Post #2832732

2026-05-13 22:07 UTC

@gatesvp@mstdn.ca "But we will never, ever recover the power and influence we once had, just like Germany didn’t." Is that true about Germany? Today it doesn't have the genocidal domination over Europe that it had in the late 1930s and early 1940s. But I'd say Germany today is as least as powerful and influential as in the 1920s or even the 1900s. I guess it comes down to what you think Germany recovered *from*: becoming an evil authoritarian regime, or the defeat of that regime.

Replies (2)

@gatesvp@mstdn.ca 2026-05-13 22:51

@evan@cosocial.ca It's a really good question, and I think the analogy really only makes sense if we're measuring influence per capita. America is basically 4 to 4.5 Germany's in size. In an even world, other numbers would be 4x as well. 4x the size of the financial market, 4x the influence on technology, 4x the power on global institutions, 4x Military might. If you measure those numbers today for America, they are somewhere between 10x and 20x. Germany still does not carry the same power capacity per person than America does. If you go back to 1900, Germany had slightly less people than America. It had a larger standing military and it was the industrial powerhouse of Europe, making the mark far more important than the dollar. It argues that they were kind of even. But no one would argue that today. Even though Germany has "recovered", I don't think we can argue that it is now relatively stronger than it was in 1900. I am just pulling numbers off Wikipedia, I'm open to new data here. ❓

Open ##2832733
@kartoffel@mas.to 2026-05-14 06:07

@evan@cosocial.ca @gatesvp@mstdn.ca As a German living in other European countries for 15 years, I second this. I'd say that Germany in the past 25 years has had as much, or more, power and influence in Europe (maybe the world) as it did at any time before 1933. Not saying that it is a good thing how much power Germany holds in Europe, btw.

Open ##2832735