Germans became one nation. The end of the unification process is officially referred to as German unity, celebrated each year on 3rd of October.
How did united Germany transform itself from “the sick man of Europe” to an “economic leader” in less than a decade, while also having to deal with the process of reunification? Some evidences show that market capitalism developed in West Germany after the second world war, together with labor protection and a moderate welfare state, has been a key factor and the prove that full socialist models are destined to fail.
Despite this, German reunification has not been easy. It has not come free, and it is not without its challenges. But seeing the issues happening before the walls came down is important to see what lies ahead.
WATCH AGAIN THE AUSTRIAN ECONOMICS MONTHLY SERIES: ARE LIBERAL DEMOCRACIES IN CRISIS >>>
The webinar was attended by distinguished experts and chaired by me:
Matthew Edwards is a Director at ViennEast Consulting GmbH. He studied history at the University of York and international security at King’s College, London.
Michael Jäger is the Secretary General of the European Taxpayers’ movement Taxpayers Association of Europe (TAE) since 1996
Gunther Schnabl is Professor of Economic Policy at the University of Leipzig.
Clemens Schneider is Director and Co-Founder of Prometheus – Das Freiheitsinstitut. He studied Catholic Theology in Bonn and Munich. He frequently gives lectures and publishes in major German newspapers like FAZ, Die Welt, and taz.
