I met Johannes Beverungen, a German professor of cooperative research, at a Santa Barbara Rotary Club meeting a decade ago.
He had brought over 100 students from the University of Mannheim to study at UC Santa Barbara, something he has now done for 26 years.
We became fast friends, as did our wives, and we both look forward to his annual three-month stay in Santa Barbara.
Recently, Beverungen sent me several newspaper articles from his hometown of Paderborn, which I quickly had translated into English using ChatGPT.
One in particular caught my attention. Beverungen had been asked to introduce German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the annual Libori Festival.
When Merz was delayed, Beverungen’s planned introduction went much longer than anticipated.
He traced his ideas from ancient philosophy to modern economics, echoing the familiar notion that there is no such thing as a free lunch.
Prosperity, he emphasized, does not come from government decree but from innovation, effort and entrepreneurial risk-taking.
While the state plays a vital role in providing structure — security, infrastructure and stability — it cannot substitute for individual initiative and creativity.
Beverungen cautioned against a growing tendency to expect government to solve every problem, warning that such thinking can shift responsibility and delay difficult but necessary decisions.
Social systems, he noted, are essential for cohesion, but their sustainability ultimately depends on economic performance.
Perhaps most striking was his reminder that inaction carries its own cost — often greater than the risks associated with change. Missed opportunities, delayed innovation and workforce shortages all come at a price.
His call was for renewed confidence, a focus on innovation over regulation, and the courage to act today in order to preserve prosperity, security and freedom for future generations.
“People are basically the same the world over. Everybody wants the same things: to be happy, to be healthy, to be at least reasonably prosperous, and to be secure.”
ZIG ZIGLAR
He concluded with a quote attributed to Merz: “The world is not as it is. We can shape it. Let us therefore begin — decisively, creatively and courageously — by building on our own strengths.”
Reading my friend’s words, I was struck by how easily his message could apply here at home.
The principles he outlined — personal responsibility, economic vitality and the balance between public support and private initiative — are not uniquely German. They echo the ideals that have shaped our own nation.
From our founding fathers to leaders like Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, the message has been consistent: progress requires both vision and responsibility.
The future is not something that simply happens to us, it is something we shape through the choices we make today.
Whether in Paderborn or Santa Barbara, the fundamentals remain the same. People want opportunity, security and the chance to build a better life.
The question is not whether those goals are shared, it is whether we have the clarity and the courage to pursue them.
