What's the Matter with Germany? On Fetishizations of the Euro Crisis in Germany's Public Discourse, and Their Basis in Social Processes and Relations

Abstract

I use hegemonic German interpretations of the current crisis of the Euro as my point of departure to discuss why ideological interpretations of the crisis prevail in Germany. As such worldviews are rooted in social processes and relations, I discuss some that are relevant to the present conjuncture: uneven development and circuits of trade and credit/debt within the Eurozone, the history and scalar construction of the EU and the Euro, and the role of German export oriented capital. I focus on three fetishizations that structure interpretations favoring the interests of capital over those of the working classes: the fetishization of credit/debt, the fetishization of competitiveness, and the fetishization of territory.