From the wreck of the sovereign debt crisis Germany has unquestionably emerged as Europe’s pre-eminent power. And a central tenet of the German solution to the crisis – for it is primarily a German solution – is that other eurozone members must be recast in their mould of fiscal orthodoxy and financial conservatism. Debt is to be regarded as immoral; current account surpluses are de rigueur; all but marginal budget deficits will be punished; and financial innovation is to be throttled by regulation. What, fellow Europeans might ask, is the wellspring of this providentialism and homespun finance?
在主权债务危机留下的残骸中，德国脱颖而出，成为不容置疑的欧洲头号强国。解决危机的德国方案——因为它主要就是德国的解决方案——的中心原则是，欧元区其它成员国必须按照德国的正统财政观念和金融保守主义接受改造。债务将被视为不道德的；经常账户盈余是必要的；只有微小的预算赤字才不会受到惩罚；金融创新将受到监管的限制。欧洲人或许会问，这种天佑论和朴素金融的源头是什么？