Oldal 86 [86]
84] Zoltán Simon and Tamás Dezső Ziegler
democratic values. Yet his proposal was attacked from the left for suggesting that
those values were superior to other cultural values; in doing so the left gave unwitting
comfort not just to Islamists, but also to the right that still believed in ethnic identity.
Germany needs something precisely like Leitkultur, a normative change that would
permit a Turk to speak of him or herself as German. This is beginning to happen,
but slowly. (Fukuyama 2018, 169)
Jürgen Habermas was one of those who harshly criticized the idea of Leitkultur.
As he claimed in The New York Times in 2010,
to the present day, the idea of the leitkultur depends on the misconception that the
liberal state should demand more of its immigrants than learning the language of the
country and accepting the principles of the Constitution. We had, and apparently still
have, to overcome the view that immigrants are supposed to assimilate the “values” of
the majority culture and to adopt its “customs” ... Ido not have the impression that
the appeals to the leitkultur signal anything more than a rearguard action or that the
lapse of an author into the snares of the controversy over nature versus nurture has
given enduring and widespread impetus to the more noxious mixture of xenophobia,
racist feelings of superiority and social Darwinism. The problems of today have set
off the reactions of yesterday - but not those of the day before. (Habermas 2010)
The idea of Leitkultur entered the centre of public attention again when
Thomas de Maiziére, who was Germany’s Minister of Interior from 2009
to 2011 and from 2013 to 2018, proposed a plan for such a culture in the
newspaper Bild am Sonntag in 2017 (de Maiziere 2017). De Maizieére raised
certain points that provoked harsh debates. First, he claimed that Germany
had a distinctive culture. In this culture, people shake hands and do not cover
their faces, not even in mass demonstrations (as he famously put it: “we are
not Burka’). Second, Germans see education as a tool to success, because a
society can only be successful if its members are educated enough. General
education is a value in itself. Third, Germans see performance as something
to be proud of in a “performance-centred society”. Under ‘performance’
de Maizière also means social assistance for those in need, as this is also a
performance Germans can be proud at.
Fourth, Germany has a unique history with its ups and downs, which
also shapes the future, including friendly relationships with countries like
Israel. Fifth, in his interpretation, the Germans are a nation of culture, where
cultural events and achievements like music are important, and also politicians
participate in cultural events. Sixth, albeit religion is separate from the state,
religion is still serving the society in connecting its members. On the other
hand, religious freedom means that everybody can practise his or her religion,
and this includes Christians, Jews, and Muslims alike. Seventh, in Germany,
conflicts are solved peacefully, and there exists a culture of democratic conflict
resolution. Eighth, Germans love their country, as they are “Enlightened