Ever since the fall of the Soviet Union, leftists have been looking for a new paradise in which to invest their hopes for humanity. It seems that Steve Hochstadt (Sun Journal, Nov. 21) has found it in Germany. Nothing like a large, warm and fuzzy federal government to keep you cozy in bed at night.

According to Steve Hochstadt, centralized power is efficient and democratic and is more likely to serve the common good. A system of limited, decentralized power is seen as chaotic, aristocratic, and more likely to serve selfish interests at the expense of everyone else. Yet selfish America has a higher standard of living, less unemployment and a more widespread middle class than does efficient, democratic and public-spirited Germany.

For anyone to place trust in the government to run the economy is to invite disaster. Fourteen years ago, Japan was being lauded for its form of a state-controlled economy. Then it fell apart in the early- to mid-’90s and no one ever points to the Japanese as a role model anymore.

Almon F. Jordan III, Auburn

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