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A bestseller in Germany, “El ocaso del Capitalismo” is one of the most publicly debated books in Northern Europe. Its author, journalist Ulrike Hermann, has emerged as a spokesperson for a third way between climate apocalypse alarmists and deniers. While “green growth” is touted as the solution, Ulrike Hermann disagrees: in this book, she explains in a sharp and accessible way why we need “green contraction.”

Hermann provides a brilliant overview of the nature of capitalism, holding it up to the mirror of today’s realities. There’s mounting evidence that the climate crisis worsens daily, yet substantial, concrete changes remain scarce. In this work, Ulrike Hermann proposes realistic, feasible alternatives.

Ulrike Herrmann trained as a bank clerk, studied philosophy and history, and graduated from the Henri Nannen School of Journalism. Since 2000, she has been an economics correspondent for Taz and a writer on social and economic policy issues. Her first book, “Hurra, wir dürfen zahlen. Über den Selbstbetrug der Mittelschicht”, was published by WestendVerlag in 2010. She has since published several other bestsellers with the same publisher, including “Der Sieg des Kapitals”, “Kein Kapitalismus ist auch keine Lösung”, and “Deutschland, ein Wirtschaftsmärchen”. Recently, Hermann has appeared frequently as a commentator on German political talk shows (Phoenix-Runde, Maischberger, Lanz). In recent years, she has gained prominence with her many insightful lectures on economic topics at foundations, institutes, and universities.

Ulrike Herrmann