The new social question of our time thus deals with people’s access to and participation in these developments. And so we come to the central political challenge of our time: what regulatory framework is necessary in our changing world in order to allow every individual to have access to the resources, fruits, and progress of our society?
I fear that if this question cannot be answered effectively, then, in view of the breathless pace of changing developments, all political action will constantly be playing catch-up. And fear will be the prevailing feeling. As a result, we will be faced with new social upheaval and people will cease to believe in the strength of politics.
Dear friends, I am convinced that we must prevent this! This is truly not an abstract theory; it touches our everyday lives!
An appropriate answer here in Germany is: in global times, especially, we have to find new ways to ensure more equitable participation!
That’s why one topic of discussion at this party congress is the concept of invested pay, that is, employee participation in a company’s capital appreciation. After thirty years of discussion, it’s high time for action.
Everyone is needed, no one should be excluded. Jobs for all must stand at the heart of social justice.
But the proper response is not for politics and the government to take responsibility for everything. The proper response to the challenge of our time is a dual political strategy. Politics needs to intervene at the right time and place, and to let go at the right time and place. And it needs to create the conditions to do that.
[ . . . ]
Dear friends, the will to set a political course always meets with resistance, sometimes of a harsh nature; at the very least, it is always meets with skepticism and questions. Do the principles of the social market economy lose their validity when we talk about a new social market economy? What will be “new” about the new social market economy?
Once again, my concern is not the term itself, but whether we recognize the essence of our challenge, and whether we tackle the most important issues.
I advocate doing what is possible, but even that requires a vision.
That’s why I’ll keep emphasizing the following: Ludwig Erhard’s social market economy is not being willfully abandoned. The principles of freedom, justice, and solidarity are not losing their validity. Instead, recognizing what is new about the social market economy in the twenty-first century is the prerequisite for ensuring that its very principles to continue to have meaning in our lives in the future.
The international dimension of our lives is changing everything, and we can only shape it if we recognize it. Globalization is not a natural disaster. It can be shaped. And that’s the only way for people to gain access to participation in the twenty-first century – participation in education, work, and capital; participation in public security.
We supported Ludwig Erhard’s social market economy – which is the talk of everyone today – back when many people still opposed it, back when the stenographic records of the Bundestag reported that it provoked “laughter from the left.”
We will also have to fight, once more, for our new political strategy. I want us to be the ones who allay people’s fears with a comprehensive strategy. So that fear campaigns à la Schröder won’t have another chance.
print version
return to list
previous document