By ERIK KIRSHBAUM By ERIK KIRSHBAUM
BERLIN – (Reuters) After the Berlin Wall was dismantled, Karl Marx’s influence is gaining ground in former German Democratic Republic – thanks to the global financial crisis. Marx’s “Das Kapital” has now become the best seller book in former East Germany.
No one thought that this book would be so popular now – even bankers and managers are now reading “Das Kapital” to try and understand what this crisis is all about and who is responsible. Marx is definitely in vogue now! This revival of Marx’s treatise has caused a much broader rejection of capitalism in East Germany now, which is ranked by very high inflation and unemployment and poverty.
A recent survey found that 52% found free market unsuitable, while over 43% said that they wanted socialism to return back rather than capitalism.
Unemployment in former German Democratic Republic is over 14 percent, double the Western levels. Millions of jobs were lost after Gorbachev pushed the reunification. After this forced re-unification Western monopolies bought all the state industries and then shut them down completely.
As Hermann Haibel, a 76-year old retired blacksmith said to us “The free market is extremely brutal. The capitalists want to squeeze out more and more.”
The opposition left-wing party, which traces its roots to Erich Honecker’s SED Party has now become the most popular political force there with over 30% of solid support.
After almost 20 years of capitalism in former German
Democratic Republic and its “free market economy” – most people can say
definitely as to which system is better!
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