Ego society
The catchphrase ego society ( ego society ) describes the connection between an 'aspirational society ' and an ' elbow society '. So she combines hedonism with ruthlessness. It is considered a negative characterization of the ' postmodern ' society, similar to the ' experience society '. Individualization and the (negatively assessed) change in values are the basic sociological observations on which the social concept is based.
The word is composed of the word “ ego ” (Latin for me ) and the word “ society ” and is mostly used to ironically describe a ruling mentality in order to criticize the state of society.
Symptoms of the ego society
The ego-society arises among other things in the course of the alienation and tool-like exploitation of human relationships, i. that is, selfish values dominate social life. Corruption plays a big role. The individual becomes an affordable object. This leads to social coldness and to a lack of solidarity ; Community spirit and humanity no longer come into play. The proportion of normal employment is falling, precarious employment is increasing significantly. The hostility to children is seen as a serious real consequence . Children are a nuisance to the ego society, upbringing is no longer the order of the day , according to the relevant inventory by the journalist Susanne Gaschke in Die Erziehungskatastrophe .
Criticism of the ego society
From the point of view of conservatism , the decline in values or morals has led to an ego-society whose moral basis would become arbitrary. This can only be contained with more authority and a return to traditional values . From the perspective of a work -based society, it is a combination of laziness , audacity and contempt . Whereby a society that consists of nothing but selfish individuals is no longer one. Such a society may not be able to survive.
In 1997, Ulrich Beck postulated in Children of Freedom : Talking about ego society presupposes that what actually belongs together is mutually exclusive: self-realization and being there for others. Accordingly, the negative symptoms of ego society should be combated not by fewer, but by more political freedoms.
The cited criticisms are contradicted by the results of research by Helmut Klages , who speaks of a change in values in 2001 , which carries a high human potential , but which has not yet been exhausted.
See also
literature
- Ulrich Beck (Hrsg.): Children of freedom . Suhrkamp, Frankfurt / M. 1998, ISBN 3-518-40863-1 .
- Susanne Gaschke : The educational disaster. Children need strong parents . Heyne, Munich 2005, ISBN 3-453-86907-9 .
- Susanne Mayer : Germany, poor children's country. How the ego society is gambling away our future; Plea for a new family culture . Eichborn Verlag, Frankfurt / M. 2005, ISBN 3-8218-3964-3 .
- Helmut Klages : Do we need a return to traditional values? In: From Politics and Contemporary History , Vol. 51 (2001), Issue 29, pp. 7-14.