Diogenes paradox
The Diogenes Paradox is a description of the tension between normality and normativity, often quoted in speeches by Paul Kirchhof since the 1990s . Metaphorically this alludes to Diogenes von Sinope , who, according to Seneca, with his low demands, could just as easily have lived in a pithos .
Ideally, Kirchhof's description is based on the Böckenförde dilemma and the teaching of Carl Schmitt . According to this, a free and social constitutional state is dependent on preconditions which it cannot create itself and which it must leave to the arbitrary, imponderable decision of others:
“The state knows that it is dependent on having young citizens who are capable of democracy in the future. [...] If the majority of the people in Germany decided to live in the bin as Diogenes, that is, not to worry about the economy, nobody would have violated the law, because this decision is also part of freedom. The social market economy, the tax and financial state, would have perished because of their own freedom. […] This reliance of the free state on the acceptance of an offer of freedom by the individual also applies to freedom of marriage and family. The state is building on the fact that we will continue to have many children in the future who will support this cultural state , keep this economic system alive, fill this democracy with content and ideas. Nevertheless, the free state naturally gives the decision for or against marriage and the family in the hands of those entitled. "
Kirchhof relates this complex strongly to the demographic development and the resulting consequences in the areas of social security, the world of work, taxes and for the design of economic processes. If the state actually has room for maneuver, it must implement the protection mandate for children and families with top priority. This is not primarily required by the Basic Law , it is required by the fundamental interests of every community .
Based on this paradox, he sees all citizens being called to action and warns against one-sided trust in individually accessible, material values:
“The elderly will not be able to lean one hand on a share and the other on a five hundred euro note - they will be happy when they find someone to support them. And he will experience even greater happiness when this person feels personally connected to him because he is a son or daughter. "
Kirchhof points out and sees this dilemma as a question of fate for the development of Germany in the 21st century. For years he persistently and verbatim in his public appearance the question of society dying in working life .
See also
literature
- Paul Kirchhof: The cultural prerequisites for freedom: Constitutional considerations on economic freedom, freedom of research and decision-making in democracy . CF Müller Verlag, Heidelberg, 1995.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Felix Dirsch: "... lives from conditions that he cannot guarantee himself". Readings and problems of interpretation of the Böckenförde doctrine . Journal for Politics (ZfP), 56th volume 2/2009
- ↑ "Do we want to be a society that dies in working life or a society that is vital in children?" (PDF; 155 kB)