By Uwe Siemon-Netto,
World Tribune
Germany’s radical decision to quit nuclear power by 2022 has me worried, and not just for economic reasons. My concern is primarily philosophical for this development suggests the robust return of a troubling mindset that has served Germany and the world badly for centuries. It is called Schwärmerei and translates literally into “swarming.” Martin Luther invented this term for a murky combination of utopian mass enthusiasm and fanaticism.
Luther used the word, Schwärmerei, to describe 16th-century theological-political movements that taught that man should give God a helping hand by establishing Elysian entities already here on earth in anticipation of His ultimate paradise. The quintessential “Schwärmer” was Luther’s antagonist Thomas Müntzer (1489-1525), chief ideologue of the 16th-century peasants’ wars in Germany. Müntzer had a great influence on the bloodiest political movements of the 19th and 20th centuries, Marxism and National Socialism.
Both Friedrich Engels, the father of Communist theory, and Nazi chief ideologue Alfred Rosenberg deferred to Müntzer, even though they were atheists and he was not. But it was from Müntzer that they inherited the idea of having to create a miniature paradise with limited access here and now. The Communist self-declared goal was to create a “Worker’s and Peasants’ Paradise;” the Nazis tried to establish an idyllic reservation for one particular tribe, the Aryans. Both proved to be irrational and ultimately lethal schemes.
Germany 'needs 10 GW of new plant' following nuclear phase-out
London (
Platts)
Some 10 GW of thermal power generating capacity needs to be built in Germany by 2020 in addition to capacity already under construction to ensure a healthy reserve margin, the German government indicated in its decision Monday to close all the country's nuclear power stations by 2022.
Small- and medium-sized utilities are to be preferred over RWE, E.ON, EnBW and Vattenfall Europe in construction of these new power stations, it said.
Around 13 GW of thermal plant (mainly hard coal but some lignite and gas) are in various stages of construction in Germany, according to Platts data.
