Michael Hartmann (sociologist)

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Michael Hartmann (2008)

Michael Hartmann (born August 24, 1952 in Paderborn ) is a German sociologist . Until 2014, Hartmann was professor of sociology with a focus on elite sociology , industrial and business sociology and organizational sociology at the Technical University of Darmstadt .

He sees himself as a socialist and a critic of contemporary German society.

Life

In 1971, Hartmann passed the matriculation examination at the classical grammar school Theodorianum in Paderborn. He completed his studies from 1971 to 1976 in the subjects of sociology , political science , philosophy , history , German studies and psychology at the universities of Marburg and Hanover with an M.A. in sociology and political science. In 1979 he was awarded a Dr. phil. PhD . In 1983 he completed his habilitation in sociology at the University of Osnabrück .

After various project work, temporary jobs, visiting professorships and substitute professorships, Michael Hartmann was Professor of Sociology in the Faculty of Social and Historical Sciences at the Technical University of Darmstadt from 1999 to 2014. Hartmann's research is particularly interested in the elite research and the globalization and its impact on the different national economic styles ( Globalization and National Economic Cultures ).

In terms of university policy, he campaigns against tuition fees and against the promotion of so-called “ elite universities ”.

Hartmann took early retirement in 2014 for health reasons.

Hartmann is a member of Attac's Scientific Advisory Board .

Michael Hartmann also takes a stand in daily political media, for example in the taz , the Tagesspiegel , the Junge Welt or the Frankfurter Rundschau .

Research work

In his research, Hartmann primarily deals with the international elite , the increasing gap between rich and poor and the growth of right-wing populism. In his empirical studies The global business elite. A legend and social inequality - not an issue for the elites? Hartmann examines the world's leading top managers and billionaires on the one hand, and the current economic, judicial, scientific and political elite in Germany on the other. In his study Elites and Power in Europe he traces the reorganization of the elites after 1945 in France, Great Britain, Germany and Italy and also presents the processes of change in the elite formation in these and other countries (Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Benelux, Scandinavian and Eastern European countries ). He also discusses the question of the extent to which one can speak of a Europeanization of the elites and which social balance of power is evident in connection with elites. In his large empirical study, The Myth of the Achievement Elites, Hartmann examines the relationship between social origin and access opportunities to elite positions in Germany. He comes to the conclusion that social origin is decisive for filling top positions.

The withdrawn. How the elites are endangering democracy in 2018

In his most recent book, Hartmann examines the connection between the neoliberal politics of the elites and the rise of right-wing populism. He does this mainly using Germany as an example, but also uses other countries such as Great Britain and the USA to provide evidence. The three central theses of the book are: 1. The social division of society caused by the neoliberal politics of the last decades forms the decisive basis for the success of right-wing populism. 2. For the implementation of the neoliberal change of course, a fundamental change in the social recruitment, especially of the political elite (a considerably greater social exclusivity) was essential. The majority recruitment of the elites from the top four percent of the population (middle class and upper class) shapes the way the elites think and act. Because of their origin, they see social inequality as far less problematic than the population and, in contrast to the population, resolutely reject higher taxes on high incomes and wealth. 3. Since all elite members, regardless of their origin, are among the winners of neoliberal politics, this continues to find great approval among the elites.

The global business elite 2016

In this publication Hartmann deals with the thesis of the existence of a global business elite or class made up of the top managers of the largest companies and the richest people in the world. On the basis of a comprehensive analysis of the chief executives or chief executive officers (CEOs) of the 1,000 largest companies in the world, the chairmen and members of the supervisory boards and the around 1,000 richest people in the world, he comes to the general conclusion that there is and there is no global business elite there won't be any for the foreseeable future either . He points out that only one in eight CEOs run a company outside of their home country. If one also takes into account that two dozen of them do not really work outside their home country, as the companies are only legally located outside their respective countries of origin, and that two thirds of foreign CEOs live and work within their familiar language and cultural area, the proportion is decimated further. Switzerland is the only country that can really boast an international top in its companies.

Social inequality - not an issue for the elites in 2013

In this publication, Hartmann examines the current German economic, judicial, scientific and political elite in Germany. He traces the social profile as well as the educational and career paths of the elites and presents findings from surveys with members of the German elite about their attitudes to the financial crisis and the problem of social inequality. In addition to the finding that women, foreigners and former GDR citizens are massively underrepresented in the elite, he points to clear differences between the individual sectors: while the economy represents the most socially exclusive group, the political elites are much more heterogeneous. Social origins also shape people's political attitudes. With regard to the problem of growing social inequalities in society, Hartmann summarizes that “the higher the social origin of the elite, the more likely they are to have a positive view of things. While the working class children among them find the social differences almost two and a half times as often unjust as they are fair, it is almost exactly the opposite with the upper middle class children. "

Elites and Power in Europe 2007

In this study he traces the reforming of the elites after 1945 in France, Great Britain, Germany and Italy and also shows the processes of change in the elite formation in these and other countries (Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Benelux countries, Scandinavian and Eastern European countries). Also discussed he asked to what extent one can speak of a Europeanization of the elites and what social balance of power emerges in connection with elites. Hartmann assumes that national recruitment and promotion patterns continue to prevail and that origins and homogeneity are directly related to social inequalities. It shows that the more exclusive and homogeneous a national elite is, the greater the gap between rich and poor turns out to be.

The myth of the elite of performance in 2002

In this empirical study , Hartmann examines the relationship between social origin and access opportunities to elite positions in Germany. He comes to the conclusion that equal opportunities show considerable deficits in this regard.

