@lain @cjd I don't think just people in Germany think that way, it's that idea that Europe will always be able to afford all of the welfare it provides. ASML, Carl Zeiss and old manufacturers alone won't be able to pay for that, people and companies need to innovate and build new wealth constantly, and you need a highly competitive and unrestricted market to achieve that, simply because the world markets are highly competitive and unrestricted.

I think Sweden might be a good example that you can afford a welfare state (not that you should really, because of other issues related, not just the fact that it is effectively based on a extensive theft in a form of high taxation, although for the last 20 years mostly on the regular-income individuals and consumers (high VAT), not “the rich”, which is interesting considering some less than perfect ideas of the far left in US or other parts of Europe) iff you have a well-functioning, liberalized, highly capitalistic economy and open markets.