The article addresses the question of how social units, namely the German state, carry out their functions and how people act after a certain ethic. Max Weber’s distinction between an ethic of responsibility and an ethic of conviction gives us important clues for an examination. What does the German government do to fulfil its responsibilities and tasks, particularly, how does it enforce law, internal and external security? These are other objects of investigation. In the past decade, Merkel’s government has brought about some constructive results in the economic field. The German Federal Armed Forces, the Bundeswehr, have not increased international security in any significant way, but it also did not participate in destructive wars. Merkel’s migration policy, which can not be explained with the concept of an ethics of responsibility, has rather contributed to weakening the rule of law and internal security.