In Germany the economy is geared towards production. Companies that do something real have benefits. Purely investment activities (financial industry) have to pay higher taxes. This makes the country more productive. In the US, the first thing everyone does is to move production out of the country and put their money on financial investments. It is great for investors because of the higher profit margins, but terrible for the economy in general.

A big cohort of economists would argue that the recent[1] German success comes in big parts because of the Eurozone, and how Germany is draining the Italian[2] industry because the Euro is too strong of a currency for Italy (because of cultural reasons, regarding saving behavior along others, Italy has been used to a way higher level of inflation than what Germans could withstand).

[1]yes recent, the situation was way different in the early 80s

[2] this applies to France too, but to a lesser extent.

If you’re interested in this subject, I’d highly recommend reading: “Reprogramming the American Dream“ by Kevin Scott.

Family owned businesses? It is not rare to see a not too big factory outside a small village ( same for Switzerland ).