20 years ago today marked the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Here is an article from the Bloomberg's chart of the day
(all bold highlights mine)
``The toppling of the Berlin Wall 20 years ago sparked a surge in German stocks and bonds, confounding economists who’d predicted the cost of unifying East and West Germany would stunt economic growth.
``The CHART OF THE DAY shows the benchmark DAX Index of equities and the REX Performance Index, a measure of German government bonds, since 1989. Both outperformed gold and the pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index. The chart also shows Germany’s annual per-capita gross domestic product until the end of last year.
``The cost of unifying East and West Germany was 2 trillion euros ($2.97 trillion), according to a study by Klaus Schroeder, professor at Berlin’s Free University, published Oct. 28. Investors say that cost has paid off as the fall of Europe’s Iron Curtain boosted global trade.
“It opened up economies in Eastern Europe,” said Trudbert Merkel, manager of Deka Investment GmbH’s $5 billion Dekafonds in Frankfurt. “Germany was able to maintain its top spot in the export business and become less dependent on the U.S. The beginning of globalization helped soften the costs of the reunification.”
``The DAX has more than tripled since Nov. 9, 1989, when the East German government allowed Berliners to breach the wall that had divided their city for 28 years.'"
I would presume that economic experts, whom were allegedly baffled by the huge progress in the aftermath of the Fall of the Berlin Wall, grossly underestimated the impact of capitalism. They seem to have focused on the rebuilding and integration cost aspects rather than the potentials from unleashing the explosive force of productive capacity as consequence to embracing a market economy.
Furthermore, the lessons of the Berlin Wall is shared with the failure of the essence of communism. Professor Paul Hollander in a recent commentary at the Washington Post captures the zeitgeist,
``The failure of Soviet communism confirms that humans motivated by lofty ideals are capable of inflicting great suffering with a clear conscience. But communism's collapse also suggests that under certain conditions people can tell the difference between right and wrong. The embrace and rejection of communism correspond to the spectrum of attitudes ranging from deluded and destructive idealism to the realization that human nature precludes utopian social arrangements and that the careful balancing of ends and means is the essential precondition of creating and preserving a decent society."
The video below showcases the victory of the individual against the collective following long years of oppression. This should serve as a reminder for us to keep the torch of freedom burning. [Hat Tip: Peter Boettke]
Here is an article from the Bloomberg's chart of the day
(all bold highlights mine)
``The toppling of the Berlin Wall 20 years ago sparked a surge in German stocks and bonds, confounding economists who’d predicted the cost of unifying East and West Germany would stunt economic growth.
``The CHART OF THE DAY shows the benchmark DAX Index of equities and the REX Performance Index, a measure of German government bonds, since 1989. Both outperformed gold and the pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index. The chart also shows Germany’s annual per-capita gross domestic product until the end of last year.
``The cost of unifying East and West Germany was 2 trillion euros ($2.97 trillion), according to a study by Klaus Schroeder, professor at Berlin’s Free University, published Oct. 28. Investors say that cost has paid off as the fall of Europe’s Iron Curtain boosted global trade.
“It opened up economies in Eastern Europe,” said Trudbert Merkel, manager of Deka Investment GmbH’s $5 billion Dekafonds in Frankfurt. “Germany was able to maintain its top spot in the export business and become less dependent on the U.S. The beginning of globalization helped soften the costs of the reunification.”
``The DAX has more than tripled since Nov. 9, 1989, when the East German government allowed Berliners to breach the wall that had divided their city for 28 years.'"
I would presume that economic experts, whom were allegedly baffled by the huge progress in the aftermath of the Fall of the Berlin Wall, grossly underestimated the impact of capitalism. They seem to have focused on the rebuilding and integration cost aspects rather than the potentials from unleashing the explosive force of productive capacity as consequence to embracing a market economy.
Furthermore, the lessons of the Berlin Wall is shared with the failure of the essence of communism. Professor Paul Hollander in a recent commentary at the Washington Post captures the zeitgeist,
``The failure of Soviet communism confirms that humans motivated by lofty ideals are capable of inflicting great suffering with a clear conscience. But communism's collapse also suggests that under certain conditions people can tell the difference between right and wrong. The embrace and rejection of communism correspond to the spectrum of attitudes ranging from deluded and destructive idealism to the realization that human nature precludes utopian social arrangements and that the careful balancing of ends and means is the essential precondition of creating and preserving a decent society."
The video below showcases the victory of the individual against the collective following long years of oppression. This should serve as a reminder for us to keep the torch of freedom burning. [Hat Tip: Peter Boettke]
No comments:
Post a Comment