Oskar Lafontaine

The theme of the G8 summit is "growth and responsibility." In a report of the same name, Chancellor Merkel has said what she means by "growth and responsibility:" to compete successfully in global markets.

Angela Merkel also knows what globalization is: "The process of the globalization is a process of the liberalization" The government has defined the rules just like soccer: "Plays are won on attack, not defense."

The chancellor doesn't see that this "game" leaves millions of people in crisis and poverty. Unlike globalization, soccer has clear rules. If someone breaks the rules they are sent off the field.

In a world of global competition, the person who commits a nasty foul can, however, be very successful. German wage repression and the national success as a world exporter are prime examples of this. That more and more people are protesting against this and demanding social justice is a positive sign. That state and government leaders keep putting up higher and higher fences topped with barbed wire to keep them out is a negative one.