Chapter X DOES PROSPERITY LEAD TO MATERIALISM?

IN RECENT YEARS the idea that the policy of the social market economy clearly leads men more and more towards a corrupting materialism has been gaining ground.

This view should be critically examined.

Beyond the differing economic standpoints, the work of all those who participate in the economy, as well as the urge for the constant improvement of our productive capacity, makes economic and social sense by opening up improved and freer ways of living for the whole people. Egyptian pyramids were not built for their own sake; no, every new machine, each new power station, every new factory and any other means whereby productivity can be increased, serve in the final instance to enrich all who live and work within the sphere of the social market economy. I shall never tire of ensuring that the fruits of economic progress will benefit ever widening circles of the population and finally everyone.

Without production no income is possible in the national economy, but it is also not possible to produce without consuming, except in a totalitarian system. This point of view dissuades me from granting any privileges demanded because of political or economic strength. Those who try to exploit positions of power must be conscious of the fact that in this way they damage the interests of others.

From this point of view I consider it one of the most important tasks of modern economic policy to apply recent knowledge to overcome former violent swings of the economy, once thought inevitable. If this can be achieved, much will be gained towards increasing the prosperity of all, and at least every diligent and hard-working member of the community will have a better chance of proving himself and of succeeding.

The Will to Consume

A permanent, evenly balanced economy, which at one and the same time keeps alive the forces that lead to expansion and progress, presupposes a dynamic population which is basically willing to consume. Only this will to consume, which I have often mentioned, permits production to develop uninterruptedly, and keeps alive efforts for greater efficiency and improvement. Only if consumption (including productive consumption) exercises a constant pressure on the economy will that force remain active which adapts itself in the sphere of production to increasing demand and undertakes corresponding risks.

It is and remains the ultimate aim of any economy to liberate man from material want and stress. That is why I believe that the better we succeed in increasing prosperity the rarer will be man’s tendency to adopt a purely materialistic attitude towards life, because an increase in prosperity creates the ambient in which man is lifted from a purely primitive materialistic way of thinking. I am convinced of this postulate, since man remains bound to material considerations only for as long as he is overwhelmed with the cares of everyday life. Conversely, all human beings who, thanks to prosperity and social security, are conscious of their own worth, their personality and their human dignity, can look towards the possibility and the happy prospect of freeing themselves from materialistic thinking.

Thus, the new refusal to permit economic expansion to slacken, while there are still some people whose social standing is unsatisfactory, is based largely on social-ethical considerations. But it is quite another question whether it serves any purpose to regard the will for expansion as a constant factor in all phases of development, and to proclaim it equally loudly.

So long as expansion springs not only from the desire for a better way of life, but for greater output, harmony is assured. But if the wish for expansion brings with it the danger that, without reference to the output of the national economy, men demand more from the national economy than it is able to provide, then the socially beneficial effort lacks a real and moral basis.

The outlook which aims to increase the yield from one’s own work—expressed in wages—yet simultaneously envisages a reduction in the amount of work done (perhaps by reducing working hours) without reference to improvements in productivity, has little in common with that will for expansion which I have advocated here.

No German Austerity Policy

In its proper sense expansion means an increase in the total yield of the national economy, when all are able to share in this increase. Today we are experiencing that unwelcome trend in which groups are bargaining for their share of the national income.

There is no sense in harbouring illusions. No national economy can grant more than it is able to give as a result of the total effort made by men and the products of their labour. It is just at a time of full employment and boom that the limits of consumption for every individual have to be strongly emphasized. It is to be hoped that no one will deduce from this that I want to speak here of a special kind of German austerity policy, a policy of self-denial. Nobody can accuse me of saying that I have ever used such words as ‘pulling the belt tighter’ or ‘to do without and to renounce’, etc. Such proscriptions do not conform with my basic economic views.

My record over the past years denies any suggestion that I am pursuing a restrictive policy as regards consumption just for its own sake, or that it could possibly be my aim to ruin a favourable economic situation. No, I affirm that the success of our economic policy has always been founded on the fact that we have not been discouraged by difficulties, but have found the solution by dynamically moving forward, that is, by looking towards expansion.

Is it then really justifiable to declare that the achievements of the social market economy, since it is leading the German people along a path of soulless materialism, are being shown up as apparent rather than real, and that this economy will atrophy with prosperity?

It should first of all be asked whether this apparent Impoverishment corresponds to actual fact and whether—if this question is answered in the affirmative—there exists a true causality between growing prosperity and increasing materialism. A confirmation of this assertion would mean the death sentence for the principles and aims of the free Western world.

