The Gravest Generation - New York Times

Günter Grass, the German novelist, reflects on the realities of the modern world in which Germany and us are immersed, and, incidentally, or not so incidentally, on the role of government. Are the economic pressures in the world really irresistible or are they only so portrayed by the now dominant ideology? Please note the contrast between the reconstruction of Germany "In the rebuilding phase businessmen were exemplary in investing every penny of profit into job creation.", and the present situation in East Germany where" West German industry and banks withheld the necessary investment and loans and, consequently, no jobs were created." He asks the decisive question :" As conscious democrats, we should freely resist the power of capital, which sees mankind as nothing more than something which consumes and produces."
The Gravest Generation - New York Times