Themes Jung Königswinter Conference

The 49th Jung Königswinter Conferences took place in the European Academy Berlin from July 21-26, 2009 under the headline:

It's about TRUST – how was it lost and how can it be rebuilt?

Three study gropus discussed the following issues in detail:

1. Trust in the economy
Mutual trust between market actors or rather the lack of it is one of the main factors at the root of the global financial and subsequently the economic crisis. 'Joe Public' deeply mistrusts the financial system and is in effect questioning the benefits of capitalism. Especially in Germany the trust in managers/the elite of the corporate world has evaporated due to excessive salaries and corporate data protection scandals. In the UK some banks were nationalised early on in the crisis. In Germany there are discussions of legalising dispossessions. The role of the state could be seen both as saviour and as a threat.

- What, in an economic sense does trust mean? Personal, corporate, legal, financial?
- Is there a difference in the way the British and German economies depend on and deal with trust?
- How can a concept like trust be fostered/re-gained in an increasingly 'virtual' economy?
- Will the current crisis result in a movement away from 'Anglo-Saxon version of liberalism'? Are the alternatives attractive to Britain and Germany?
- Is the state 'Here to stay in a big way ' in the financial world or will its role diminish once the storm is over?
- Will strong state intervention create trust among market players?
- How should we understand solidarity these days to keep social cohesion?
- What responsibility do we have towards the Third World and the least developed countries in particular?

2. Trust in politics
Trust in state intervention has surged as the corporate elite is widely seen as discredited. President Obama's inauguration is seen by many people
worldwide as a signal of new hope as the full effect of the crisis unfolds.
Xenophobic tendencies have been quite publically displayed especially in the UK as a result of the crisis. The demand for an international body to regulate financial markets has been voiced more strongly in Germany than in Britain.

- Bankers, regulators and Governments have all been blamed for the crisis. Have governments regained popular trust?
- Will governments prove to be good bankers?
- Will there ever be a 'world financial council' similar to the UN 'security council'? What would Britain's and Germany's attitudes to such a council be?
- Is there a difference in how much the British and German public expect solutions from politicians to the current situation?
- Will the crisis lead to more isolated policies such as "buy domestic" campaigns or even nationalistic behaviour by some countries?
- Will the euphoria that President Obama's election has evoked in the US will have a detectable positive influence on the way politics are perceived in Europe (and more specifically Germany and Britain)?
- Is it now accepted that China is indispensable to any solution to the crises? What role is China likely to play in global politics?

3. Trust in the future
The current crisis has arrived more rapidly and is deeper than any since the Second World War. It's effects on the world beyond just the economy are still fairly unclear. The environment (e.g. global warming) as the key topic of the past years seems to be loosing out against "It's the economy, stupid!" At the root of many threats to the western society is poverty/the unequal distribution of wealth. The current crisis is not likely to improve this.

- Is globalization as we knew it over? Is that a good thing?
- Will 'the west' remain the dominating zone of cultural influence? Will there be a clear successor or will the future just be more complicated?
- How much damage has been done to the fight against global warming because countries are focussing on getting through the recession first?
- Will western European societies face less or more asymmetrical threats?
- Will the EU cohesion remain and increase or will the financial and economic crisis which affects EU-members countries differently increase tensions and harm the EU-project for an ever closer union?
- Do concepts such as ‘Existenzangst’ and ‘Zukunftsangst’ affect the English?