ABSTRACT
One could posit, that is, an antithesis between punctuality and quality and argue that if the Germans stopped worrying about delivering on time they would produce goods of (even) higher quality and be (yet) more successful in export markets. The operational impasse, which leads to a situation in which most cause and effect propositions can be undermined by logical objections, is the fact that it is difficult or impossible to test conclusively the propositions whose truth we would like to be assured of. West Germany, to resuscitate a few examples, has the highest murder rate in Europe. On the other hand it is marked by an industrial peace beyond the sweetest dreams of those who frame social contracts. Britain has behaved magnificently and can rest on her laurels: Germany has lost everything, the war, self-respect, moral credibility, political sovereignty, territory, control over the material apparatus of modern life, personal liberty, shelter and food.
