Sharing a Common Legacy: An In-depth Survey Among Germans Reveals Changing Norms and Peace Between Generations

The Legacy Study is the title of a research project conducted by the WZB, the weekly DIE ZEIT, and the Social Research Institute infas. How do Germans live and what would they like to bequeath to the next generations? What would they advise them against? What future awaits them? 3,104 Germans were asked about their lives, their attitudes, and their convictions. Each of these interviews lasted at least an-hour-and-a-half. Some of the results were highlighted in a ZEIT interview that Andreas Lebert and Wolfgang Uchatius conducted with Jutta Allmendinger who headed the WZB Legacy team. This is an abridged version of the interview.

Were you surprised by the answers?

In some areas, yes. The special significance that work has in a life, that was something I had not entirely foreseen, nor was the Germans’ take on material wealth and the relationship between the generations. Germans are also much more self-critical than I thought.

Didn’t earlier surveys elicit similar insights?

No, but nor could they. Most surveys deal with specific age groups or particular subjects, focussing exclusively, for example, on family or work. We, in contrast, asked people aged fourteen to eighty about almost every area of their life: family, work, health, technology, food, lifestyle. But most importantly our conversations touched on several levels. We were interested not only in how things are, but how, in the opinion of each individual, they should be. We wanted to know which norms Germans are attached to, whether they find the things they say are important to really be so in the future. Important enough to pass on to subsequent generations. Thus the name of the study: the legacy study. Then we continued with a question on what actually awaits subsequent generations as they see it. Not how the world should be, but how it will be.

Could you give an example?

On the subject of separation, we asked three questions: first along the lines of “In your view, is it important to remain within a failed partnership for the sake of the children?” Only a minority concurred. Nowadays very few people are of the opinion that a couple should stay together purely for the sake of the children. Next we asked: “Would you recommend that in future generations failed partnerships continue for the sake of the children?” With that we are in the realm of “should,” the realm of norms. The interviewees’ answers reveal what they really think. The result in this case was even less concurrence. The interviewees believe they themselves are still too conservative when it comes to the subject of separation. “Do you think that future generations will stay in partnerships because of the children?” This question is about how the world will be, and reveals how the interviewees view the world around them and their fellow human beings. And the answers showed the lowest concurrence. Those interviewed presumed that society as a whole views this subject through an even less traditional lens than their own.

What conclusions can one draw?

What was once a strong norm is in the process of dissolving. And people approve of this and do not bemoan it. In the future, hardly anyone will stay with a partner for the children’s sake alone. A similar picture emerges from other ques-tions on partnership and family: “Is marriage a particularly special expression of love?”; “Should one make decisions exclusively on the basis of love for one’s partner?”; “Is it good for couples to clearly define what is ‘mine’ and what is ‘yours’?”; The same is true everywhere: people are being more attentive to their own selves, to their wellbeing, and this is something they wish to pass on to subsequent generations.

Does this mean there is a rupture between generations?

Not really. Interestingly, those above the age of 65 were also of the opinion that—in contrast to what was the norm when they were young—it would actually be better to separate if you don’t get along anymore. So the older generation has changed its perspective.

What do Germans think about the division of labor in the home?

The first part of our question was “How important is it for you that couples with children equally share earning, housekeeping and looking after the children?” It is important to most of those asked. The second part of the question is “How should this look in the future?” No change in the answers. But then, with part three, “How will it be in reality?”, the line dips. That suggests that Germans believe men and women should have an equal share of housekeeping chores and looking after the children. There was hardly any deviation in the answers. Germans observe, however, that many of their fellow citizens find it a difficult norm to adhere to. That is directed particularly at men.

But we read a lot about the new man who aspires to balance career and children.

That may be so. And some men do make it a reality. But if you compare actual working hours with the would-be working hours, you realize that there is hardly any difference for those family men. When in doubt, their profession is more important to men than family time.

Is that true across all sections of society?

We arranged the answers according to education, profession and income. The results showed that the better a man’s position, the less involved he is in household chores. He prefers to procure the latest dishwasher or the newest tumble dryer. In a way he absolves himself with machines.

How is the women’s perspective on paid work?

Most women, too, said that it was very important to them to have a job that they enjoyed. That is one of the major discoveries. Germans are super-dependent on work. We asked, for example, “Would you also work if you didn’t need the mon-ey?” The consensus was very high indeed. And people would also strongly rec-ommend professional work to future generations—even when the money is not essential. Even more women than men answered this in the affirmative. Work also fulfils a non-material purpose: it is part of what makes life fulfilling. And that is a strong norm today. People do not work for money alone. The an-swers to the questions on property and wealth support that, too. Pointing to the fact that these are surprisingly unimportant.

