Auf dem Hintergrund der Geschichte Südafrikas werden die durch Rassentrennung geprägten gesellschaftlichen Rahmenbedingungen für gewerkschaftliches Handeln dargestellt. Im weiteren geht der Verfasser des Handbuchartikels auf das geltende Arbeitsrecht ein und erläutert Organisationsgrad und Mitgliederentwicklung der Gewerkschaften. Der Autor betont immer wieder die Untrennbarkeit der gegenwärtigen politischen Situation der Apartheid und der gewerkschaftlichen Politik. Ergänzt wird die inhaltliche Darstellung durch Literaturhinweise und die Anschrift der Gewerkschaftsbünde. (KS)
Notions of reason, rationality, utopia, & the possibility of social liberation are traced in the thought of Karl Marx, Max Weber, Theodor W. Adorno, & Max Horkheimer, & Jurgen Habermas, focusing on the last's reformulation of Adorno's & Horkheimer's critical theory & on his distinction between communicative & systemic rationality (Theorie des kommunikativen Handelns [Theory of Communicative Action] Vols I & II, Frankfurt, 1981). Habermas is seen to have reconceptualized Weber's thesis that the rise of modern, "disenchanted" social structures amounts to a process of rationalization leading to a bureaucratic, reified state (the process Habermas refers to as "systemic rationalization"), identifying a parallel development of a liberatory "communicative rationality," in which social action is increasingly coordinated & rationalized in order to inhibit the reification of the "life world" & force economic & political structures to allow greater degrees of human freedom. Thus the process of communicative rationality is embodied by contemporary radical democratic social movements & signifies a utopian potential emerging from the historical process of rationalization, a potential unrecognized by Weber & interpreted by Adorno & Horkheimer as necessitating a break with rationalization in favor of reason. Habermas's conceptual strategy is outlined & clarified, & some possible objections to it are refuted. 1 Reference. J. Weber.
The German Arts & Craft Society, founded in 1907, played a major role in developing the functionalist & constructivist approaches of modern architecture & industrial design, while embodying protest against capitalistic mass production. Its functionalism, however, was too easily degraded into acceptance of technocratic definitions of function, in which even the memory of urbane lifestyles formerly embodied in facades had been lost. Postmodern architecture combines recognition that modern society no longer has its own language of form, but must draw on those of past societies, with liberation from technocratic rationalism & achievement of participatory forms of practice, understandable in terms of the concept of communicative rationality. The belief that industrial progress inherently tended toward humanization & aesthetic enlightenment has been revealed as naive, but new opportunities for aesthetic fantasy have arisen. W. H. Stoddard.
Rolle der 'Interessengemeinschaft deutsch-sprachiger Südwester', der 'Deutsch-Südafrikanischen Gesellschaft', der 'Afrika-Fördergesellschaft', der 'Deutschen Afrika-Stiftung' u.a
There is increasing demand for science to contribute to solving societal problems (solutionism). Thereby, scientists may become normative activists for solving certain problems (advocacy). When doing this, they may insufficiently differentiate between scientific and political modes of reasoning and validation (de-differentiationism), which is sometimes linked to questionable forms of utilizing the force of facts (German: Faktengewalt). Scientific findings are simplified and communicated in such a way that they acquire a status as unfalsifiable and absolutely true (truth to power). This becomes critical if the consistency and validation of the findings are questionable and scientific models underlying science activists' actions are doubtful, oversimplified, or incorrect. Herein, we exemplarily elaborate how the integrity of science is endangered by normative solutionist and sociopolitically driven transition management and present mineral scarcity claims that ignore that reserves or resources are dynamic geotechnological-socioeconomic entities. We present the main mineral scarcity models and their fallacious assumptions. We then discuss the phosphorus scarcity fallacy, which is of particular interest as phosphorus is non-substitutable and half of all current food production depends on fertilizers (and thus phosphorus). We show that phosphorus scarcity claims are based on integrating basic geoeconomic knowledge and discuss cognitive and epistemological barriers and motivational and sociopolitical drivers promoting the scarcity fallacy, which affects high-level public media. This may induce unsustainable environmental action. Scientists as honest knowledge brokers should communicate the strengths but also the constraints and limits of scientific modeling and of applying it in reality.
Jessy Wellmer ist 1979 in Güstrow in Mecklenburg geboren. Sie war neun Jahre alt, als die Mauer fiel. Heute ist sie bekannt als Moderatorin der "Sportschau" sowie diverser politischer Formate der ARD. Seit dem Studium in Berlin ist sie viel im ganzen Land unterwegs. Im Westen wird sie gefragt, was mit den Ossis los ist. Ostdeutsche wollen von ihr wissen, wie der Westen tickt. Diese Vermittlerinnenrolle ist eines ihrer Lebensthemen. Seit dem Angriff Russlands auf die Ukraine sieht sie mit Sorge, dass sich viele im Osten radikalisieren und dass dort das Gefühl zunimmt, nicht viel gemein zu haben mit den Westdeutschen. Umgekehrt beobachtet sie, dass viele Westdeutsche die »Ostler« vor allem als Störfaktor wahrnehmen. Warum ist das so? Was ist schiefgegangen? Und vor allem: Wie kommen wir da wieder raus? Wellmer gibt keine einfachen Antworten. Sie sieht genau hin und nimmt die unterschiedlichen Geschichten und Erzählungen ernst. Die Zeit der DDR und die Phase der Wiedervereinigung sind für sie Teil der gemeinsamen Geschichte Deutschlands.
