Unequal Opportunities, Low Trust

A feeling of loss of control and lack of opportunity is spreading in Germany, as shown by our representative survey on the socio-political attitudes of the population. The promise of upward mobility is no longer being fulfilled. Yet this is essential for both the individual’s ability to develop their potential and for social cohesion. 

Almost three-quarters of respondents say that in Germany, one’s parents’ home too often determines one’s opportunities in life. Two-thirds believe that it is now almost impossible to build up wealth on one’s own. 

Many people want a welfare state that creates opportunities and reduces inequality. However, around two-thirds believe that too little is currently being done to promote social advancement and wealth creation for disadvantaged people. At the same time, there is a lack of trust in politics: one in four people do not believe that any party is capable of tackling the most pressing social policy challenges of our time. 

The consequences are serious. The promise of opportunity – i.e. the possibility of achieving social advancement through one’s own efforts – is faltering. The next federal government faces the task of ensuring that all people have access to a minimum level of opportunity in life. Otherwise, the principle of meritocracy, which is held in high regard in Germany, threatens to become an empty phrase – and the possibility of self-fulfilment a privilege enjoyed by only a few.