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Oxfam's action last year: higher minimum wages, greater participation by the rich
Photo: Sophia Kembowski / dpa
The corona pandemic and its consequences are tugging at the fabric of our society.
In his new book on "Inequality in Class Society", the left-wing political scientist Christoph Butterwegge states that, as a result of the corona crisis, the rifts between rich and poor are also deepening in Germany.
Butterwegge cites consumer behavior as an example: "More families are shopping at discount grocery stores in order to save money, which should make the owners of chains like Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd even richer," says the political scientist.
"Even before the pandemic, the private assets of Dieter Schwarz, owner of Lidl and Kaufland, were estimated at 41.5 billion euros."
Butterwegge states that there is "a connection between immunodeficiency and low income: the risk of infection is higher for poor people, for example if they do not have any refuge."
And the rescue measures of the federal government were well meant, but exacerbated the development: "Whoever has not 'done' anything beforehand," says Butterwegge, "does not get anything in an emergency either. This applies to the homeless and recipients of transfer payments, however for example also for freelance workers and freelance artists. "
The phase of contact restrictions also made "a frightening realization clear to many people in Germany: a large number of Germans are not in a position to make ends meet financially even if their regular income is gone for two or three months . "
Read the entire interview here:
SPIEGEL:
Mr. Butterwegge, whether it's plague, cholera or Spanish flu: the world has been ravaged by pandemics for centuries.
Have such events made societies more equal or unequal?
Butterwegge:
There is no general answer to the question.
Some infectious diseases rampant around the world have had a socially equalizing effect.
As bad as they were for the infected and their relatives, in some cases they brought the classes and shifts closer together.
SPIEGEL:
How did that come about?
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