Tag: politics

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Constitutional Responsibility

The memory of horrors caused by Nazi-led Germany before and during the 2nd World War is our constitutional obligation in the Federal Republic of Germany since its beginnings in 1948. 80 years after the unconditional surrender this has become a state responsibility. Since the shift of tone introduced by Richard von Weizäcker on 8th of May 1985 framing the end of the 2nd WW as liberation day in Europe and Germany. On the same day, 40 years later, the top 5 political instances of democracy in Germany, president, chancellor, presidents of the parliament (1st chanber), the council of the regions (2nd chamber) as well as the constitutional court. The constitutional and moral responsibility of the crimes is not reserved to a presidential address, but all pilars of democracy in Germany committed to the narrative of a liberation of Germans and Europeans at the end of the 2WW. It is a truly European topic to celebrate the end of war jointly in all countries. This is even more the case as the memories of the last survivors of the Shoa in Europe is less transmitted by the rare survivors until today due to very old age. The impressive unity of the top constitutional powers sets a the path for a far reaching renewal of the acknowledgement of a specific constitutional responsibility to counter extremist tendencies. The speeches by Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Julia Klöckner in the Bundestag (Link in German) were remarkable in explaining in plain language, why we are happy about this liberation also in Germany. The emphasis of the end of pervasive and endless oppression and suffering caused by the Nazi-regime are an essential part of this feeling of liberation. With this commemoration Germany today has become even more a European nation which takes its historical responsibility seriously.

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Marx Home

The home of an influential philosopher, economist and political scientist is not easily presented like a home of a musician, a composer or an author. However, the home of Karl Marx in Trier on the Moselle river succeeds to present the biographical links of growing up in a historic city, the bourgeois upbringing of the young Marx and his formation as an independent and even revolutionary thinker of the economy and society. In 2025 the home is a museum supported by the Friedrich Ebert Foudation with a great online guide and access to additional scientific material. For authors like Karl Marx it is always of interest to follow not only the origin and evolution of the thought process, but also the shifts in the reception of his writings by subsequent generations. This part of the exhibition and an audio guide (downloadable as App).

In 2025 with an apparently ruthless capitalism at work in the biggest economy of the globe, the reminder that the economy is best to be understood as a political economy, which focuses on self-interest and profitable business deals, we find in Karl Marx still a worthwhile reminder of economic development even in the 21st century. The note-taking and studies in Exile in London are well documented in the tiny home and museum. Studying the misery of exploitation in supply chains and international commerce remains a topic of continuing interest as well. 

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Sovereignty of People

In France the judiciary has made an influential decision to ban a politician from the possibility to be elected after conviction of fraud. This is just what is to be expected from the 3rd power in the organization of a democratic state. It is surprising that there was a political debate about a person convicted for a crime to be eligible for public office. Several eminent scholars published columns in major newspapers to support the judicial decision. Pierre Rosanvallon focused both on the justification of the verdict and the constitutional role attributed to the judiciary to operate as a kind of memory of the “general will of the people”, the ultimate sovereign. In the struggle of power within a state the judiciary defends individual rights as well as moderates between the executive and the legislative branch. In the theory of democracy this creates a double bind situation in which the individual has a right to be defended against the state and individuals who ask for judgment of cases one against another one. Eric Halphen has also argued in favor of the often neglected role of the judiciary to stand up for the “general interest”, a notion which is not easy to define without historical references in each country and its historical trajectory of democracy. The short debate about the role of the judiciary has strengthened the defensive capacity of the French democracy. Other, even mature democracies may turn their eyes on the decision of the judges involved not to shun away from unpopular decisions. The independence of the judiciary is part of the sovereignty of the people and non-negotiable part of it.

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Journalists Scientists

In the theories of democracy journalism has entered the stage mainly in form of a controlling mechanism that is part of an extended checks and balances system of democracy. Independent journalists serve as effective multipliers and critical commentators which are an essential element of a well functioning democratic society. Social media’s ability to reach large audiences without adherence to independent journalists’ principles pose challenges to the way journalists are perceived by the public. The border between journalism and influencer marketing of products and opinions is continuously under pressure. Voices not heard,  underrepresented or those with few resources for large scale communication face difficulties to communicate their views in a market flooded with information and marketing. 

