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Germans Are Not Efficient

  • People are surprised about German trains being unreliable. This is because German efficiency is a misunderstanding. German culture is order based and efficiency can be a byproduct of having clear rules, but not always.
  • Having clear rules means systems can run smoother. If everyone knows the traffic rules then there is less confusion, fewer crashes and fewer accidents. However this says nothing about the health of the system.
  • Hyperinflation has a left a deep psychological scar on Germany and the hesitance on using debt to invest in infrastructure means that many services are struggling due to a lack of upgrades.
  • Following strict rules that damage the health of a system (no debt spending) means that no matter the internal coherence of the system it will still begin to fail.
  • Further reading:
  • Why do Germans strictly follow rules? Is it because of culture?
  • Why I’m Embarrassed To Be German