Rolf Schroeder: 2004 - 2029 - X An Interview with S. Flor
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still are on the fringe of society is an ongoing task. Nowadays, even the
children of those who had been among the long-term unemployed need
assistance to do their jobs - social co-operatives fulfil this function.
People have a right, but also a duty to work. In addition, the subsidies are
mainly granted to what is called "deprived regions". When the regional
markets were established we expected them to prosper in poor regions. The
contrary was the case; in regions like Hannover with a well-established
traditional economy they flourished, whereas in peripheral zones, for
instance in Eastern Germany, the regional markets had problems to take-off.
This was corrected by allocate a higher proportion of these funds to such
regions. People experienced the benefits of these investments, which - in
contrast to the high-tech projects of the traditional regional policy -
promoted economic development on the spot. They gained confidence into the
new structures and contributed to the development of their region.
R. Schröder: I get the impression that dual economy also implies a radical
shift of political objectives. Is that correct?
S. Flor: Absolutely! Traditionally, the social goal of economic policy had
been full employment. Closely related with this was the concept of the
welfare state, a transfer mechanism that became obsolete when more and more
people became redundant. But even after the turn of the century politicians
invoked "more jobs". Of course, this had nothing to do with the social
reality of those being marginalized already; they addressed middle-class
jobholders and voters who feared to fall into misery. The cry for "jobs"
provided a cheap excuse for any type of concession to the big global
business players. Today this kind of pressure does not exist any more.
Unemployment is not an issue any more. Certainly, communities try to attract
traditional business investors in order to receive fiscal revenues. On the
other hand business appreciates stable social conditions and an attractive
environment. Thus, for both sides, investors and politicians, negotiations
and, ultimately, decisions are a rather clear-cut trade-off between costs
and benefits.
R. Schröder: Certainly, unemployment has not only material impacts, it goes
hand in hand with social exclusion. People who are on the dole loose contact
to their former colleagues, they cannot participate in leisure time
activities. If they are part of a group, which plans to spend some time in a
beer garden or a restaurant and they cannot afford to participate, they are
"out". The commercialization of private life leads to social segmentation.
This has, if I understand you correctly, changed in a fundamental way?
S. Flor: Right! The socio-economic structure with local or regional markets
provides a crystallization point for social integration. People are
integrated on their working place, they are integrated in their
leisure-time. In the old economy consumers projected their unfulfilled needs
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