For the time being at least the left has lost the class struggle for higher incomes and a better standard of living.
The proportion of those at risk of poverty in Germany and the proportion of those affected by poverty in Germany despite gainful employment increased sharply between the turn of the millennium and 2017.
Resistance to unfair trade agreements and war crimes also have a majority within the population but not within the parliaments.
In addition there is the phenomenon that the left misses its goals, if they despise the rich more than to campaign for the lower and middle income classes. Meanwhile this phenomenon is reemerging. But the lower and middle income classes take the place of the rich.
The rich and thus the new enemy of the left is the industrialized world as a collective exploiter of the world. And its biggest addressee is its designated electorate.
Indeed there has been a shift in politics and published opinion by the press. Here there was an increased focus on identity politics and too little on the social question. There is also a certain cross-party overbidding competition. Under the guise of cosmopolitanism more immigration is be implemented, thereby increasing competition on the labor and housing markets. Under the guise of environmental protection driving bans and a carbon tax are being implemented thereby increasing the pressure on the lower and middle income classes. This is then no longer a social policy but only a reinterpretation of what the left once started against.
This is supported by the fact that according to a study from 2010 on the views and voting behavior of journalists in Germany a quarter of journalists choose the party the Greens. And almost half of the journalists choose the left-wing and Green parties. The conservative CDU/CSU and the market-liberal FDP account for only 9 and 7.4 percent respectively. Left and Greens are thus over-represented while other parties are dramatically underrepresented. [1,S.18]
However the poor and workers are left behind. The proportion of those at risk of poverty in Germany rose from 12.7% in 2007 to 20.5% in 2016. [2] The proportion of people affected by poverty in Germany despite being employed has also increased since the introduction of the Euro and low-wage policies. According to the EVS (Einkommens- und Verbrauchsstichprobe/Income and Expenditure Survey) and the SOEP (Sozio-ökonomisches Panel/Socio-Economic Panel) the proportion of people affected by poverty despite gainful employment in Germany rose from around 5% in 1995 to 10% in 2015. [3] [3,A03]
This order is increasingly competing with the old confrontation of the left against the right. With protectionism, closed borders and the conscious representation of that one can appeal to the interests of the lower and middle income classes and thus the majority of "Somewheres". This is also because the left-wing spectrum has neglected the interests of lower and middle income classes.
A policy for the "Anywheres" however is based on their desire for identity policy and its interest in economic freedom and freedom of movement. Such a policy inevitably does not orientate itself to the local lower and middle income classes and in the extreme case such a policy is even geared towards the higher income classes. Or such a policy represents the demand for more immigration. And here this interpretation matches with the cross-party shift to the left.
The majority of the population does not know about these free trade agreements also because it is little or not reported about them. One exception was the TTIP agreement. The vast majority of Germans not only rejected TTIP several thousand people even demonstrated against it. [7] [8]
And the NATO member states have a very poor record in terms of respect for international law. The incubator lie (Nayirah testimony) and that since 2003 Saddam's weapons of mass destruction are still missing are no secrets. On March 24, 1999 NATO forces bombarded targets in Belgrade and other cities in the former Yugoslavia under the guise of preventing a humanitarian catastrophe and thereby escalating the war. However according to the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) the humanitarian catastrophe in Kosovo only occured due to the NATO air strikes. The journalists Jo Angerer and Mathias Werth have made a documentary about the lies and the consequences of the documentary "It Started with a Lie - Germany's Path to the Kosovo War". [9] In 2011 NATO forces bombarded Libya under the guise of preventing a humanitarian catastrophe, overturning the government of Muammar Gaddafi. In 2015 the UK Parliament noted that the assessment that led to the Libyan war in 2011 was significantly overrated. And that the significant Islamist elements of the rebels were not perceived. [10] [10,pdf]
But the vast majority of Germans also reject the foreign missions of the Bundeswehr. [11] [12] And even arms exports are rejected by about two-thirds of Germans. [13] Against the last two phenomena there are in Germany since 1957 the Easter marches where people demonstrate every year.
This economic and military foreign policy thus exists despite and against the will of the people. So it would be wrong to condemn them for this. Nevertheless all too often the narrative confines itself to the reverse version of Western exceptionalism that the industrialized world or the West as a whole are to blame for the misery of the rest of the world. Instead of standing politically above all other countries the West is at fault here.
