Page 177 - The Making of the German Post-war Economy

150 THE MAKING OF THE GERMAN POST-WAR ECONOMY

management was its communication to both the political classes and the
public. Its adherents fought more consistently – and eventually with
greater success – for acceptance of their economic model as the model for
post-war Germany, which was arguably not won in offices nor in
parliament but rather at the centre of public debate. In particular Ludwig
Erhard, as the Social Market Economy’s most passionate proponent,
realised the potential of subtle and systematic marketing to transform the
concept from an economic theory, or even abstract economic policy, into
the basis of a political party’s propaganda and public image that held
broad appeal. Due to the inherent potential which media influence had,
when combined with political communication skills, for impact upon an
atomised citizenry, Erhard cultivated the company of selected journalists
and influential personages. Contacts with these ‘opinion leaders’ proved to
be most beneficial in promoting his socio-economic programme and in
presenting the success of his economic policy effectively. Although the
implementation of the Social Market Economy benefited also from other
crucial factors – including the east-west conflict and a favourable political
and social climate within Germany and abroad, sustained domestic
economic growth, the primacy of economics over politics, the stabilising
alliance between the conservative and liberal parties, the pro-market
composition of the Economic Council and the Federal Republic’s own
Grundgesetz which stressed individual freedom, human dignity, and the
subsidiarity of societal organisation – it was mainly the following efforts at
political communication of the cooperative and corporate model that led
to the implementation and eventual electoral validation of the Social
Market Economy in post-war West Germany.
Moreover, the process of political communication accommodated the
demand for democratic political action, and stimulated the deliberation
and discussion crucial to the formation of voting preferences regarding
issues of political substance. Yet, despite the Social Market Economy’s
adherents’ ambition to stimulate both political and public debate, they
widely failed with regard to the latter. Indeed, both sides had to relearn
and rehearse democratic mentalities and behaviour patterns; politics and
the media had to regain credibility lost in twelve years of Nazi despotism;
and, furthermore, the satisfaction of elementary needs as the priority in
post-war Germany implied a reluctance to engage politically; and the
generally noticeable lack of either transparency or responsiveness on the
part of the bizonal and later trizonal political institutions permitted only
very limited public debate. On this basis, findings showing public
disapproval of economic liberalisation and the subsequent implementation
of the Social Market Economy in post-war West Germany are certainly
questionable in that public opinion varied according to both time and