Dilemma over the issue of inequality: A strategy against political apathy (Politikverdrossenheit)

Politics is inseparable from conflict. But we often have the idea that the political process has to simply “solve” conflicts and in so doing make the conflict disappear. And because the politicians are not able to do this and instead simply continue arguing, we get the impression that we have incompetent politicians, whom we cannot trust. This is not new: in political education, it is important to see the aims and identify the meaning of conflicts. This allows us to have a constructive debate about the conflicts themselves. It is important to analyze conflicts as well as to develop the competence to deal with political controversies and conflicts constructively. This presentation will broach the issue of inequality without dramatizing it. Inequality can indeed threaten a democratic society, but for a free democratic society, inequality has to also be constitutive. The central thesis is that reflection on dilemmas stemming from inequality could be a strategy against political apathy and can help reinforce a sense of solidarity and cohesion in our society. This will be shown using an instrument borrowed from the psychology of communication, the “quadrate of value and development,” whose potentials for political education are currently being exploited for various projects.