Rainer Zitelmann
More books by Rainer Zitelmann…
“It took humanity 99.4% of its 2.5-million-year history to achieve a per-capita GDP of 90 international dollars about 15,000 years ago (the international dollar is a unit of calculation based on buying-power levels in 1990). It took another 0.59% of human history to double the global GDP to 180 international dollars in 1750. Between 1750 and 2000 – in a period that represents less than 0.01% of the total span of human history – the global per-capita GDP grew 37-fold to 6,600 international dollars.”
― The Power of Capitalism
― The Power of Capitalism
“Communes that submitted realistic figures were given white flags as a form of punishment for lacking revolutionary zeal, accused of lying and subjected to violence. In previous years, peasants had actually submitted false reports in some cases in an act of defiance against grain tax increases. Now anybody who claimed not to have enough to eat was considered an enemy of the socialist revolution and an agent of capitalism. Simply stating “I’m hungry” became a dangerous act of insurgence.”
― The Power of Capitalism
― The Power of Capitalism
“According to estimates by the National Planning Committee, collectivization cost the GDR a total of 1 billion marks, a staggering amount at the time.228 At the same time, the supply of goods available to the general population deteriorated progressively. From meat and dairy products to shoes, all kinds of textiles and laundry detergent, everything was in short supply. Shelves were often empty and the overall situation appeared worse than in the late 1950s.”
― The Power of Capitalism
― The Power of Capitalism
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