Der überforderte Staat

Between the expansive regulatory ambition of the late-modern welfare state and its declining capacity to solve practical problems, a constitutionally relevant state of overload emerges. The state commands ever-growing resources, yet persistently exceeds its functional limits and makes promises it cannot keep. This deficit of rationality manifests itself in excessive taxation, unsustainable public debt, and the fiscal overextension of monetary policy, while even core areas of essential public services are neglected. The resulting dysfunctionality becomes a constitutional issue when it hardens systemically and undermines the freedom-based legitimacy of state revenue extraction. What is conceived as a necessary balance of freedom thus turns into a cumulative overburdening of citizens. Fiscal rules alone are insufficient; what is required is a strengthening of political discursive capacity and responsibility. This includes closer responsiveness of representatives to the represented, institutional oversight of budgetary decisions, and an enhanced role for independent expert bodies.