Germany

Germany is, today, a model for progressive values and environmental protection within its borders.

That said, a strong argument can be made that Germany's effort to address climate change by making an enormous effort to go green domestically has been more than offset by Germany's failure to grasp the potential ramifications within the US of its long running trade surplus with the US.  It might be said that if Germany had done a better job of importing US made goods and supporting jobs in the US's industrial heartland, where union rights are protected, the election of our current President could have been avoided and the US would have remained a leader in the fight against climate change rather than switching camps and fighting international progress on climate action.

Many would also argue that Germany's myopic focus on the profitability of German companies and on building an enormous balance of trade surplus with many nations is a key factor in sowing social unrest within the EU and around the globe.

It can be argued Germany's most effective path to fostering democracy where it is under threat in the EU and beyond (see Hungary, Between Democracy and Authoritarianism and  Fascism, a Warning) - and, arguably, the path duty obliges it to follow as principal world power - would be to revise its trading practices to support quality manufacturing jobs in the US, the UK, France, Hungary, Italy and other countries.

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