Civil Society and Democratic Culture in Germany

Friedrichs: No. Having done the research for my book, I have problems defining the term elite. However, if one takes the definition used by most researchers into the elite, it refers to a small group of around 4,000 people who decide what happens in Germany. This group comprises the bosses of large companies, members of government and high court judges.

It is, after all, inherent to the concept of an elite that there should be one small group – the select few – and then everyone else. This is not a structured model of society. There are no eighth or quarter elites – either one is or isn't part of the elite. And no, I am not.

What distinguishes the "powerful of tomorrow" who you met during the course of your research?

It is difficult to say, because the people I talked to were all very different. The thing they almost all had in common, however, was that they and their parents had decided to pursue a particular educational path, and that this education was worth a great deal of money to them.

I only visited those educational establishments which themselves claim to produce and teach the elite. Almost all of these were private institutions where the fees can be as much as 10,000 euros per semester or 30,000 euros for a school year. With very few exceptions, the people I encountered there came from very well-off families. They all had a relatively similar social background.

Is this elite of above-average intelligence?

Elite does not automatically mean – as I assumed at the beginning of my research – that these are the most talented or gifted people. These schools and universities do not take only the best of the best, i.e. those who came first in some sort of competition. Social background and the willingness to pay actually play a bigger role.

Most were very motivated and willing to work hard – and as such have set themselves apart from others. I often heard them say: "Later on, we will have more influence because we want to achieve more than other people."

What is more, they all had the same goal – they all wanted to pursue a successful career and get ahead in life. This is also something which the schools and universities advertise. The European Business School claims, for example, that all its students receive on average two job offers at the end of the three-year course, and can expect an average starting salary of 50,000 euros. They also advertise the networking benefits, claiming that your child will meet the right people here – and this is something worth paying for.

What did you find was most lacking?

An understanding of how other people live. The future elite live in relatively closed societies, where hardly any of their fellow students have an unemployed father or parents who have immigrated from Turkey. In their lives, the other people – over whose lives they will later decide – are conspicuously absent.

In addition, I was aware of a certain harshness of attitude: "Anyone who does not make it probably didn't put in enough effort." One can't necessarily blame these young people for having this attitude, as in their world it is true: anyone who works hard will ultimately achieve the desired result. They find it hard to imagine that the situation is different for other people.

I also found that there was a lack of any vision of how to shape society. I had the impression that many of them simply wanted to climb to the top of the social ladder – for the sake of being at the top. What they will actually do there is something they assume will become apparent later. I don't think that's quite enough for someone who at the age of 20 says "I will be part of the elite".

Was there anything that you found admirable?

At the business universities I was impressed by how efficiently and rigorously these very, very young people structured their day, and how disciplined they were. It gave me the feeling that I myself had wasted rather a lot of time.

I also felt a touch of envy when I observed the conditions which prevail in these establishments. I would also like to have been in a class of just 14 pupils, or would have liked to go to a school with a lake where one can go rowing and sailing.

For a long time, the term "elite" had a negative aftertaste in Germany. How do you explain the renaissance of the elite concept?

I believe that the turnaround came in 1998 when Gerhard Schröder, on behalf of the social democrats, who after all had for many years been something like the natural enemies of the elite, said: we need an elite again.

I suspect to some extent that the whole business of the elite is a political trick. If one looks at what has been discussed in the realm of higher education policy in recent years, it is clear that the debate revolved mainly around the Excellence Initiative. This can distract attention from the fact that the conditions for the non-elite establishments are becoming worse and worse, and that the conventional universities are completely underfunded.

Ever since the PISA study, it is a commonly known fact that educational success in Germany depends on a child's social origin to a greater extent than in any other industrialized country. Is the elite which you encountered a financial elite?

In some cases, yes, though not exclusively. I would never say that stupid and lazy children can buy themselves their future – it is not as simple as that. Nonetheless, it is the case that money plays a role in these educational institutions, and social background is more decisive than evidence of achievement.

In her book "Lob der Elite. Warum wir sie brauchen" (i.e. Praise to the elite. Why we need them), Heike Schmoll writes that democracies in particular depend "on their different and, in principle, open elites" …

If there were different elites who were competing on a relatively equal footing, and if these competitions were also open – in other words, if one really had to prove in a competition that one is the best – that would be a good thing. A democracy could do with such elites.

But that is not how it is. The clearly dominant elite is the business elite. Everyone I talked to wanted to go into business. Even those with a very strong interest in politics said "I would have no influence as a politician. If at all, I'll become a lobbyist."

Does Germany need the elite that you encountered?

I would never say that one does not need these young people.

What we do not need is this system of the "old boys' network" that disguises itself as elite education. At the end of the day, this is nothing more than a method of recruitment in which the privileged few seek to defend their privileges. This is something we certainly do not need, for one thing because talented individuals who do not have the money then get left out in the cold – which means that we lose out on talent which we actually rely on.