⭐⭐⭐ Kaput by Münchau
| Full Title | Kaput: The End of the German Miracle |
| Authors | Wolfgang Münchau |
| Year Published | 2024 |
| Date Read | March 6, 2025 |
| Rating | 3/5 stars |
As a long-time reader of Münchau via UnHerd as well as via commentary on Hospodářské noviny, I had high expectations of Kaput. Unfortunately, I came away fairly disappointed.
For one, I think the book is far too short and doesn’t really go into much more depth than you could glean from a collection of the essays Münchau has previously put out on the web. But two, in the cases where he does go into more depth, the format is confused: sometimes, he repeats the same point only a few pages after making it; other times, he introduces so many concepts at once that it’s hard to keep them in your head.
The latter issue is particularly problematic: as a book that seems targeted to audiences not super familiar with the German context (which we can derive from the author’s explanation of basics of German history), I found it surprising that he didn’t spend more time “setting the stage.” The chapter on the structure of the banking system suffers probably most seriously from this: it seemed like honestly quite an interesting story that could be told in a fashion that is far easier to follow than Münchau accomplishes. At the end, I came away feeling like I understood his thesis in the chapter but could not support it based from the historical context he tried to draw upon on.
More positively, it was interesting to hear about the challenges Germany has faced and the parallels it bears to the US: the confused immigration system that seems to prioritize attracting low-wage labor over skilled labor, or the vision (and failure) of liberalization of Russia / China via trade. In some ways it was nice to hear that it’s not just us that are struggling with these issues.
But ultimately, I’m not sure who this book is for. It doesn’t feel like it’s for laypeople, those familiar with the basics of German politics, nor truly politically-engaged Germans. Would not recommend — you can get most of the value from talking with an LLM about the rough history of post-unification Germany and then reading a few of Münchau’s columns on Eurointelligence or UnHerd.