How Globalization Is Creating a New European
Underclass
By Gabor Steingart
In the West, gradual de-industrialization has created a new underclass of the
unproductive and intellectually depraved. The spiritual cousin of the American
phenomenon of "white trash," these strangers in their own land have become a
serious threat to democracy.
Editor's Note: The following essay has been excerpted from the German best-seller "World
War for Wealth: The Global Grab for Power and Prosperity" by SPIEGEL editor Gabor Steingart.
SPIEGEL ONLINE is publishing a series of daily excerpts from the book.
The modern-day member of the underclass is not hungry. He has a roof over his head, he is
not disproportionately vulnerable to illness and he even has a bit of cash in his pocketbook. In
every Western European country, he is both a citizen and a beneficiary of the welfare state,
even if the state's services are no longer as generous as they
once were.
DDP
Beer can ashtray: Close to 8 percent of Germans consume 40
percent of the alcohol sold in the country.
Such luxuries, bare bones though they may be, are relatively
new for the Western proletariat. The best lodging his pauper predecessor could have hoped for
was a homeless shelter or a men's hostel. Food for the poor was meager and it was often
delivered only after long waits in bread lines or in soup kitchens. The ill were neither insured
nor could they afford to pay for doctors, let alone medication. Old men were, for better or for
worse, turned over to the care of the younger generation, or put in the hands of church aid
programs.
Still, even if the modern-day proletariat is materially much better off, he is actually in worse
shape.
The destitute laborer of old had something that today's poor no longer have: He knew who the
enemy was; he had a class identity; he often even had a well-developed culture. He sang
songs, fought his political fights, founded associations and idolized social theoreticians, even if
he didn't fully understand them.
During the days of the German Empire, he could still choose between political groups that,
although technically illegal, sought his support. The pauper of yesterday was the subject of
history, seen with the sober clarity of hindsight. So far, the pauper of today, in a united
Europe, is little more than the victim of circumstances. And while his predecessor may have
been on the margins of society, today he is an outsider.
Although they hardly have a voice of their own, we know a lot about today's members of the
underclass. Though they keep largely to themselves, cocooned as they are within their
apartment blocks, they are scrutinized by dozens of sociologists -- examined to almost the
same extent as biologists have researched the common hare. And while they may be
strangers in their own land, we have access to a clear typology that allows us to better
recognize them.
Intellectual neglect
We know, for example, that today's proletariat is richer than the worker of generations past.
Indeed, with a little skill, he can tap into the coffers of the state's social safety net, which
provides him with access to an income comparable to those of police officers, warehouse
workers and taxi drivers. Thus, it is not material poverty that separates him from others.
BUCHTIPP
This essay has been
excerpted from "War
for Wealth: The
Global Grab for
Power and
Prosperity",
Germany's bestselling book by Gabor
Steingart. SPIEGEL
ONLINE is publishing
a series of excerpts
from the book in
English.
Piper Verlag, Munich;
384 pages; €19.90.
The German-language
edition of the book is
available online at
SPIEGEL Shop.
Rather, what stand out are the symptoms of intellectual neglect. The poor of today watch
television for half the day. These days, television producers even refer to what they call
"Underclass TV." The new proletariat eats a lot of fatty foods and he enjoys smoking and
drinking -- a lot. About 8 percent of Germans consume 40 percent of all the alcohol sold in the
country. While he may be a family man, his families are often broken. And on Election Day, he
casts a protest vote for the extreme left or right wing party, sometimes switching quickly from
one to the other.
But the main thing that sets the modern poor apart from the industrial age pauper is a sheer
lack of interest in education. Today's proletariat has little education and no interest in
obtaining more. Back in the early days of industrialization, the poor joined worker associations
that often doubled as educational associations. The modern member of the underclass, by
contrast, has completely shunned personal betterment.
He likewise makes little effort to open the door to the future for his own children. Their
language skills are as bad as their ability to concentrate. The rising rate of illiteracy is matched
by the shrinking opportunities to integrate the underclass. The Americans, not ones to mince
words, call them "white trash."
European democracy's greatest threat
The new proletariat as a homogenous class first came into existence in the last 10 years. And
it is by no means an exclusively German phenomenon: An underclass is emerging in every
self-described leading industrial nation. The modern political economy clearly has nothing to
offer to those who possess little knowledge.
It is no mere coincidence that the rise of the new underclass is happening in tandem with the
erosion of industry jobs. In Europe, the process of de-industrialization may end up being more
influential than the common currency or the effort to forge a shared constitution. The
disintegration of society threatens the West today more than international terrorism, even if
politicians are focusing on combating the latter.
THE AUTHOR
MARCO-URBAN.DE
Gabor Steingart,
44, heads DER
SPIEGEL's Berlin
office. His last book
was titled
"Germany: The
Decline of a
Superstar" and, like
"World War for
Prosperity," was a
bestseller in
Germany. Steingart
was chosen as "The
Economic Writer of
the Year" in 2004.
Though bombs can shake a democracy or market economy, they cannot destroy it. But the
process of economic erosion deprives the West of jobs, then money and, in the end,
democratic legitimacy. What is citizenship worth if people are denied the opportunity to
participate in the working world? What use are civil liberties if the right to an independent
lifestyle is no longer among them? Would it be acceptable if the rights set down in the
constitution were only applicable to the educated classes?
Questions of fundamental importance are forcing their way to the foreground: Can a
democracy tolerate having part of its populace continuously shut out from the rising quality of
life? And if that is accepted, will this decision come back to haunt us in our lifetimes?
Will nations again face off against one another because boiling anger seeks an outlet? Or
perhaps the underclasses will revolt? Both scenarios are possible. The only outcome hard to
imagine is that nothing happens at all.
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