The End of the German Miracle: An Analysis of Neomercantilism

The text analyzes the German financial system not as a neutral market mechanism, but as an apparatus for preserving the past and old-type industrial structures. The author indicates that the relational banking model, while once stable, has become a barrier to digital modernization, favoring traditional production halls over innovation. Using the collapse of the Landesbanken and the history of WestLB as examples, the text demonstrates the dangerous intertwining of regional politics with finance, where public banks served as tools for political capital allocation and hidden support for local champions. The 2008 crisis exposed the myth of German prudence, revealing massive exposure to toxic assets. This system transformed into a technology for surviving existing hierarchies, blocking the necessary restructuring of the economy.