In BBC radio broadcast “Business Daily” he said: “In the social market economy we try to bring together free economy and free markets on the one hand and a strong state on the other hand and do not see a necessary contradiction between." Confronted with the fact, that the growth in the US was higher than in Germany, he said, that this approach: "... gave us less growth and less GDP per capita than the US but also more social stability and more social sustainability” and that this difference had to do with different expectations of the people about the economy (listen to Schaefers conclusion at 13:10 - link see right column). Asked if western capitalism has failed, he brought back to mind the founding fathers of social market economy, also known as managed capitalism. Eucken, Röpke and Müller-Armack always asked for regulation as a framework that should give markets adjustment and stability in their development (09:00).

Schaefer was part of a talk together with David F Ruccio, Professor of Economics at Notre Dame University, Andrew G Briggs, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a former Associate Director of the National Economic Council at the White House. They discussed the issues Tim Jackson, an expert in sustainable development, has recently raised.