The two main problems that Germany faces during its current reunification process can be generalized and applied to other historical and contemporary situations. Nearly any nation attempting to piece itself back together after deep divisions would experience some economic, social, and political conflict. For example, after the Civil War, the United States dealt with heady economic, political and social problems that remain problems well over a century later. As in Germany, a lack of frank ethical discussions may have contributed to the lingering social problems in the United States. Under the GDR government, big state-controlled industry prevailed and small independently-owned businesses were anathema. Free enterprise was suppressed for decades and stimulating small business growth after reunification has proven difficult in Eastern Germany. Similarly, the American government did little to invest in the stimulation of African-American entrepreneurship and the endemic poverty amongst black communities remains a poignant problem in the United...
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