It is therefore natural to believe that parties can have success in election against these prevailing conditions . A party with the corresponding demands should therefore be successful. In fact left-wing parties are on the decline. And the population became increasingly the recipient of claims for the left.
Where leftists earlier made an offer to the society and promised to improve their situation left-wingers now make demands to the population. Here within the left spectrum the demands prevail over offers and promises. In the left spectrum the demands have established that the lower and middle income groups have to give up their cars, pay for the energy transition and a CO2 tax. And instead of unmasking the economic interests of employers' organizations demands for immigration with all its consequences have been established in the left-wing spectrum. In extreme cases even the deteriorating security and economic situation is taboo.
Moreover it may not be advisable for parties to deny their own electorate to speak out. Because if the truth uses the supposedly wrong people then something is wrong with the supposedly right people.
[1] POLITIKJOURNALISTINNEN UND -JOURNALISTEN 2010-05
https://www.dfjv.de/documents/10180/178294/DFJV_Studie_Politikjournalistinnen_und_Journalisten.pdf
[2] Eurostat-Daten - Wenn Arbeit nicht vor Armut schützt 2018-10-24
https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/beschaeftigte-armut-101.html
[3] Armuts- und Reichtumsbericht
https://www.armuts-und-reichtumsbericht.de/DE/Startseite/start.html
[4] Freihandel EU-Afrika - Die Kunst des unfairen Deals 2017-01-17
http://www.taz.de/!5371866/
[5] EU-Freihandel mit Afrika: Unfairer Deal? 2017-01-11
https://www.dw.com/de/eu-freihandel-mit-afrika-unfairer-deal/a-37073640
[6] EU baut mit Mercosur-Staatenbund weltweit größte Freihandelszone auf 2019-06-28
https://diepresse.com/home/ausland/aussenpolitik/5651889/EU-baut-mit-MercosurStaatenbund-weltweit-groesste-Freihandelszone-auf
[7] Große Mehrheit der Deutschen sieht TTIP kritisch 2016-05-04
http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/ttip-grosse-mehrheit-der-deutschen-sieht-freihandelsabkommen-kritisch-a-1090908.html
[8] 150.000 Demonstranten protestieren gegen TTIP 2015-10-10
http://www.faz.net/aktuell/wirtschaft/ttip-und-freihandel/grosskundgebung-in-berlin-150-000-demonstranten-protestieren-gegen-ttip-13848419.html
[9] "Deutschlands Weg in den Kosovo-Krieg - Es begann mit einer Lüge"
https://youtu.be/ZtkQYRlXMNU
[10] Libya: Examination of intervention and collapse and the UK's future policy options inquiry
https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/foreign-affairs-committee/inquiries1/parliament-2015/libya-policy/
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201617/cmselect/cmfaff/119/119.pdf
[11] Mehrheit der Deutschen lehnt Auslandseinsätze ab 2014-12-28
https://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2014-12/umfrage-deutsche-ablehnung-internationale-bundeswehr-einsaetze
[12] Umfrage zu Auslandseinsätzen - Deutsche lehnen stärkeres Engagement in der Welt ab 2014-05-20
http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/umfrage-deutsche-lehnen-auslandseinsaetze-der-bundeswehr-ab-a-970463.html
[13] Fast zwei Drittel der Deutschen wollen Stopp aller Rüstungsexporte 2018-05-29
https://www.faz.net/aktuell/wirtschaft/fast-zwei-drittel-der-deutschen-gegen-ruestungsexporte-15613393.html
In addition there is the phenomenon that the left misses its goals, if they despise the rich more than to campaign for the lower and middle income classes. Meanwhile this phenomenon is reemerging. But the lower and middle income classes take the place of the rich.
The rich and thus the new enemy of the left is the industrialized world as a collective exploiter of the world. And its biggest addressee is its designated electorate.
