The system at the turning point

"Especially after 1989 has established an extremely simple-minded, economically oriented concept of the people, so that we alone follow our economic self-interest and thereby make a contribution to the community."
Writer Pankaj Mishra

While the Western model of democracy was considered an invulnerable winner of history some time ago, this social and economic model has lost much of its appeal today.
Given its current state, this is not surprising. The Western democracies today are characterized by a galloping social inequality, an almost feudal power and media concentration, a fragile financial system, a private and public debt crisis and an eroded trust in the political elites. Last but not least, the Damocles swords of climate change, aging and imminent migratory flows are also hovering above them. Right-wing populist and authoritarian ghosts thus offer a unique opportunity to recapture the lost souls with the promise of giving them back a piece of identity and dignity.

The facts that poverty and wars have declined worldwide in the last few decades, that all European dictatorships have been abolished, and that never before have so many people access to education, medicine, pensions, security, the legal system and suffrage, play surprisingly little role in public perception.

company forms

The term social formation, social structure or social system is understood in sociology, political science and history as the historically conditioned structure and social organization of societies. The notion of social formation, which was coined above all by Karl Marx, encompasses the totality of all social relationships that distinguish one particular form of society from another. Examples of social formations are the ancient slave-holding society, medieval-feudal society, modern capitalism, fascism or communism.
According to Marx, every historical form of society is shaped by class struggles.

Der Wendepunkt

There is a rare consensus among philosophers, political scientists and economists that our present social and economic system will reach a turning point and change drastically. The question is in the space, when and in what form this change will come - and especially where it will change us. In a better future? A worse? For whom? Are we about to face a revolution? A fundamental, radical change with an open and sometimes painful course and outcome? Or will politics ultimately turn on a few screws and thus create the framework conditions for a more just, more liveable and more humane society? Will it be done with some taxes, a basic income, a majority voting system and more direct democracy?

Disintegration and chaos

The Bulgarian political scientist and political advisor Ivan Krastev is preparing for disintegration and chaos. He also sees the collapse of some liberal democracies and probably nation states in the event of further disintegration of the EU, comparing the year 2017 with the revolutionary year 1917, when the Russian Tsarist Empire, the Habsburg Empire and the Ottoman Empire began to disintegrate.

Symbiosis nature - society

The director of the Institute for Social Change and Sustainability (IGN), Ingolfur Blühdorn, again finds a clear failure of our current social and economic system and sees the time for radical concepts. He refers to relevant scientific arguments with the imminent demise of capitalism (Streeck, Mason), the shift away from the fossil, growth- and consumption-driven economy (Prince, Muraca), to decentralized, needs-oriented and resource-efficient local economic cycles (Petschow) or even a completely new symbiosis between nature and society (Crutzen and Schwägerl, Arias, Maldonado). For Professor Blühdorn, "the socio-cultural conditions for a radical change that goes beyond capitalism, growth and consumer culture are more favorable than ever".

The big crash

For the ethnologist and co-founder of the Occupy Wall Street movement, David Graeber, a professor at the London School of Economics and Political Sciences, the question is not so much whether our current political-economic system will collapse, but rather when that will happen becomes. He sees a series of dramatic events approaching us, but not necessarily violent. Asked what role the Occupy Movement should play in the event our current system will implode, it answers, "Well, we want to be the ones to come up with a plan for reconstruction."

Although Tomáš Sedlácek leaves no doubt that the current system is no longer functioning, permanently untenable and virtually dead, he believes that it can be reformed without explosion.

The rebirth of the human

The economist and award-winning author Tomáš Sedlácek warns of a radical crash and the resulting chaos, because "if it can affect someone after that, it will be someone who has power [...] and no intellectuals or any other people". While he leaves no doubt that the current system no longer works, is permanently untenable and virtually dead, but he is of the opinion that it can be reformed without explosion. One of the key tasks of the reform capitalist is to "give a soul" to existing institutions and to create space for the irrational aspects of mankind. Sedlácek sees "a kind of rebirth of humanity" approaching us. "We have split off something there, the economy out of context, which was very stupid, as we now recognize much too late," said the economist.

From an oriental point of view, too, the socially established image of the rational, profit-oriented man is the cause of our misery. Thus, from the point of view of the Indian essayist and writer Pankaj Mishra, we have problems understanding the current crises because we are too attached to the idea of ​​man as a rationally acting being. "Especially after 1989, an extremely simple-minded, economically driven conception of man has established itself, so that we alone follow our economic self-interest and thus make a contribution to the community," said Mishra. That this image does not do justice to humanity and simply ignores its contradictory, irrational needs and motivations is fatal for the Western social order in his view. According to him, we also have to look at the story "from the point of view of the losers in order to understand them".

Future democracy

The Austrian public affairs consultancy Kovar & Partners asks experts every year about their assessment of the future of democracy. In January they published it as Arena Analysis 2017 - restarting democracy. The main recommendations:

Transparency: The most effective remedy against distrust of politicians is transparency. The experts agree that transparency will play a bigger role in the future. In particular, they call for more transparency in parliamentary work, so that the decision-making processes can be followed and understood, and above all, committees can be broadcast live on TV.

New game rules for the negotiation of basic social interests (conflicts). Regardless of their contribution to social equality, the Austrian social partnership is no longer representative of the Austrian population. The task of effectively representing key social groups could also be transferred to civil society.

Save Europe: The prospects for a united Europe are rather bleak these days. However, from a geopolitical and economic point of view, the survival and further deepening of the EU is the much more favorable scenario for Austria. Therefore, the experts call for an active commitment to the revival of the European idea, especially of companies and organizations that particularly benefit from open borders.

Rethinking political education: For younger people, democracy is no longer automatically a value in itself. Therefore, teaching basic democratic concepts in Austrian schools is essential. This should ideally be done with more practical relevance and less than abstract information transfer.

Advertise for democracy! All in all, the recommendation goes to all citizens, to all organizations, institutions and companies: "We will need more advertising for the 'democracy system'. Whoever believes that our democratic system is a perpetuum mobile is wrong. Promoting the system Democracy would also be an issue that could connect all democrats. It is time that we invest effort in answering the question: What connects us in Austria? That too would be a piece of the mosaic for the further development of our democracy. ", So the study authors.

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