Comments on: The Truth in Germany – from University to Euro

By: Jeffrey Goldfarb

Jeffrey Goldfarb — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 00:42:00 +0000

I see that you haven’t really argued that the German mentality persists since the medieval, but find it interesting how gated communities yields truths that are not true. This is suggestive for understanding Germany, perhaps. I find it also quite suggestive as I try to make sense of the contemporary left and right, certainly in the Tea Party, but also among my friends in Occupy.

By: Doug

Doug — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 15:05:00 +0000

While I certainly think there is room for anti-establishment parties in German political culture, its more of an account of the behavior of establishment elites. In other words, open challenges with a rather aggressive approach, which it seems the protest culture is here (aggressive in boundary breaking – at least compared to the caged protests of pre-Occupy USA), is required to break the lock on truth the elites believe they hold. While the medieval image of universities is a rather common polemical trope, I had to use it to illustrate the point. I am just wondering if there is a relationship between the university education system and attitudes of elites in positions of power. In any case, it is of course quite subjective, which is the only point of reference I could provide in this case.

By: Felipe Pait

Felipe Pait — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 16:47:00 +0000

I don’t know much about German academia but we’re hiring at the Universidade de S Paulo, Brazil. Not much hierarchy here – there are no sacred cows under the Equator.

By: Tim

Tim — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 21:52:00 +0000

As much as I agree with a lot of the main points made (especially about German academia) and as much as I do appreciate the connection through the culture of truth to politics made, I have to say that at the core of your argument stands the assumption of cultural persistence for 600 years in Germany. This reaches pretty far reaching, especially if one thinks of the main tragedies, political events, social transformations, etc Germany just underwent in the last 150 years. Also, you present a somewhat stable political elite, but the Green party itself was a anti-establishment party up until the early 1990s.