Criticizing Inequality? How Ideals of Equality Do - and Do Not - Contribute to the De-Legitimation of Inequality in Contemporary Germany

Social inequality in modern societies requires legitimation. Yet, while ideals of equality are ascribed a central role in philosophical and public debates about inequality and social justice, less is known about how ordinary people draw on principles of equality in criticizing and justifying social inequalities in the current era of a "crisis of equality." From the perspective of the sociology of critique, this article asks how different social classes refer to beliefs about equality of outcomes and opportunity when criticizing and justifying inequality in contemporary Germany. Based on qualitative interviews with respondents from upper and lower social classes, I show that the ideal of equality is inherently ambivalent and contested: On the one hand, respondents across classes reject the idea of equalizing outcomes but criticize unequal opportunities. However, only upper-class respondents demand greater state intervention to bring about equality of opportunity, indicating that this ideal does not serve as a normative point of reference for the lower classes. At the same time, due to its individualist undertones, the ideal of equality of opportunity also contains a legitimizing potential. Paradoxically, then, ideals of equality appear to contribute little to the de-legitimation of inequality in contemporary Germany

The moral economy of inequality: popular views on income differentiation, poverty and wealth

This article asks how ordinary people in Germany perceive and legitimize economic disparities in an era of rising income inequality. Based on in-depth qualitative interviews with respondents from higher and lower social classes, the paper reconstructs the 'moral economy' that underlies popular views of inequality. While respondents agree with abstract inegalitarian principles-i.e. income differentiation based on merit-they are concerned with specific instances of inequality, especially poverty and wealth. These are criticized because they are seen to imply intolerable deviations, both upwards and downwards, from a way of living presumed as universal, thereby fostering a segregation of life-worlds and social disintegration. Thus, perceptions of injustice do not seem to be based on the existence of income inequality as such, but rather on the view that economic disparities threaten the social bond

Unequal by origin or by necessity? Popular explanations of inequality and their legitimatory implications

According to an implicit assumption underlying stratification theory and research, citizens in modern societies are supposed to regard inequality as caused by social factors, and therefore in need of legitimation. Based on qualitative interviews with people from both lower and upper social classes in Germany, the article questions this assumption. From the interviews, I reconstruct two divergent interpretive frames that are used to understand the causes of inequality. While one indeed highlights social origin as a prominent social-structural factor and suggests critical normative orientations towards the status quo (‘inequality by origin’), at the same time explanations regarding inequality as an inevitable element of social order exist which suspend legitimatory pressures (‘inevitable inequalities’). Importantly, both interpretive frames co-exist and are used simultaneously within respondents’ reasoning; to the extent that this is the case, the critique evoked by the ‘inequality by origin’ interpretation is eventually undermined.3233461

Der lange Schatten der sozialen Herkunft: Rezension zu "The Class Ceiling: Why it Pays to be Privileged" von Sam Friedman und Daniel Laurison

Sam Friedman, Daniel Laurison: The Class Ceiling - Why It Pays to Be Privileged. Bristol: Policy Press 2019. 978-1-4473-3610-

Kritik der Ungleichheit? Gleichheitsideale und ihr Beitrag zur Delegitimation sozialer Ungleichheit in Deutschland

»Kritik der Ungleichheit? Gleichheitsideale und ihr Beitrag zur Delegitimation sozialer Ungleichheit in Deutschland«. Social inequality in modern societies requires legitimation. Yet, while ideals of equality are ascribed a central role in philosophical and public debates about inequality and social justice, less is known about how ordinary people draw on principles of equality in criticizing and justifying social inequalities in the current era of a “crisis of equality.” From the perspective of the sociology of critique, this article asks how different social classes refer to beliefs about equality of outcomes and opportunity when criticizing and justifying inequality in contemporary Germany. Based on qualitative interviews with respondents from upper and lower social classes, I show that the ideal of equality is inherently ambivalent and contested: On the one hand, respondents across classes reject the idea of equalizing outcomes but criticize unequal opportunities. However, only upper-class respondents demand greater state intervention to bring about equality of opportunity, indicating that this ideal does not serve as a normative point of reference for the lower classes. At the same time, due to its individualist undertones, the ideal of equality of opportunity also contains a legitimizing potential. Paradoxically, then, ideals of equality appear to contribute little to the de-legitimation of inequality in contemporary Germany.627842

Crisis experiences and welfare attitudes during the Great Recession: a comparative study on the UK, Germany and Sweden

What motivates welfare attitudes during economic crises? While existing research highlights self-interest, this conclusion rests on a predominant conceptualization of citizens’ crisis experiences as personal job loss. However, during economic downturns, people are likely to also witness colleagues or distant others being laid off, which might affect welfare attitudes for reasons beyond self-interest. This article analyses how personal job loss as well as that of colleagues and acquaintances during the Great Recession is related to welfare attitudes in the UK, Germany and Sweden, where welfare regimes and crisis policies differ systematically. Based on Eurobarometer data from 2010, the findings reveal that the importance of personal job loss as well as that of colleagues and acquaintances varies cross-nationally. In the liberal UK – with its modest crisis response – demand for greater public welfare provision is associated with personal job loss. In social-democratic Sweden – with its active crisis management – demand for greater welfare provision is associated with acquaintances’ job loss. In conservative Germany – with its labour market insider-focused crisis response – no clear picture emerges. These findings support a sociological perspective emphasizing the importance of other-regarding concerns for welfare attitudes and the role of institutions in structuring people’s self-interest and normative orientations

"Maß und Mitte" - Symbolische Grenzziehungen in der unteren Mittelschicht

Seit Mitte der 2000er J ahre wird in W is senschaft und Öf fent- lichkeit intensi v über die Lage der Mittelschicht diskutiert. Jense its v on Diagnosen einer "nervösen Mi tte", die sich zusehends mit Abst iegs ängsten und Unsi cherheits- empfindungen konfrontiert sieht, ist d as s o ziale Selbstbild der Mittelschicht bis- lang wenig dif ferenziert. Es b leibt unklar , wer sich selbst der Mitte zurechnet und anhan d welcher Merkmale und Eigenschaften sich die Mittelsch icht v o n and eren sozialen Schichten abgrenzt. V or diesem Hi ntergrund widmet sich der Beitrag der sozioök onomisch besonders v erwundbaren F ra ktion der unteren Mittelschicht. Auf der B asis v on fünf Gruppendis kussionen werden Selbs tbilder und Abgrenzungen unter Bedingungen sozioök onomischer Unsi cherheit rekons truiert. Aufbauend auf dem K onzept der symbolis chen Grenzziehungen wird untersucht, welche Bedeu- tung sozioök onomische, kulturel le und moralische Grenzen für das Selbst bild und die Handlungsorientierungen der unteren Mitte haben. Die B efunde verweisen auf ein Ethos der Mäßigung und des plan v ollen Realismus , das s ich durch Abgrenzun- gen g egenüber unteren wie oberen Schichten k onstituiert und die Basis für eine - theoretisch unerwartete - sozioökonomis che Zufriedenheit in der unteren Mitte bildet