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patriots” Ninth, Germany is part of the Western world, both culturally and
politically. Tenth, Germans have a collective remembrance of certain events
like football world cups, or the unification of the country. These events and
places belong to the German collective memory.
What is interesting here is the difference between the Leitkultur proposed
by Fukuyama and the one by de Maiziére. De Maiziére only selects some
components of the heritage of Enlightenment, while other items are only for
creating some kind of a bond between the individual and society. However, of
these, many could be questioned: is somebody against German mainstream
culture if s/he does not like football? And what if someone believes the
Germans do not separate religion and governance properly, or Christianity
should not play a central role in society as de Maiziere portrays it? And
what if someone is critical towards the idea of an overtly capitalist German
performance-based society? If we add the fact that exclusion, xenophobia,
and making an artificial connection between ethnicity and “Westernness’ are
also part of the culture of European countries, it seems that we should be
very careful what we propagate under ‘leading culture’
d. Conclusions
Against the backdrop of current demographic trends, Europe will be unable to
maintain its competitiveness, prosperity, and hard-won welfare systems without
migration. However, migration has become a strongly politicised matter, which
can strengthen far-right forces in European societies. This means that European
societies should be able to create a culture that truly accepts immigrants and
handles them equally, but which is also able to integrate them into society.
If they are unable to achieve a balance between their economic interests
and proper social integration, migration will become a serious source of
disintegration among European countries, and also within European societies.
Key concepts and terms
Birth/fertility rate
Demographic transition
Dependency ratio
Intergenerational conflict
Life expectancy
Migration/immigration
Policy challenges
Securitisation
Shrinking population/labour force
Silver economy