The crisis of equality and the normative order of social inequality

Dr. Patrick Sachweh

Duration of the research project 11/2017 – 3/2019

The aim of the project is to empirically reconstruct and analyze the “normative order” of social inequality in the current era of rising inequality. The starting point is the “crisis of equality” diagnosed by Rosanvallon (2013), which is reflected on a socio-structural level in the increase in social inequality since the beginning of the 21st century and is articulated on a socio-cultural level in the loss of importance of collectivist-egalitarian values in favor of an increase in the importance of individualistic orientations (Boltanski/Chiapello 2003). Against this background, the project asks which normative concepts and ideas members of society rely on when criticizing and justifying contemporary inequality relations in Germany. Theoretically, the project draws on the perspective of the sociology of critique as elaborated in current French social theory (Boltanski 2010).

In the context of this overarching topic, several articles were published on central aspects of a change in the shape of inequality often referred to in contemporary diagnostics as “refeudalization” (Forst 2005: 24; Neckel 2013): on perceptions of stagnating upward mobility, the shrinking and insecurity of the middle class and the legitimization of wealth taxation.

The empirical material consists of qualitative and quantitative data collected as part of the DFG project “Interpretations of inequality and orientations towards justice in Germany” (SA 2812/1-1, duration: 01/2015-12/2018, based at the Institute of Sociology at Goethe University), which I lead. It comprises ten qualitative group discussions with different social classes as well as a representative population survey.

A first aspect of the above-mentioned “refeudalization” of social inequalities concerns the increasing influence of social origin on the social positioning of actors, particularly in younger cohorts. This declining upward mobility particularly affects the normative self-image of modern societies as meritocracies. The perception of this development in different social strata is examined in the article “The broken promise of meritocracy? Interpretations of advancement in the face of rising inequality” (Sachweh et al. 2018). It shows that while meritocratic factors continue to be ascribed a central role in social advancement, a more impermeable social structure is also accompanied by a subjective increase in the importance of ascriptive characteristics. These initially seemingly contradictory views are made plausible in the context of qualitative analyses of the group discussions and result in an individualizing interpretation of social advancement in the upper middle class and an agonal interpretation in the lower middle class, which interprets upward mobility as a “test” and “struggle” due to the willingness to make sacrifices associated with it.

Another feature of contemporary socio-structural change is the shrinking of the middle class, which is accompanied by the polarization of material situations, as well as the associated insecurities and fears of decline. Against this backdrop, particular interest was placed on the perceptions of social inequality existing in the “middle of society”, their justification systems as well as self-attributions and attributions to others. Using the concept of “symbolic demarcations”, the self-image and action orientations of the lower middle were examined. Contrary to theoretical expectations, according to which feelings of socio-economic insecurity should be particularly pronounced in the lower middle class, our findings point to a – surprising – level of socio-economic satisfaction in this group, which is based on an “ethos of moderation and planned realism”. In the course of this self-image, there is a moral revaluation of moderation, modesty and postponement of needs, which could also be interpreted as a coping strategy in response to status irritations and uncertainties.
A third aspect of the refeudalization of social inequality is the concentration of wealth in the upper social strata. To this end, a survey-experimental design was used to investigate the extent to which the population supports a possible reintroduction of the wealth tax, which has been suspended since 1997, and on what approval depends. The results show that, in the eyes of the respondents, wealth is not the same as wealth and that approval depends in particular on whether the wealth was acquired without performance (through inheritance, marriage or speculation) or through work.
The project, which is located in Research Field I (“Normativity of normative orders”), supplements the cluster’s interdisciplinary research program on the normative dimension of current conflicts over a just social order with a sociological-empirical view of the criticism and justification of contemporary inequality relations from a participant perspective. In social practice, it is precisely the – normatively colored and symbolically mediated – interpretation and possibly criticism of an unequal social order on the part of the members of society themselves that make economic disparities and unequal opportunities a (justice) problem in need of justification and challenge social cohesion.

References
Boltanski, Luc (2010): Sociology and social criticism. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.
Boltanksi, Luc/Chiapello, Eve (2003): The new spirit of capitalism. Konstanz: UVK.
Forst, Rainer (2005): The first question of justice. Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte 37/2005: 24-31
Neckel, Sighard (2013): Refeudalization. Systematics and topicality of a concept of Habermas’ social analysis. Leviathan 41: 39-56
Rosanvallon, Pierre (2013): The society of equals. Hamburg: Hamburger Edition.

Publications
Sachweh, Patrick, Sarah Lenz and Evelyn Sthamer (2018): The broken promise of meritocracy? Aufstiegsdeutungen im Zeichen steigender Ungleichheit, in: WestEnd – Neue Zeitschrift für Sozialforschung 15(1): 71-85.
Sachweh, Patrick and Sarah Lenz (2018): Maß und Mitte – Symbolische Grenzziehungen in der unteren Mittelschicht, in: Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie 70(3): 361-389.
Sachweh Patrick and Debora Eicher (2018): Attitudes towards the wealth tax in Germany. A vignette analysis based on current survey data, in: WSI-Mitteilungen 71(5): 370-381.

Publications from the research project
Sachweh, Patrick and Evelyn Sthamer (2019): Why Do the Affluent Find Inequality Increasingly Unjust? Changing Inequality and Justice Perceptions in Germany, 1994-2014. European Sociological Review (doi: 10.1093/esr/jcz024)
Sachweh, Patrick and Sarah Lenz (2018): Maß und Mitte – Symbolische Grenzziehungen in der unteren Mittelschicht. Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie 70(3): 361-389.
Sachweh Patrick and Debora Eicher (2018): Attitudes towards wealth tax in Germany. A vignette analysis based on current survey data. WSI-Mitteilungen 71(5): 370-381.
Sachweh, Patrick; Lepthien, Greta, 2019: “Where else to get it, if not from those who have something!” Patterns of interpretation of wealth taxation in two online discussion forums, in: Bögelein, Nicole; Vetter, Nicole (eds.), Der Deutungsmusteransatz. Bestandsaufnahme und methodologische Fortentwicklung, Weinheim: Beltz, pp. 176 – 201
Sachweh, Patrick, Sarah Lenz and Evelyn Sthamer (2018): The broken promise of meritocracy? Aufstiegsdeutungen im Zeichen steigender Ungleichheit, in: WestEnd – Neue Zeitschrift für Sozialforschung 15(1): 71-85.
Sachweh, Patrick, Sarah Lenz and Debora Eicher (2018): Classes and classifications. Symbolische Grenzziehungen in der deutschen Ungleichheitsstruktur, in: Schöneck, Nadine M. and Sabine Ritter (eds.): Die Mitte als Kampfzone: Wertorientierungen und Abgrenzungspraktiken der Mittelschichten. Bielefeld: Transkript Verlag. pp. 243- 260.
Sachweh Patrick and Evelyn Sthamer (2018): Social decline or stagnation? WSI Blog “Work on Progress”.