American System Can Protect Germany
From `Predator Capitalism'
by Helga Zepp-LaRouche
This article appeared in the German weekly Neue Solidarität of Feb. 14. Mrs. LaRouche is the national chairwoman of the Civil Rights Solidarity Movement (BüSo) in Germany.
Better late than never, there appeared recently unusual warnings from former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, who wrote, in an article in Die Zeit, about the loss of "decency and morality" on the part of the financial managers of private venture-capital companies, and about the "predatory capitalism," which brings with it "global risks": "Because of the transnationally intertwined finance managers, psychoses and domino reactions could develop, whereby any individual failure could spread and multiply. However, only a small number of world finance ministers these days are able assess and limit the financial risk to their own national economies." Schmidt warns in clear words, on manifold grounds, of a possible crash of the system, and that there is presently no institution that can protect Germany from this danger.
In fact, Germany finds itself in mortal danger, because of the inexorably onrushing financial collapse, while neither the Grand Coalition nor the opposition parties are doing anything to stop the plundering of Germany by the "financial locusts." Chancellor [Angela] Merkel announced at the New Year's reception at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, that there will be no "state orgy" of regulation of hedge funds and venture-capital companies. The younger generation in the Social Democratic Party (SPD), around people such as [Hubertus] Heil and [Andrea] Nahles, carried out a coup against [former SPD Chairman Franz] Müntefering, because he once dared to speak about financial "locusts," while they themselves are inviting these very companies into Germany as investors in environmental technologies. The Greens have replaced the Free Democratic Party (FDP) as the party of the "high-rollers," and also want to go in the direction of free-market economic reforms. And "Mr. Locust" himself, alias Friedrich Merz, has lately been accused of wanting to found an outright Locust Party.
At the present time, there is only one political force that is bringing real concepts into the discussion and has a realistic perspective of how Germany will be able to protect itself against hostile takeovers by unscrupulous speculators, and that is the BüSo. When [Finance Minister Peer] Steinbrueck has reached the conclusion that at the coming G-8 summit, a decision should be made for greater "transparency" of the hedge funds and venture-capital companies, what is to be done with the data that they collect?
Franklin Roosevelt's Legacy
There is only one chance to save the world from the consequences of an uncontrollable systemic crash, and that is the potential for a return of the Democratic Party in the United States to the tradition of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who succeeded not only in pulling America out of the Depression with his New Deal policy, but also advocated the national interest and the common good, repeatedly and effectively, against the depredations of Wall Street. It was Roosevelt's firm view, that the system of colonialism should end at the conclusion of the Second World War, and be replaced with an alliance of sovereign nation-states; a plan which, because of his untimely death, could not be implemented.
Roosevelt's 125th birthday was on Jan. 30. It should give us in Germany pause, that influential representatives of the Russian elite commemorated this anniversary with a conference titled "The Lessons of the New Deal for Russia and the Entire World." The conference was held at the Institute for Foreign Relations, which is associated with the Foreign Ministry.
Vladislav Surkov, the deputy chief of staff of the Kremlin, gave the most sensational speech, in which he compared President Putin's tasks today to those of Roosevelt, who had to use the greatest possible Presidential power to overcome the crisis. Roosevelt too had taken on political leadership at a point at which the population felt hopeless, and the media and the finance sector were controlled by oligarchical groupings. Roosevelt inspires Russia to this day, and for the majority of Russians, he remains the greatest of the great Americans.
Other speakers, such as Boris Titov, chairman of "Business Russia," described the New Deal as the most successful economic program in the history of mankind. Russia's experience since 1991, when it was left to the free market, showed that this led not to a "market," but to wild capitalism and the crisis of 1998.
This discussion is completely lacking in Germany's official circles. Germany is currently being torn to pieces by irresponsible profiteers, the fate of whose victims is about the same as a tissue that they just use and then throw away.
Another Birthday: Alexander Hamilton
That brings up the ideas of the day's second "birthday boy," whose 250th birthday was on Jan. 11: Alexander Hamilton. The father of the National Bank of the American System created not only the foundation on which a nation can exercise sovereignty over its currency and credit-creation; he was also the leading mind in the discussion published as the Federalist Papers, which was carried out in the young American Republic over the question of what kind of Constitution to have, by means of which a society can govern itself.
It is precisely this, which we urgently need in Germany. How can we protect our national interests, at a point in time when Germany is in an existential danger? What must we do, to develop more citizens who are conscious of their responsibility for laying the foundations for future generations? Can we govern ourselves? We have no reason to be ashamed, to take council with Roosevelt and Hamilton on these questions.
