democratic miracle

The German Die Zeit suggested that the mass demonstrations the recent days must be seen as democratic miracle. Sure, it had been in some ways encouraging to see people demonstrating. Though a little drop of bitterness is going hand in hand with it:

• The protest had been in some way diffuse, directed against the AFD, often with reference to a meeting between AFD members, in which CDU members were also involved, as a point of reference and as …, well, equally diffuse request to the government, to the prime minister and to “the people” to counteract the further drift to the right;

• While these demonstrations are looked at as democratic miracle, two major movements are not mentioned in this context: the strike of railway workers and the protest of (not only) the farmers – doesn’t this suggest that these are not part of the democratic movement?

• And then a rather fundamental issue: The Aerzteblatt published already in 2019 a short side note (https://www.aerzteblatt.de/archiv/209491/Randnotiz-Frage-nach-der-Nuetzlichkeit): it concerns a parliamentary question. In short: 

die AfD will wissen, welche „volkswirtschaftlichen Verluste durch die nicht genutzten Erwerbspotenziale“ von Menschen mit psychischen Erkrankungen und Beziehern von Erwerbsminderungsrenten bestehen. 

The AfD wants to know what “economic losses exist due to the unutilised employment potential” of people with mental illnesses and recipients of reduced earning capacity pensions.

And the Diaconia warns that people should never be assessed on grounds of utility considerations

• Hinter der Frage darf die Vorstellung vermutet werden, dass psychisch Kranke die Volkswirtschaft und die Sozialsysteme belasten. Die Nazis propagierten ihre Vernichtungsaktionen mit Plakaten von „unnützen Essern“, die nicht in den „gesunden Volkskörper“ passten. Kein Mensch darf Nützlichkeitserwägungen unterworfen werden – niemals mehr.
• The idea that mentally ill people are a burden on the national economy and social systems may be assumed to be behind the question. The Nazis propagated their extermination campaigns with posters of “useless eaters” who did not fit into the “healthy national body”. No human being should be subjected to considerations of usefulness – ever again.

And why is this mentioned in the context of the mass demonstrations against the right, as drop of bitterness of the democratic miracle? Exactly this utilitarian thinking had been accepted for years: migrants being classified as those who are welcomed as adding to the national workforce and those who are seen as burden of the social security systems; the deserving and the non-deserving poor; the good, well integrated workers and those who are victims of mobbing and discrimination, notwithstanding the laws that are forbidding such maltreatment …

Sure, the recent developments broke the camel’s back; but wasn’t it a serious neglect not to talk about the fact that the problem begins with camels being used as working animals?

The president and prime minister and other state reps celebrated the democratic miracle. A mystery seems to be, then, that they represent a state that app 44 % of the AFD’s budgets comes from the state.