Another challenge to journalists is the fast evolution of scientific research and knowledge which at times derives from complicated theoretical and/or empirical methods. Hence, the relationship between journalistic reporting and scientific rigor and need for details in reporting are hard to reconcile. This necessitates a continuous dialogue between scientists and journalists to be aware of potentials and limitations to the co-evolution of the two disciplines. In order to avoid a self-referential subset in each discipline, the demonstration of successful cooperation between the two disciplines reveals the complementary role in many real-world instances. Investigative journalists often rely on additional scientific expertise and scientists who uncover manipulations of any sort in their work have to cooperate to inform society about the topics. As with global warming or PFAS risks scientists get drawn more and more into the checks and balances role within democracies. Therefore in addition to the separation of powers claimed in the political literature of the enlightenment (executive, parliamentary and judicial) we added already the 4th one of journalism and should include (5th) independent scientific research and reporting into the essential principles of well functioning democracies. The conference at the BNF in Paris on the 28th of March has raised these timely questions in the best tradition of the ongoing process of enlightenment.

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Präludium Prélude

Learners of how to play the piano are likely to pass the composition of J. S. Bach entitled Präludium in German and Prélude in French. Maybe that influences the approach to the piece of music. The title sounds different in each language. It is interesting to follow the Präludium Prélude throughout the history of composition. The pianist Jan Lisiecki has just recorded and released a disc with Deutsche Grammophon following the historic evolution of this genre. The rather easy-going beginnings by Bach (see below for extract of first motive) have turned out to become rather complex preludes with subsequent composers. We may ask ourselves at this occasion: a prelude to what? Your own associations are welcome. In international politics we can observe strategic movements of countries and their military equipment as a prelude of war, but also of peace. Small aggressions may turn into wars. In philosophy Nietzsche praised the dawn (Morgenröte) and focused a lot on new beginnings. Composers might be the best forecasters of what is to come in the following years. Certainly the preludes have foreshadowed some of their later work. Nowadays, many LLMS in AI build on algorithms that predict what is the next word to write or task to do. Even in composition AI is moving ahead fast. Hence, we e are likely to study preludes much more for several reasons now.  

(Image: extract of first motive from J. S. Bach Präludium Nr 1)

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Biography Memorial

Some biographies take the form of a memorial. Marie-Luise Conen and Zdravko Kucinar have erected a memorial for the researcher, author and Social Demokrat “Milian Schömann” from the “Moselle” region near Traben-Trarbach and Lösnich. The biography reads like a narrative of crimes, which goes without punishment, before and during the Nazi-terror and the power grip in rural areas in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Milian Schömann achieved his university entry qualification A-levels in Traben-Trarbach before he moved on to study German literature and philosophy in Heidelberg, Bonn and Berlin.
His studies and political engagement were driven by a humanist approach and his letters and publications as literary critic as well as his contributions to philosophy are partly reproduced in this biographical account. This allows to follow in the footsteps of the curious and open-minded person of Jewish descent. As a contributor and speaker at meetings of SPD-members and associated political movements, he risked and eventually lost his life for his humanitarian convictions in 1942 near Belgrade.
It is the merit of Marie-Luise Conen and Zdravko Kucinar to let Milian Schömann live on in our time through the reprinting of some of his work, which is embedded in a  well-written historical account of the political and family setting at that time. The professional psychological training of Marie-Luise Conen helps to reproduce the anxious atmosphere Milian Schömann has lived through, albeit he remained a productive writer despite the economic hardship and living in exile.
This biography accomplishes in a rather unique way to enter into the mind and thinking of the author Milian following his very personal perspective on the “history of ideas” and inner call to action. Similar to the appreciation of Viktor Ullmann in the Jewish Museum in Berlin, where the music of the composer lives on after his death, the writings of Milian Schömann survived extinction, despite that he was murdered. After more than 80 years we still feel the loss of potential other contributions to philosophy and literary studies. The recognition extends to Milian’s academic and personal mentors Oskar Walzel and Arthur Liebert, important sources to understand the reasoning and motivation of Milian.
(Image: Extract from Marie-Luise Conen and Zdravko Kucinar (2024) Milian Schömann, Paulinus Verlag, Trier, p. 139)

