Social Issues in Germany - The Debate About The "New Underclass"

The Debate About The "New Underclass"

The German underclass debate was sparked by an 2004 article in the German magazine Stern and by SPD chairman Kurt Beck. In his 2004 article Walter Wüllenweber addressed social issues such as child poverty, unemployment and out of wedlock births. However, unlike many scholars, he does not perceive lack of economic opportunity, but rather lack of education and the failure of underclass persons to embrace middle class values to be the roots of this social problem. In 2006 Beck stated that "There are far too many people in Germany who see no more hope of improving their situation" and "Many people call it an underclass problem."

A number of journalists have picked up that word and published articles about what they called underclass-women and described them as having "no job, no education, no chance, no husband, no love". They were perceived as unfit mothers who could not provide for their large families. Underclass males were perceived as violent and absent fathers. This portrayal of poor persons has been criticized by a number of scientists such as Fabian Kessel, who said that the media were wrong and there was no underclass. The underclass is a construct of the mass media according to Kessl

In a 2009 interview SPD politician and board member of the German central bank Thilo Sarrazin talked about ethnic minorities in Germany. According to Sarrazin most people from certain ethnic groups were of low IQ, were neither willing nor able to contribute to society, did not embrace German values, hated German society, and kept having children in order to increase their welfare benefits. Sarrazin has been criticized by politicians Vural Öger (who accused him of blaming the victim) and Gerhard Schick (who has called his opinion "nasty"). Safter Çınar, spokesman for the Turkish Association in Berlin, said Sarrazin's remarks were insulting and untrue.