To this end, he examined the biographies of 6,500 doctorates from the doctoral years 1955, 1965, 1975 and 1985 in the Federal Republic of Germany based on their résumés in the dissertation. Because of their importance for the structure of government in the fields of economy, science, justice and politics, he focused on lawyers, economists and engineers. On the one hand, Hartmann notes that even a doctorate is socially highly selective. When looking at the further career progression of doctoral candidates, it appears that top positions in the areas examined are occupied to an over-representative extent by children of the upper class and the upper middle class. The economic sector is subject to greater social selection than the justice and politics sectors. Hartmann justifies this with the choice of children coming from the “upper class” and “upper middle class”, who predominantly push into positions in the economy and only decide in favor of justice and politics when the macroeconomic situation diminishes the prospects of an economic career. The position taken in the structural-functionalist school of elite research that the elites are recruited primarily on the basis of individual performance has not been confirmed in this respect. The hopes of Ralf Dahrendorf and most of the other elite researchers that the expansion of education with its social opening of the universities would change the importance of social origin in the recruitment of the elite were accordingly only insufficiently fulfilled. Although the doctorate was initially opened up to broader sections of society, a further social selection had now begun in the distribution of top positions in the age groups examined. In summary, the educational expansion has made it easier for broad sections of society to gain access to educational institutions, but not to the elite positions.

In detail:

  • According to Hartmann, the German elites come disproportionately from the ranks of the middle class. (Go to " middle class " are with him "more" entrepreneurs, but also landowners (farmers, foresters), academic professionals ( liberal professions ), senior employees ( managers ) and higher officials and officers , but no smaller entrepreneurs and merchants and no craftsman .) In the fathers' generation of today's elites, these occupational groups made up around 3.5% of the male workforce. There is broad consensus in the assessment that the political elite is socially the most permeable and the business elite the most closed.
  • There is a fundamental connection between the social selectivity of the German education system and the social recruitment of the German elite.
  • Two aspects are responsible for the social imbalance. On the one hand, there are a number of selection mechanisms within the German education system, which in an international comparison - as the PISA student performance study has clearly shown - is characterized by a particularly pronounced social selection. According to him, the threefolding of the school system plays a decisive role in this regard. For example, For example, according to a survey among all fifth graders in Hamburg, a child whose father graduated from high school received a third fewer points for a high school recommendation than a child with a father who did not graduate from school. The same mechanisms can be observed in relocation decisions. On the other hand, selection mechanisms played a role during professional life, which essentially relate to indeterminate “personality” characteristics. The importance of the 'right chemistry' or 'gut instinct' is essentially related to the need of leading executives to surround themselves with people who can be trusted and, as a result, better assessed. According to an interviewed top manager, you have to imagine a board of directors as a common destiny that is successful or fails together. Decisive for whether you believe you can trust someone , and thus also for the decision whether this person is accepted as a colleague on the board, is ultimately the person's habitus . The desired habitus is based on four central personality traits in the boardrooms of large German companies:
    • One should have an intimate knowledge of the dress and behavior codes , because from the decision-maker’s point of view, this shows whether the candidate knows the written and, above all, unwritten rules and laws in the boardrooms of business and is willing to heed them.
    • A broad general education is desired because it is seen as a clear indication of the famous and absolutely necessary 'thinking outside the box'.
    • It is also necessary to have a broad entrepreneurial attitude and the optimistic attitude to life that is considered necessary.
    • Ultimately, personal sovereignty in appearance and behavior is the most important element in the eyes of those responsible for all those who are suitable for management tasks of this magnitude.

Such habitual personality traits are primarily conveyed by the milieu in which one grew up and cannot be acquired through professional personal performance.

In an interview in 2019, Hartmann said that general knowledge was becoming less important and that sovereignty was crucial. The loss of importance of general knowledge can be explained by a general loss of importance of the educated bourgeoisie , whereby only upper middle class children developed an intensive relationship to art and music.

Fonts

Awards and grants

  • 2010 Thyssen Prize for the second best social science essay of the year
  • 2008 Prize of the German Society for Sociology for outstanding achievements in the field of the public effectiveness of sociology
  • 2002 Thyssen Prize for the best social science essay of the year
  • 1992–1994 research grant from the DFG
  • 1977–1979 grant from the federal government's graduate support

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Michael Hartmann . In: TheEuropean . October 4, 2013 ( theeuropean.de [accessed November 30, 2016]).
  2. ↑ Hartmann's academic career ( memento from June 25, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) on the archived Internet pages of the TU Darmstadt
  3. ^ Members of the scientific advisory board. In: Attac. Retrieved July 13, 2018 .
  4. ↑ p. 171
  5. ↑ The number (the statistical population ) of “entrepreneurs” in Germany is still not recorded and is therefore unknown.
  6. ↑ Michael Hartmann: The secrets of success - or: How do you become an elite? In: Equal Opportunities Qua Birth? Participation in education in times of privatization of social risks . In: BdWi study booklet , 3/2005, p. 45.
  7. ↑ Michael Hartmann: Elites in Germany - Recruitment Paths and Career Paths. In: From Politics and Contemporary History. Issue 10/2004, pp. 17-21, bpb.de (PDF)
  8. ↑ Elite researcher Michael Hartmann: "The most important thing is sovereignty". Interview by Christopher Schwarz. In: Wirtschaftswoche. February 23, 2019, accessed February 24, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Hartmann, Michael
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German sociologist
DATE OF BIRTH August 24, 1952
PLACE OF BIRTH Paderborn