has withstood dictatorship, wars, revolutions and globalisation. It prizes trust, relying on the principle that nobody will
"make full use of his freedom" by grabbing everything he can, says Wemer Abelshauser, an economic historian at the University of Bielefeld. Its elements are "so
I Off balance
Current-account balances,% of GOP
- Germany - Euro area - United States
Britain France - Ita ly
8
6
4
2
~~~~~
4
-..--.-..-~~~~----~- 6
1997 99 2001 03 05 07 09 121
Source: IMF Estimate !Forecast