- The cross-party shift to the left - in the social policy
- Anywheres vs. Somewheres
- The reverse Exceptionalism
- The People in the West are also hit
- Conclusion
The cross-party shift to the left - in the social policy
Whether there has been a cross-party shift to the left in recent years is highly controversial. For this thesis speaks that demands from the left-wing spectrum such as for more immigration, driving bans, a CO2 tax or a more liberal social policy either already arrived in the public debate or have already been implemented. Arguably the strongest argument against this thesis is that the designated theme of the left spectrum has moved into the background.Indeed there has been a shift in politics and published opinion by the press. Here there was an increased focus on identity politics and too little on the social question. There is also a certain cross-party overbidding competition. Under the guise of cosmopolitanism more immigration is be implemented, thereby increasing competition on the labor and housing markets. Under the guise of environmental protection driving bans and a carbon tax are being implemented thereby increasing the pressure on the lower and middle income classes. This is then no longer a social policy but only a reinterpretation of what the left once started against.
This is supported by the fact that according to a study from 2010 on the views and voting behavior of journalists in Germany a quarter of journalists choose the party the Greens. And almost half of the journalists choose the left-wing and Green parties. The conservative CDU/CSU and the market-liberal FDP account for only 9 and 7.4 percent respectively. Left and Greens are thus over-represented while other parties are dramatically underrepresented. [1,S.18]
However the poor and workers are left behind. The proportion of those at risk of poverty in Germany rose from 12.7% in 2007 to 20.5% in 2016. [2] The proportion of people affected by poverty in Germany despite being employed has also increased since the introduction of the Euro and low-wage policies. According to the EVS (Einkommens- und Verbrauchsstichprobe/Income and Expenditure Survey) and the SOEP (Sozio-ökonomisches Panel/Socio-Economic Panel) the proportion of people affected by poverty despite gainful employment in Germany rose from around 5% in 1995 to 10% in 2015. [3] [3,A03]
Anywheres vs. Somewheres
As a new central conflict the confrontation between the "Anywheres" and the "Somewheres" has established itself alongside the confrontation of the left against the right. Here the mobile, around the world traveling "Anywheres" and the non-mobile, settled in one place "Somewheres" meet. The lower and middle income classes are as a majority "Somewheres" for lacking mobility. The "Anywheres" have either higher incomes and therefore are mobile as well as less dependent on the well-being and condition of their homeland. Or they are people from other countries who are looking for better conditions in other countries and have not yet settled down.This order is increasingly competing with the old confrontation of the left against the right. With protectionism, closed borders and the conscious representation of that one can appeal to the interests of the lower and middle income classes and thus the majority of "Somewheres". This is also because the left-wing spectrum has neglected the interests of lower and middle income classes.
A policy for the "Anywheres" however is based on their desire for identity policy and its interest in economic freedom and freedom of movement. Such a policy inevitably does not orientate itself to the local lower and middle income classes and in the extreme case such a policy is even geared towards the higher income classes. Or such a policy represents the demand for more immigration. And here this interpretation matches with the cross-party shift to the left.
The reverse Exceptionalism
The EU is expanding free trade with inferior economies. This means that African and South American low-wage countries and high-wage countries from the EU must compete. As a result the inferior industries and income classes are threatened to lose their market share to imports. [4] [5] [6]The majority of the population does not know about these free trade agreements also because it is little or not reported about them. One exception was the TTIP agreement. The vast majority of Germans not only rejected TTIP several thousand people even demonstrated against it. [7] [8]
And the NATO member states have a very poor record in terms of respect for international law. The incubator lie (Nayirah testimony) and that since 2003 Saddam's weapons of mass destruction are still missing are no secrets. On March 24, 1999 NATO forces bombarded targets in Belgrade and other cities in the former Yugoslavia under the guise of preventing a humanitarian catastrophe and thereby escalating the war. However according to the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) the humanitarian catastrophe in Kosovo only occured due to the NATO air strikes. The journalists Jo Angerer and Mathias Werth have made a documentary about the lies and the consequences of the documentary "It Started with a Lie - Germany's Path to the Kosovo War". [9] In 2011 NATO forces bombarded Libya under the guise of preventing a humanitarian catastrophe, overturning the government of Muammar Gaddafi. In 2015 the UK Parliament noted that the assessment that led to the Libyan war in 2011 was significantly overrated. And that the significant Islamist elements of the rebels were not perceived. [10] [10,pdf]
But the vast majority of Germans also reject the foreign missions of the Bundeswehr. [11] [12] And even arms exports are rejected by about two-thirds of Germans. [13] Against the last two phenomena there are in Germany since 1957 the Easter marches where people demonstrate every year.
