Without the social market economy, Germany's economic rise to become one of the leading industrial nations and the prosperity generated would not have been possible. In view of the
However, in view of the many simultaneous challenges and crises of our time, calls for state intervention have increased in recent times. But up to what point are state interventions justified and where do they go too far? Do once proven mechanisms and instruments of the social market economy still apply in the face of current challenges? How can we ensure material prosperity, social justice and ecological sustainability at the same time in the future?
These and other questions were discussed at the cooperation event between the Ludwig Erhard Foundation, the Center for Advanced Security and Integration Studies and the Bonner
Academy for Research and Teaching of Practical Politics.
The discussion event was opened by a welcoming speech by Professor Sigmar Gabriel in his capacity as President of the Bonn Academy for Research and Teaching of Practical Politics. Afterwards, the panelists Prof. Dr. h.c. mult. Roland Koch (Chairman of the Ludwig Erhard Foundation), Prof. Sigmar Gabriel (President of the Bonn Academy, former Federal Minister), Thomas Schmid (journalist and former editor of Die Welt) and Lani Döhring (Master's student at the University of Bonn) explored the controversy surrounding the introduction of the social market economy under Ludwig Erhard in the late 1940s. In the continuing discussion, questions relating to Germany's role in the globalised world, the influence of state (non-)intervention in the market, economic policy developments in the USA and the financing of climate protection measures were raised anew and answered. The debate ended with impulses and follow-up questions from the auditorium.