• seeigel@feddit.org
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    4 days ago

    I haven’t found a good article that explains the early AfD position so I try to explain what I can remember.

    The core should be that one currency for an inhomogenuous political entity is not a good idea. Usually, countries with weak industries can devalue their currency to offer their goods at competitive prices on the global market. This effectively means taking value from whomever owns money or receives wages that don’t adjust immediately.

    If there is only one currency, and if that currency should remain stable, somebody else has to pay to adjust the prices. This can be seen in Germany after the unification when there were additional taxes in the west to finance the east.

    Now the promise to the Germans was that the euro would be stable but also that they wouldn’t have to pay for it.

    Economically, this doesn’t make sense, as scientists had pointed out, but they were ignored. (Thus the original AfD, to have an alternative to the established parties.)

    Now the euro is quite stable. So who paid?

    • federal reverse@feddit.orgM
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      1 day ago

      You realize though that Afd moved on from that discussion about the Euro, right? Social issues, including those resulting from the introduction of the Euro are important, of course. But there were quite a number of social cuts and austerity measures that were fairly independent from the introduction of the Euro.

      The thing that really propelled Afd was that foreign people look different though and thus work splendidly as bogeymen.

      • seeigel@feddit.org
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        19 hours ago

        But there were quite a number of social cuts and austerity measures that were fairly independent from the introduction of the Euro.

        Look up target2 balance and the reaction of European countries to the special assets of the army.

        The latter made people worry that interest rates could rise. In other words, German austerity was a tool to keep interest rates low for the countries in Europe.

        Without the Euro, those austerity measures wouldn’t have happened.

        The thing that really propelled Afd was that foreign people look different though

        Everybody says this so it must be true. Why can’t there be real frustration with the established parties and the media motivated enough racists to join. By constantly saying that the AfD is racist, it became true, which disabled the threat of a real alternative.

        • federal reverse@feddit.orgM
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          3 hours ago

          Why can’t there be real frustration with the established parties

          Real frustration exists.

          and the media motivated enough racists to join.

          That is bogus. The Afd was founded around the time the proceedings against Npd were under way. A lot of people jumped from Npd to Afd very early on. Early financing for Afd similarly came from outright fascists.