ABSTRACT

Contributions to this book look at a variety of aspects of the current crisis, some of them focusing on the contingent financial causes, others on the underlying contradictions of capitalist economies.2 Some contributors touch on the international dimension of the crisis, the so-called global imbalances. In this context, less attention has perhaps been paid to the role of Europe and particularly Germany. Europe has not been distinguished by an assertive and cooperative economic policy stance in the aftermath of the current crisis, to the point that pundits have looked at the so-called G-2 as the most authoritative global body. German mercantilist policies are said to be behind the European policy stance and a source of regional and global imbalances.3 After a brief examination of the main pillars of European economic policy and German behaviour during the present crisis (sections one and two), these notes suggest an embryonic interpretation of the origins of mercantilist behaviour, dwelling on the nature of mercantilism in economic theory and commercial practice (section three), and of the allegedly German mercantilist model (section four). The thesis I suggest is that in the German case, the national mystique of a trade surplus may have had a role in disciplining the labour market and at the same time assuring profits (see also Cesaratto and Stirati 2010-11). Mercantilism can also be a natural course once it is recognized that absolute and not necessarily relative advantages may determine participation in international trade.