Kaput
The End of the German Miracle
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Swift Press
Published:7th Nov '24
Currently unavailable, our supplier has not provided us a restock date
'Compelling' Guardian
'Eloquent and comprehensive' Financial Times
'Excellent' The Telegraph
'Astonishing' The Times
'An eye-opener' Gavin Esler
Until recently, Germany appeared to be a paragon of economic and political success. Angela Merkel was widely seen as the true ‘leader of the free world’, and Germany’s export-driven economic model seemed to deliver prosperity. But recent events – from Germany’s dependence on Russian gas to its car industry’s delays in the race to electric – have undermined this view.
In Kaput, Wolfgang Münchau argues that the weaknesses of Germany’s economy have, in fact, been brewing for decades. The neo-mercantilist policies of the German state, driven by close connections between the country’s industrial and political elite, have left Germany technologically behind over-reliant on authoritarian Russia and China – and with little sign of being able to adapt to the digital realities of the 21st century. It is an essential read for anyone interested in the future of Europe’s biggest economy.
‘Eloquent and comprehensive deconstruction of the German model’ - Harold James, Financial Times
‘A compelling new book about the end of the German economic miracle’ - Larry Elliott, Guardian
'Excellent' - Daniel Johnson, The Telegraph
‘With vivid anecdote, telling detail and characteristically robust language, Wolfgang Münchau excoriates the failure of Germany’s corporate neo-mercantilism to prepare for the economic challenges of today and tomorrow’ - Timothy Garton Ash, author of Homelands: A Personal History of Europe
'Wolfgang Münchau is one of the sharpest minds in British and European journalism. In Kaput he tells the compellingstory of Germany’s economic wonder gone wrong – for now at least. For those of us who never under-estimate German ingenuity and competitiveness this is an eye-opener, an accessible account of the troubles and also the potential in Europe’s greatest economy’ - Gavin Esler
‘Münchau makes a strong case here that the German economic miracle is over’ - Howard Davies, Literary Review
'The best and most detailed account of the German economic decline to date' - Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution
‘His critique of the German model couldn’t be more timely … An astonishing read … Dry humour lends his economic analysis levity and accessibility’ - Katya Hoyer, The Times
‘A cautionary tale on the downsides of trying to mix politics and investment’ - Matthew Partridge, MoneyWeek Book of the Week
ISBN: 9781800753433
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
256 pages