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Minority Politicians

We have regulations in favor of minorities in many countries. Most people immediately jump to their opinions about specific minorities they most strongly feel about. Favoritism through targeted policies versus discrimination are key issues here. Evaluation of effective policies to support minorities needs solid science before jumping to premature conclusions.
A recent study on the largest minority group of extraordinary people, often denoted as persons with disabilities, has focused on political representation. The results confirmed the hypothesis of an under-represention of the group in parliaments. Reher & Evans (2024) show ample evidence that despite the large and increasing shares of persons with disabilities (about 20-25% across Europe) under-represention is likely to lead to lack of concern of society as whole to topics of relevance to them. By-the-way, most of such policies would equally benefit an aging society and young families for example with regard to mobility. Perhaps another striking example is the tendency of extraordinary persons to not report their kind of disability out of fear of stigmatization and potential discrimination.
Policy makers need to take a long-term perspective to reorient public spending in favor of extraordinary persons. Infrastructure investments are needed here as well. More persons with disabilities across all political parties can bring about such changes. Extraordinary persons deserve equal representation. It is up to us to make it happen.
(Image: German Bundestag 2025-2).

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Unwinding USA

Stock markets move largely due to expectations. Therefore, the mixing of economics and politics can create lots of signals, which are likely to raise price expectations. Inflationary pressures will call for central banks to increase interest rates which will reduce economic activities that are largely financed through the credit market.
The unwinding of the economy reduces turnover and most likely also profits of companies. The fate of Tesla cars in the last 2 months (Link) and the stock market value of Tesla shares (Link) have plummeted. The unwinding of shareholder value and inflation on the rise as well are a the effects of the MAGA narrative and Musk‘s appointment in politics as chief of GOPE.
The „home made recession“ in the US and the choice to prioritize own products might work in the long run, but the costs of the short-term induced inflation will affect vulnerable consumers more than the people who buy many products that show few price increases. The unwinding of the economy of the USA is likely to cause shock waves rippling through the global economy.
Image: Prices to charge e-cars with solar energy in Germany according to sunshine.

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Corruption Caught

In fraud or corruption it is primordial that the probability to be caught is very high to deter potential fraudulent activity. The new Trump administration has enacted as one of the first executive orders that the FCPA stops to take on new cases of suspected corruption as well as reconsider some of the running procedures. In the same vein, the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) has been silenced so that American companies to not have to disclose ownership information that fall under the CTA until 2025-3-21 until a major reform will be published.
These policy shifts concern more than just US citizens. The competition between countries will be effected because as companies trading with the US which used US bank accounts were also liable under this legislation and subject to prosecution. The FCPA has been an important example for other countries to follow at least within the Member countries of the OECD. The shift in priorities of the Trump administration might open doors again to corruption which we believed were shut with lasting effect.
In conjunction with the rapid increase in military spending when the capacity for the production of military equipment is slow to increase might increase the risks of corruption talking hold again. Market economies build on fair competition, but less prosecution of corruption introduces a bias into negotiations which works against innovation and competitiveness. We have a hard time to understand any kind of logic in such economic and legal strategies.
Image: Bridge collapsed due ro material defects. Archive Berlin Tempelhof Schöneberg.

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Betrayal Politics

Most economists would hold that in free market economics there is no room for moral statements. Betrayal, therefore, is left out of most standard text book economics courses. However, more advanced courses that include strategies based on so-called “game theory”, where actors may breach prior commitments, betrayal has entered economic science. A “tit-for-tat” strategy is frequently the best “game-theoretic” solution to such strategic behavior to deter also repetition of defecting on agreed rules or bargaining outcomes. For real world applications beyond the simple strategic advice, the maths involved are quite challenging. We’ll check soon, how AI is changing that game.
Another popular economic theory is one of “gift exchange”. You gift a sum of money (or weapons for self-defense to a country) with no explicit consent that the money should be repaid (through rare earths) in peace time. A betrayal occurs, if a country suddenly asks things in return for the previous gifts. For politicians that understand themselves as “market marker” and “deal maker”, there will be a tendency to claim back a gift in order to come to some kind of gift exchange rather than an altruistic donation.
William A. Galston wrote in the WSJ (2025-2-26) naming the US political action of the 2nd Trump administration a “betrayal of Ukraine and American values”.
If free markets mean making ruthless use of “tit for no possible tat” and “gifts are always a gift exchange”, we move back to mercantile and medieval practices, where settles could claim land at gun point.
What way out of this? Adam Smith, champion of classical economics, wrote before his famous book on “The Wealth of Nations” a lesser known, precursor book on “The Theory of Moral Sentiments”. Actually, he was convinced that the one would not work without the other.
Maybe, going back to classical economics is much better than a Trump administration version of neo-classical economics in a new era of political economy 3.0.