This economic and military foreign policy thus exists despite and against the will of the people. So it would be wrong to condemn them for this. Nevertheless all too often the narrative confines itself to the reverse version of Western exceptionalism that the industrialized world or the West as a whole are to blame for the misery of the rest of the world. Instead of standing politically above all other countries the West is at fault here.
The People in the West are also hit
The industrialized world or the West is partly to blame for the bad living conditions of other countries. But it is not as if its population is rewarded with rising living conditions. The governments of the industrialized world or the West are also partly to blame for the poor living conditions in the industrialized world or the West.It is therefore natural to believe that parties can have success in election against these prevailing conditions . A party with the corresponding demands should therefore be successful. In fact left-wing parties are on the decline. And the population became increasingly the recipient of claims for the left.
Where leftists earlier made an offer to the society and promised to improve their situation left-wingers now make demands to the population. Here within the left spectrum the demands prevail over offers and promises. In the left spectrum the demands have established that the lower and middle income groups have to give up their cars, pay for the energy transition and a CO2 tax. And instead of unmasking the economic interests of employers' organizations demands for immigration with all its consequences have been established in the left-wing spectrum. In extreme cases even the deteriorating security and economic situation is taboo.
Conclusion
Even more important than the distinction between left and right is the mapping of interests. Consequently it is more effective for parties in the long term to offer and promise than to establish demands to the population.Moreover it may not be advisable for parties to deny their own electorate to speak out. Because if the truth uses the supposedly wrong people then something is wrong with the supposedly right people.
[1] POLITIKJOURNALISTINNEN UND -JOURNALISTEN 2010-05
https://www.dfjv.de/documents/10180/178294/DFJV_Studie_Politikjournalistinnen_und_Journalisten.pdf
[2] Eurostat-Daten - Wenn Arbeit nicht vor Armut schützt 2018-10-24
https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/beschaeftigte-armut-101.html
[3] Armuts- und Reichtumsbericht
https://www.armuts-und-reichtumsbericht.de/DE/Startseite/start.html
[4] Freihandel EU-Afrika - Die Kunst des unfairen Deals 2017-01-17
http://www.taz.de/!5371866/
[5] EU-Freihandel mit Afrika: Unfairer Deal? 2017-01-11
https://www.dw.com/de/eu-freihandel-mit-afrika-unfairer-deal/a-37073640
[6] EU baut mit Mercosur-Staatenbund weltweit größte Freihandelszone auf 2019-06-28
https://diepresse.com/home/ausland/aussenpolitik/5651889/EU-baut-mit-MercosurStaatenbund-weltweit-groesste-Freihandelszone-auf
[7] Große Mehrheit der Deutschen sieht TTIP kritisch 2016-05-04
http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/ttip-grosse-mehrheit-der-deutschen-sieht-freihandelsabkommen-kritisch-a-1090908.html
[8] 150.000 Demonstranten protestieren gegen TTIP 2015-10-10
http://www.faz.net/aktuell/wirtschaft/ttip-und-freihandel/grosskundgebung-in-berlin-150-000-demonstranten-protestieren-gegen-ttip-13848419.html
[9] "Deutschlands Weg in den Kosovo-Krieg - Es begann mit einer Lüge"
https://youtu.be/ZtkQYRlXMNU
[10] Libya: Examination of intervention and collapse and the UK's future policy options inquiry
https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/foreign-affairs-committee/inquiries1/parliament-2015/libya-policy/
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201617/cmselect/cmfaff/119/119.pdf
[11] Mehrheit der Deutschen lehnt Auslandseinsätze ab 2014-12-28
https://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2014-12/umfrage-deutsche-ablehnung-internationale-bundeswehr-einsaetze
[12] Umfrage zu Auslandseinsätzen - Deutsche lehnen stärkeres Engagement in der Welt ab 2014-05-20
http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/umfrage-deutsche-lehnen-auslandseinsaetze-der-bundeswehr-ab-a-970463.html
[13] Fast zwei Drittel der Deutschen wollen Stopp aller Rüstungsexporte 2018-05-29
https://www.faz.net/aktuell/wirtschaft/fast-zwei-drittel-der-deutschen-gegen-ruestungsexporte-15613393.html
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