Crises

Articles about crises and crisis management. This section deals with personal experiences, methods for dealing with difficult situations and approaches for long-term stabilization.

Economic Growth: A Recipe for Success or a Thing of the Past?

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Is Economic Growth a Thing of the Past?

For decades, economic growth has been regarded as one of the most important indicators of a society’s prosperity and economic strength. When the gross domestic product grows, this is generally seen as good news: companies invest, jobs are created, incomes can rise, and the government gains additional financial leeway. Growth therefore symbolizes not only economic success but often the success of a government as well.

Hardly any other economic indicator is followed with such close attention. Even slight changes in growth forecasts can move stock markets, spark political debates, and determine whether a country ventures into new investments or considers austerity measures. Yet for several years now, the notion of economic growth that is as sustainable as possible has been increasingly called into question. After all, a rising gross domestic product merely indicates, at first glance, that more goods and services have been produced or provided within an economy. It does not directly reveal whether people are actually living happier, healthier, or safer lives as a result.

This raises a fundamental question: Is economic growth really still the central goal that societies and governments should be striving for? Or do we now need additional criteria to assess a country's success?

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Donald Trump in the US system - origins, power, media and impact

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Donald Trump in the USA system

Donald Trump is no ordinary political figure. He is not a classic statesman, not an ideologically trained party soldier, not a product of decades of Washington networks. Trump is one thing above all: a projection screen. For hopes, for fears, for anger, for rejection - and for expectations that go far beyond concrete policies. This is precisely the reason why a portrait of him makes sense. You don't have to like or dislike him, but he definitely makes something visible that was already there.

Trump does not just stand for decisions or programs. He represents a rupture in the political self-image of the Western world. And this rupture cannot be explained by viewing him merely as a „populist“, „provocateur“ or „accident of history“. If you want to understand Trump, you have to see him as both a symptom and an actor.

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What is the meaning of life? A comparison of religions, philosophers and Helmut Thielicke

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The question of the meaning of life

There are questions that have been with mankind for thousands of years. Questions that never really go away, no matter how modern our world becomes. One of these questions is probably quite simple: What is actually the meaning of life?

Interestingly, the answer „42“ appears again and again today - usually with a little smile. The background comes from „The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy“ by Douglas Adams. In the story, a highly developed civilization builds a gigantic supercomputer that is supposed to calculate the „answer to the ultimate question about life, the universe and the rest“ over millions of years. In the end, the result is simply: 42. The absurd thing about it is that no one actually knows exactly what the original question was in the end.

That's exactly why this scene became world famous. It is funny, but at the same time surprisingly profound. Because perhaps it describes a basic human problem quite aptly: we often desperately search for answers without even knowing exactly what question we are actually asking.

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How the pandemic taught economists a lesson about inflation, growth and economic recovery

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Economists' assumptions during the pandemic

Even during the coronavirus pandemic, many economists were surprisingly unanimous: the great danger was a phase of low inflation, perhaps even deflation. A few years later, the picture is different. Inflation reached historic highs in many countries, supply chains collapsed and economic developments turned out differently than expected.

The pandemic was not just a health crisis - it was also a stress test for economic forecasts. This article shows where experts were wrong, why this was the case and what lessons can be learned for future assessments.

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Recognize TMD early and self-test: Why the jaw, neck, head and ears are often connected

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TMD self-test

There are complaints that cannot be classified for a long time. A pulling sensation in the jaw that you initially ignore. A headache that you blame on stress. A slight cracking sound when you open your mouth that eventually becomes a habit. And then suddenly there is neck pain, perhaps a slight feeling of pressure in the ear - all explainable in themselves, but strangely unclear in the overall picture. This is exactly how it starts for many people. You go to the dentist, perhaps later to the orthopaedist or ENT specialist. Everyone looks at their own area, and often nothing clear is found. The complaints remain - sometimes for years.

I have experienced this path myself. And it was only when I was intensively involved with the topic of TMD, particularly when I was setting up a structured self-test, that I realized how many of the typical symptoms I had actually experienced over time. Individual points that seem harmless on their own suddenly form an overall picture. This article is intended to help with exactly that: to make the connections visible. Because the decisive step is often not in the treatment, but in recognizing the pattern.

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Fracking, LNG and energy policy: a sober analysis of risks, opportunities and reality

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Natural gas fracking and energy policy

There are political and social discussions that are not linear. They come in waves. Fracking is one such issue. For years, the matter in Germany seemed settled. With the legislative package of 2016 and the resulting regulation from 2017, the framework was clear: commercial fracking in unconventional reservoirs will not take place. The debate calmed down and the issue largely disappeared from the public eye. It was as if a lid had been put on it.

But this impression was deceptive. Because while the debate in Germany was dying down, the world was changing in the background. The energy supply, which had long been considered relatively stable, came under increasing pressure. Prices began to fluctuate, supply chains became more fragile and geopolitical tensions increased. The events from 2022 at the latest made it clear that energy is not a matter of course, but a strategic commodity.

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Who actually is J. D. Vance? A portrait of his origins, career, contradictions and future

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Who is J. D. Vance?

International reporting on the United States is usually dominated by the big, loud figures. Names that polarize, that provoke, that generate headlines. For many European observers, politics in the USA is therefore often an interplay of escalation, conflict and clearly recognizable opposites. And then suddenly a name appears that doesn't fit into this picture at all: J. D. Vance.

Not a classic loudspeaker. Not a man of grand gestures. Not a politician who immediately attracts attention with his pithy words. And yet he is suddenly there - in interviews, in analyses, in political debates. Not as a marginal figure, but as someone who obviously plays a role that is bigger than it appears at first glance. For many readers in Germany or Europe, this is precisely where the real question begins: who is this man anyway - and why has he suddenly become so important?

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Sympathetic nervous system, parasympathetic nervous system and cortisol - how stress controls our body

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Cortisol, sympathetic nervous system and stress

Stress is part of life. Without stress, we would probably hardly get out of bed in the morning, avoid challenges and simply not get many things done. For thousands of years, the human body has been designed to be able to react quickly in certain situations: Recognize danger, mobilize energy, act. In such moments, the organism runs at full speed - heart rate, breathing, alertness and muscle tension increase. This state can even be life-saving.

However, stress becomes problematic when it no longer ends. Many people today live in a state that no longer feels like acute stress, but rather like a permanently elevated baseline level. Deadlines, conflicts, a flood of information, constant availability - the body often reacts as if it is constantly in a potentially dangerous situation. However, while our ancestors were able to calm down again after a short period of tension, this phase of real relaxation is often missing today.

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