Who should we stick together with?: Day of German division

T he Bertelsmann Foundation is happy. “Social cohesion is improving - despite a weak sense of justice,” says a new study by the foundation.

On German Unity Day, politicians from all civil parties will once again talk about the fact that we have to come together, get along and fight against division. But is division really always bad? Do we need social cohesion as a whole?

Behind the basic idea of ​​social cohesion lies a patriotic exclusivity and a lack of class consciousness. Because “social cohesion” only refers to one society, namely ours, the great German society.

Right-wingers mean the white, German people, middle-class people simply mean the people who happen to live in this area of ​​the world. We should now stick together with these people, even if all they do all day is mow the lawn, play golf or have other completely foreign interests and world views. What connects me more with a person from Goslar or Mönchengladbach than with someone from Zurich or Kabul?

I have more solidarity with a Turkish, left-wing, cinema-loving student desperately looking for an apartment in Istanbul than with my German landlord or a racist policewoman, both of whom happen to live in the same city as me.

I did not choose to be in the company of these people and I am separated from them by my values ​​or my class. Because division is a good thing; this is the only way major conflicts can be resolved.

These social roles are not natural, they are not God-given and can be changed for the freedom of all. Tenants and landlords, employees and employers, political decision-makers and those affected, capital owners and wage earners are divided. These stark contrasts must be broken down so that a unity of all people can emerge - a real cohesion.

Andreas Pinkwart from the Bertelsmann Foundation summarizes the civil counter-thesis well: "We need a new, constructive coexistence. The state needs the commitment of the citizens. But the legitimate concerns of the citizens must be taken into account by the state, and the burdens caused by necessary reforms must be managed in a fair manner."

Pinkwart says through the flower that for a perfect society we need a few reforms, but above all hard-working citizens. So we need a “fairer” wage for “just” exploitation, even though this cannot exist in principle.

Of course, everyone should also be satisfied and grateful with their supposedly self-inflicted position in society. In Germany there is a welfare state to ensure that the misery of the poorest is kept within limits and that no more people than already live on the streets.

But there is also good news from the study: solidarity with the community is stagnating, as is trust in the federal government. The calculated justice index is even lower and has fallen - people recognize the economic inequality in Germany. This inequality has reached an all-time high in Germany, and poverty is also increasing.

This year, German Unity Day will once again be accompanied by pride in Germany and many small German flags - perhaps a few more than in previous years. Right-wingers know how to divide, but at the expense of POCs, queer people, Flintas and workers.

Especially on October 3rd, we should tear down the German flag and become aware of what really sets us apart. Make the Day of German Unity the Day of German Division!