I do not believe that the trends in Germany since 1948 towards a broad and rapidly rising improvement in general living standards can justify such tragic conclusions for our people and destiny. We must soberly reflect on what has taken place during the past years.

A poverty-stricken and hungry people, deprived of the most rudimentary ways of making a living, and suffering under the soulless economic dirigisme robbing it of any individual freedom, succeeded in a relatively short period in regaining its vigour and freedom. What could be more human than to consume and to enjoy in the full flush of one’s renascent energies?

It must be added that, with the democratization of the masses, a social change is taking place which has particularly increased the material well-being of the employee. As a result of this development, it is almost a matter of course, and even unavoidable, that ever-increasing numbers of people are able to afford a higher standard of living, that is they are able to buy more goods in a variety which has hitherto been out of their reach.

I have consciously worked towards this end, and I am happy with its success. Is it not pharisaical if the better-off or rich sectors of our people complain about the pleasure-seeking and desires of those who basically have no other wish than to act like them?

I regard the material rise of the German workers and other sectors of our people as an absolute political, social and economic gain.

I want to ask bluntly whether the radio receiver, or the vacuum cleaner, or the refrigerator, represent different things in the house of the worker than they do in the house of the rich man? Is it in one instance the expression of civilization and culture, and in the other evidence of a materialistic attitude? I fail to see—leaving aside the difference in the amount of noise—where in this valuation the motor scooter differs from the motor car.

Such foggy thinking will not contribute to saving our people from a material impoverishment of life. The size of income is neither a yardstick nor a frontier in a moral evaluation of consumption. For this reason I do not understand why, and how far, the human soul is likely to be endangered by prosperity and wealth. Logically the counter-question should be asked: At what income level does the human soul escape the dangers of wealth? But merely putting the question shows that it should be rejected.

Those sectors which now enjoy higher consumption more and more must not be criticized, since, first of all, the goods they are now able to purchase represent the fulfilment of a long-felt want, or because they are not yet able to place spiritual, cultural and material values in their proper order in satisfying their wants. With greater security of social well-being the stage will surely be reached when the differences between the good and the bad, and what is valuable and what is not, will be more clearly recognized.

False Impatience

On the surface it may seem indisputable that some consumption demands appear primitive. We do not have the right, nor does it serve any useful purpose, to be snobbish about this. It is part of the inalienable freedom of man that he may consume freely; we must not be intolerant in this respect. Let us not forget the long period of want experienced by the German people, which makes it all the more comprehensible that they now want to consume the fruits of their honest labour.

No argument will destroy my belief that poverty is the surest way to the deterioration of man through the small material cares of everyday life. Perhaps genius can triumph over such conditions; in general, material worries enslave men increasingly and they remain imprisoned in the material sense.

I do not wish to overestimate the purely economic factors. I believe that a well-functioning economy must be secured, both for the individual and for the people as a whole, as a basis for all higher efforts and the fulfilment of spiritual demands. Only as a result of a secure material basis will men become free and ready for higher things.

If we are today striving for new forms of civilization and culture, then in this broad spiritual discussion, particularly with the East, we shall only begin to succeed if men find that inner freedom and satisfaction which alone can guarantee true freedom. An economic policy which aims at increasing prosperity must, of necessity, be a good foundation for this goal.

This statement naturally does not attempt to change the thousand-year-old problem which is mentioned in the New Testament about the rich man, the camel and the eye of the needle. The thought which is expressed here is to lead wider sections of the people towards greater prosperity, but not to smooth the path for that kind of wealth and abundance which is said to lead to gluttony and vice.

Finally, it must be remembered that the material and the spiritual sides of life cannot be as sharply separated in practice as appears possible in the abstract. If, for example, men live in beautiful apartments, if they also sense in their own home something of the progress which surrounds them at work, if mothers and wives need no longer spend their evenings exhausted in the kitchen, but by virtue of material progress can dedicate themselves to their families, then much will have been achieved towards the unfolding of spiritual powers.

Surely it is proper to want to see better results from one’s income than merely a larger number of beefsteaks and cutlets. All this is indisputably right and important, but it should not be forgotten that it is not the first duty of Ministers for Economic Affairs and political economists to educate people accordingly.

The Spirit Cannot be Commanded

I do not hesitate to voice my great desire to see the German people turning towards more spiritual things as their standard of living rises. But I refuse to give orders to that effect. There is evidence that the luxury of today will become a matter of everyday use tomorrow. These seemingly material changes also alter the conception of what should be a higher living standard and what helps to increase social status and social position.