Would that be true also, say, for security guards or super-market cashiers?

There are differences between the professions of course. But a desire to be needed, to be with other people, to be doing something is present in all sections of society. It is certainly true that the material needs of those who are well-off are largely satisfied. That is a reminder that we are looking back on decades of steady economic growth. Many people feel no need to be adding to their stock-pile of possessions. Yet they do want to work.

There is even talk in Germany of a Generation Y, one that  opts for more leisure time.

Young people place more importance on having a job than the older ones. The important role work holds is also demonstrated by the answers to one rather unusual question. Every interviewee was shown a picture of a design of a shoal of fish. Some fish are out in front leading the way, others fill out the middle section, one fish swims a little way off, and one swims against the current. Then we asked, “When you think of your professional life, which of these fish would you like to be?” The majority, men and women, selected the fish in the front ranks. So women do aspire leadership roles. When it came to family life, incidentally, a majority chose the middle section. This means that men don’t necessary want to be the sole earner, detached from family obligations.

Well, Germans have always had the reputation of being workhorses.

Yes, but the reasons have changed. Before a sense of duty was usually predominant. These days duty is practically redundant as a reason; that is another discovery. Germans attach one of the highest values to independence and to living a self-determined life. And to enjoying life—that really matters to people. That was elicited from questions pertaining to impressions of the senses, the scents for example. In the often detailed explanations for why certain scents were chosen, it became clear just how much Germans are enjoying their lives today. And for most Germans, having a job is part of that good life.

What about the modern freelancer?

The happy, flexible self-employed person who can choose whether to work in the daytime hours, or at night, with no worries of the next commission may exist, but is rare. The great majority of Germans want a secure job, most would like fixed working hours and long-term colleagues. They are afraid this scenario won’t exist in the future. Only the well-educated distance themselves a little from that. They can afford to.

Living in this new working world, do we have the same aspirations as people had in the Helmut Schmidt era?

Indeed there is a kind of basic social democratic desire in Germany. Social upward mobility is regarded by all sections of society and by diverse professional groups as having great intrinsic value. Also that feeling of an “us” has real importance. That is one of the subjects where we saw the highest number of affirmative answers.

Is this need for community something of a fair-weather“us” or does it touch on real solidarity?

One of our questions on health dovetails nicely here: “How true is it of you that you would pay more for better medical treatment?” The consensus was relatively high. The second part of the question was: “In the future do you think those who can pay more should receive better treatment?” Hardly anyone thought that—although there was a fear that this could transpire in the future: money buying health. A commitment to the German social state is revealed. Society is there to take care of everybody and the rights of the wealthy shouldn’t hold sway. Wealthy people identified with that message as much as people with less money, those who had trained as something and those who hadn’t.

The reforms in Germany in recent years have also been more in the direction of cuts and personal contributions.

That makes it all the more explosive. People are frustrated by this development. Our study gives a mandate to politicians to maintain the social security system. Food is another example. Eating well is very important to Germans. This again ties in with that desire to enjoy life. But we also asked whether people care about how their food is produced. Most of them would like to have sustainable food production. Germans find themselves in a dilemma. They reject industrial livestock farming, but for lots of people organic products are unaffordable. They are not able to live up to their own standards. Solving this dilemma is a task for politics.

Do you do not see a generational divide?

Peace prevails between the old and the young. And this peace in fact has an even further reach. There is great disparity in how people in Germany live: incomes vary widely, and there are even bigger gaps in wealth, access to education is very unevenly spread, and there are differences between East and West. In many respects one could speak of a divided society. And yet, beneath the surface, when it comes to values and norms, the individual groups in society share a proximity. These are hopeful signs.

The fiercely fought refugee debate does not give us an impression of cohesion.

From WZB research we know that there are new lines of division. No longer between the left and the right, but between the winners and the losers of globalization, between those who feel threatened by opening up of society, and others who regard it as an asset. Typical supporters of AfD and Pegida tend to be older, are not benefitting from globalization, and see no advantages in a diverse society. That is also true of those who support the right-wing populist in the Netherlands, Geert Wilders, or the US presidential candidates Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders. Typical advocates of the current “welcome culture” on the other hand tend to be urban, young, well-educated and are themselves profiting from a globalization in which they have taken part through exchange programmes, for example.

Which group is larger?

Our study also asked about people’s fears. More than half of the Germans asked were anxious about xenophobia whereas not even a third were fearful of too much foreignness.

And what do Germans fear most of all?

This is remarkable. More than war or climate disasters, more than criminality or poverty, Germans fear living a life that is not self-determined.