Introduction

Tony Gentile/Reuters

The repercussions of Greece leaving the euro zone have been widely debated. But what if a powerful creditor country like Germany left instead?

As the billionaire investor George Soros wrote recently, “Germany must lead or leave.” If, as Soros speculates, Germany cannot accept “the responsibilities and liabilities that a benevolent hegemon should be willing to incur,” should it then abandon the euro altogether, leaving the rest of the bloc in charge?