In an open letter titled Thinking Back to a Policy of Social Order the Association of Catholic Entrepreneurs, reg.ass. (Bund Katholischer Unternehmer-BKU) adresses leaders in politics, economy and society.
The Social Market Economy is a Model of Success. Germany is successful in economics. We constantly see new record figures in employment. Vast groups of the population profit from it. Our polity is stable and efficient. Our civil society is less prone to fundamentalism than are other countries as it has again and again proven by its remarkable voluntary engagement in the refugee crisis. Our middle class structure of small and medium sized businesses putting social and tariff partnership to life also succeeds in meeting and mastering most difficult challenges. Coping with the crises of economics and finances might serve as a well- known example. One of the world’s most all-encompassing social net securely protects from imponderables leading the individual into situations of distress.
But We Jeopardise this Model of Success by an increasingly consumptive rather than social policy of order. There is something fundamentally wrong with German social policy. It lowers the capabilities of achievement and adaptation of our model of success, stealthily undermines its legitimacy thus letting populism encroach.
- We demand social justice – and continuously shift the burden onto subsequent generations especially in the systems of contributions. Who is the spokesperson and honest broker of our children and grand-children in political decisions?
- We discuss – partly irresponsibly arousing feelings of angst – about the risk of poverty at old age which, fortunately, threatens only a minority in future – and we lack convincing concepts to have a much larger group of under-skilled people sustainably participate in working life and, at the same time, provide for them at old age.
- In Germany, exclusion from education is too often passed on from one generation to the next thereby undermining the promise of prosperity of an open civil society. Academic and vocational education being equally good must not only proclaimed in Sunday addresses but must be put to life through concrete political action. Otherwise, there is the threat that the educational system distances itself from the demands of the labour market.
- We wonder about the populists being much sought after – but delude ourselves to have seemingly quick and simple solutions instead of grappling with doubtlessly more and more complex problems. Politics must not degenerate into entertainment driven by the number of talk show viewers or twitter-likes. Debates belong back to Parliament where factual issues and arguments are to be debated…(read more)