this post was submitted on 15 Jun 2023
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A lot of the predictions the article makes are now coming true.
What predictions? They're making predictions about the next year... in 1999, and not many specific ones either, just saying prospects are bleak. I don't see any predictions about the 2020s.
In fact, German GDP has nearly tripled since this was written. The only months of no growth were during 2008 and COVID and Germany outperformed all its neighbors. They didn't predict any of the conditions for either of those crises.
They discuss the trends, and it's true that Germany managed to show continuous growth, in large part thanks to Chinese market. We'll see whether this trend continues now.
You need to be more specific. Can you copy and paste one?
sure
First, it observes that Germany has limited options to economic problems. The options are to either raise rates or allow inflation to grow. The fact that both options are problematic is why Germany has entered a recession this year:
Another point is regarding the orientation German markets. In particular, German economy is heavily dependent on China right now. While Chinese economy is doing well, there is now a push to decouple from it which will further hurt German economy:
Another problem the article identifies is the high labour cost in Germany, and this is particularly relevant since Germany is competing with China in the manufacturing sector right now:
These are just a few examples that you evidently missed while reading the article.
High standards need high costs. There is a reason why "made in china" is alias for cheap crap, don't buy
Chinese goods have been as high quality as any western goods for a long time now. This is just another trope westerners use to cope with the fact that China is now surpassing the west across the board. Some of the most advanced technologies come from China nowadays.
Literally none of those things are predictions for the 2020s. Those are just issues from 24 years ago with suggested (neoliberal) solutions.
Germany largely addressed those concerns as you can see from the huge uptick in economic activity starting in 2000. The article did not predict the 2008 crisis, it did not predict the crisis with Russian gas, and so I'm having a hard time understanding why you're trying to slip this by people outside of a history community and acting like it's relevant.
Yet, as I explained, all of those underlying factors are very much at play in 2020s. Meanwhile, nowhere am I endorsing the neoliberal solutions the article mentions. And as we see from the current recession Germany is in, the concerns are very much still there.