Category: Economy and social affairs

(Published in GralsWelt 64/2011) When the USA is finished, the “American dream” is followed by awakening from a restless night. Does the foreseeable great crisis offer the world the chance for a nature-friendly future? Anyone who owns stocks is eagerly listening to the news from Wall Street. Because there is the most important exchange, the guidelines for the rest [...]

(Published in GralsWelt 63/2011) Religious fanaticism, skepticism towards science, financial and economic crises: A look at the changing models shows where the roots of today's problems lie and why a rethink is urgently required. If we look back on European history, then the respective authoritative world and human images were created by authorities from [...]

(Published in GralsWelt 62/2010) A friend recently drew my attention to a shop for Chinese imported goods on the outskirts of Munich. The offer consisted of all kinds of bells and whistles, but also interesting products such as pocket knives, tools, electronics and optics. The most important buyers are not walk-in customers like me; because the little shop is also at [...]

(Published in GralsWelt 60/2010) Today's world of work, dominated by automation, presents our welfare state with the greatest challenges we have ever known. An inventory - and possible new ways for a decent life. I recently visited an automobile factory, where I myself had worked 35 years ago, to see how the people I once knew [...]

(Published in GralsWelt 58/2010) May 29, 1453 is an important date in European history. At that time the Turks conquered Constantinople and with this action cut off Europe from trade with Asia. Venice lost its leading position as the center of maritime trade. The Portuguese and Spaniards felt compelled to intensify their efforts, which the Turkish Empire [...]

The Asians will not take us into consideration An analysis of the “yellow danger” based on global economic developments over the past decades. Published in GralsWelt 59/2010. In April 1983 I traveled to (South) Korea for the first time for several weeks. My job was to set up a Korean bicycle tire factory with the development and construction of motorcycle tires, back then [...]

(Published in Grail World Issue 3/1999) What can we expect from the turn of the millennium, which so many people are looking forward to with apprehension? Does the year 2000 mark nothing more than a round number to which we attach an unjustifiably high priority - or, as gloomy prophecies suggest, does the fate of mankind actually stand at this time [...]

The utopia of the omnipotence of science (published in Grail World Issue 3/1999) The belief in the limitless possibilities of science and technology is perhaps the most important utopia that has shaped the 20th century. It has led to unexpected developments that hardly any people on earth could ignore, it has led to a triumph of the Western Christian [...]

Utopia and large-scale experiment “globalization” (Published in Grail World Issue 3/1999) Nobody likes to be cramped, hindered in their freedom of movement or even locked up. Freedom through open borders began to become a reality in the 20th century; Since then, the term “globalization” has also been on everyone's lips. It is about more than just the right of the individual [...]

The wrong approach of our economy (Published in GralsWelt Themenheft 3/1999) The boundless growth (not only) of the economy is seen as inevitable today. Thereby the striving for "more, more and more, even more" has become an end in itself, hardly anybody asks about the sense of this - in view of the limitedness of our ecosystem actually highly questionable - [...]