V. In all reforms of the German economy,
regardless of whether they concern land reform, rebuilding the industrial economy, or redefining the relationship between employees and companies, the first and foremost goal must be the welfare of the people. The primary goal of the German economy is neither to serve the welfare of a particular stratum of society nor to serve foreign countries. After the basic needs of the German people have been met, the Allies in particular have a right to and an interest in disposing of the blatant war industry and in receiving reparations. They do not have the right to curtail German industry or to organize it in a way that meets the export needs of their own countries while disregarding the needs of the German people. The dismantling of factories that were not part of the war industry and the transfer of ownership of large industries to the German state would serve this purpose, as this would make it possible to achieve any desired economic objective by applying political pressure to a politically weak state.
Furthermore, one must bear in mind that the German economy is not based solely on industry; its key sectors include the industrial economy, the agricultural economy, the skilled trades, commerce, transport, as well as the financial and banking system.
All sectors of the economy are intertwined and interdependent. No sector may be viewed in isolation from the others. Thus, links to other economic sectors must be taken into account when the industrial economy is planned.
Source: The Ahlen Program (February 1-3, 1947), from a pamphlet by the National Office of the CDU (Bonn, n.d.); reprinted in Ossip Kurt Flechtheim, Die Parteien der Bundesrepublik Deutschland [The Parties of the Federal Republic of Germany]. Hamburg, 1973, pp. 157-62.
Translation: Adam Blauhut
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