In my capacity as Minister for Economic Affairs, I should surely not be asked to become responsible for the spiritual well-being of all the people. In my job I have a particular task. I understand it to be to get enough out of the national economy in the way of energy and productivity for everyone to be able to live free from worry and want, and for everyone to be able to acquire property and thus become independent. In this manner, everyone will be able to develop his dignity as a human being to a greater extent, and so will no longer depend on the favour of others, or even on the favour of the State. It seems to me that with the achievement of such an aim the Minister for Economic Affairs will have made his full contribution to the overcoming of an apparent or actual materialism.

In these explanations I am conscious that there are certain limits in evaluating the material. With increasing productivity and with higher efficiency of human labour we shall one day reach that stage of development when we shall have to ask ourselves which is more valuable: To work more, or to lead a more comfortable, fuller, freer life and thus consciously forgo some pleasures. But I do not believe that we have got that far yet. Some time will still have to pass before this question will be ready for honest discussion.

Certainly it is to be hoped that the people will then have reached the stage when they can use this ‘longer leisure’ more sensibly. The experience of certain countries is not encouraging and teaches us that leisure, demanded and granted out of a wish for higher material things, has not increased the spiritual well-being of the individual nor made him any happier.

Special German Situation

The German way should therefore find a slightly different expression. Our task is to sense slowly but increasingly the wishes of the individual and of the group, so as not to move mechanically, but in an effective manner, towards increasing general satisfaction. This is certainly no easy task.

It also cannot be denied that the problems here discussed overlap my immediate sphere of work. Even I, as the man responsible for economic policy, must take a stand about the ‘social atmosphere’, and, in so doing, I clearly sense the strength of the general intemperance—consciously nourished—which threatens to oppress good sense and truth.

Altogether the German people tend to lose relatively rapidly all sense of reality—a defect of character which in the recent past has led us to a tragic fate. It may be psychologically comprehensible that, with the end of want and with the boom, here and there signs of hubris are noticeable. It is all the more important to keep this within bounds, so that our people, who in austerity demonstrated the most admirable virtues, can also behave appropriately in happier times.

The appetite comes with eating, and so it has happened that with a flourishing economy more and more new wants have been awakened. The very same people who in 1956 are dissatisfied with their economic fate would never have dared in 1947 or 1948 to hope that they would arrive eight years later where they find themselves today. But that, nevertheless, does not prevent them from being dissatisfied. Envy is the complex which possesses them. It seems that the German is so made that he cannot bear another, a neighbour or a friend, being better off. However good his own position may be, he is then envious and dissatisfied. This particular kind of insatiability represents a special danger for our country, which must be recognized and fought against by every intelligent human being.

Final Aims

I am often asked what is the final aim of my economic policy. The question implies a fear that an endless projection of present trends might lead to a complete dissolution. The way of putting this question is certainly justified, and I do not wish to avoid answering it.

My reply is clear and unmistakable: I do not believe that, in drawing up our present economic aims, eternal laws have to be expressed. We shall certainly arrive at a point when, quite rightly, the question will be put whether it is still right and useful to produce still more goods, to increase material prosperity, or whether it would not be more sensible, in forgoing such ‘progress’, to gain more leisure, more time for thought, and more rest. But this is not a question for the Minister for Economic Affairs alone, but concerns the theologian, the sociologist and the politician.

The problem is complex and can be understood only in philosophical terms. Yet we must not avoid another more difficult question: Are people today sufficiently relaxed and happy to use their leisure in this higher sense? What remains to be done and on what level should it be done to achieve that inner maturity which will lead man to regard a renunciation of material things as beneficial?

It will also have to be borne in mind that more free time will bring with it a changed attitude to life, and naturally to the economy. All this can neither be constructed nor organized; it has to grow organically.

As long as we adhere, politically, to the motto: ‘Let us work less so that we can consume more’, we are taking the wrong path. But if trends which have now begun continue, in the sense that our people, assured of the essential security of their material life, will increasingly regard spiritual enrichment as useful and valuable, then eventually we shall have to correct our present economic policy. No one must then be so dogmatic as to continue to regard further expansion as a benefit for all.

Today we must not occupy ourselves unduly with speculations of this kind. If, for example, we compare Germany and the United States, then it is obvious how much scope there is in the way of expansion, in increasing prosperity, and in freeing people from material want. So until further notice I am of the opinion that, now as before, it is our job once for all to free millions of men, who are still burdened by the cares of everyday life, from their afflictions. Far too many human beings still live only in the shadow of prosperity, and therefore we must not cease our efforts.