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The illusion of social advancement: Who really determines the elite?
A new study shows how social advancement is stagnating in Germany. Despite the system change, the elite remains unchanged.
The illusion of social advancement: Who really determines the elite?
A recently published report by sociologist Michael Hartmann highlights a disturbing reality of social mobility in Germany. For over 100 years, the German economic elite has remained trapped in a strict social structure fr.de summarizes. Hartmann's study shows that despite several political upheavals, the proportion of social climbers from the working or middle class to the top of the economy has only increased by a meager five percent. This proportion is currently just 19.1 percent.
Looking across the decades reveals that the first wave of social climbers occurred between 1907 and 1927, while there was minimal progress thereafter. Hartmann emphasizes that origin still plays a decisive role, which runs through all eras. “Access to power is an exclusive privilege that is inherited, not earned,” he criticizes, while criticizing the dwindling visibility of the rise of elite members from privileged backgrounds.
Social inequality and its effects
This problem is underlined by the general distribution of wealth and income in Germany. According to the bpb.de Not only the upwardly mobile suffer, but also broad sections of the population who are affected by unequal opportunities for consumption and savings. In Germany, the bottom half of the population owns only 0.3 percent of total wealth. In contrast, the top ten percent hold about 28 percent of the income and almost 60 percent of the wealth.
The unfair distribution has a direct impact on life and participation opportunities and is further reinforced by factors such as education and employment. An alarming fact is that the poverty rate rose to 17.8 percent in 2021, while severe poverty increased from 7.8 percent to 11.3 percent. Single parents, the unemployed and people with low educational qualifications are particularly at risk.
Increased social tensions
Social and economic inequality in Germany is increasing boeckler.de and threatens to exacerbate social tensions. The Gini coefficient, which shows the distribution of income, increased from 0.28 in 2010 to 0.31 in 2021. This means that income in the top fifth of the population is now 4.7 times higher than in the bottom fifth. Almost half of the workforce is concerned about social cohesion and sees increasing inequality as a threat.
To counteract this, experts are calling for action. These include strengthening collective bargaining, increasing basic security, increased investment in affordable housing and the introduction of a wealth tax. Political support is essential to eliminate social tensions and enable real social advancement.