Abstract

Dennis Ott: In a recent interview you quoted Thorstein Veblen, who contrasted “substantial people†and “underlying population.â€[1] At a shareholder’s meeting of Allianz AG, major shareholder Hans-Martin Buhlmannn expressed the view that there is only one limit to the increase of the dividend: “The inferiors must not be bled so much that they can no longer consume. They must survive as consumers.â€[2] Is this the guiding principle of our economic system? And if so, is there any substance to the notion of a “social market economyâ€?