Capitalism should promote competition, competition should be rewarded in the form of private property and market participants should be subject to as few controls as possible, so that in the end the system remains in balance for the benefit of all. So much for the simplified theory. In practice, the picture is often quite different.

Although there are many different forms of capitalism, such as the social market economy, neo-liberalism and state capitalism, to name but a few, they all share the basic idea of competition. Now competition is a euphemism for struggle and conflict, in the worst case by any means. If there is no suitable regulatory framework for unlimited competition, the consequences can be as unpleasant as desired for the losers of the capitalist system.

The losers are all those who were unable or unwilling to withstand the competitive pressure or were forced out of the market by unfair means. Because of the principle of competitiveness in any form of capitalism, a loser does not necessarily have to be bad; he is only, in some cases gradually, worse than the best. Bester also does not imply the height of the level. It is merely a comparative parameter that can be used as a basis for evaluating current human development. So a low level is possible despite competition.

Now, any system devised by man for man should only serve the great mass of people involved in this system. In this way, capitalism also increases the prosperity of many and promotes the equality of individuals. Provided that conflicts are always conducted in a fair and balanced manner, this basic principle would not be subject to much criticism. However, high competitive pressure in particular brings with it the temptation to reduce this pressure in its own interests as a dominant market player, often using disreputable means and methods.

Cartels, oligopolies and even monopolies, corruption, exploitation of nature and the weak, ruthlessness and even criminality can be the consequences of rampant capitalism. Without any controlling measures taken outside the capitalist system, this path of competition always leads to unequal distribution, exploitation and oppression of the weaker members of society.

The economic form of capitalism must be rethought from the ground up so that the few do not rule over the many, but so that everyone can live together in fair coexistence and at the same time increase prosperity for all.

In a modern, globalized world, stagnation or even an economic downturn will come on its own without action. The constant striving of others to improve while at the same time doing nothing leads to an ever-widening gap, which ultimately leads to creeping ruin. For some time now, Germany has found itself in the uncomfortable position of being overtaken in more and more areas by a wide variety of nations. At some point, it will no longer be possible to catch up. Only if society as a whole, including political and economic structures, becomes more competitive will it be possible to keep pace with the rapidly developing nations. Change comes from positive change, which is generally referred to as reform. However, as Germany has to reform many areas at the same time and should have done so a long time ago, there is talk of a reform backlog. The following areas are affected, although the list is not exhaustive:

• Legal system must be streamlined and simplified
• Political system must become more grassroots democratic and performance-oriented
• Administration must be efficient and fully digitalized
• Lobbying and clientelism must be effectively combated
• The school and training system must be completely changed to ensure that the content makes sense

All of these are highly explosive and highly complex subsystems of a society and must therefore be analyzed and described separately