Cultural difference in the national state: from trouser-selling Jews to unbridled multiculturalism

ABSTRACT

Stoetzler explores a series of newspaper and journal articles published in Germany in 1879–81 that are part of what later came to be called the ‘Berlin Antisemitism Dispute’. In these articles, anti-Jewish remarks by the historian and right-wing liberal politician Heinrich von Treitschke were responded to by leading political and academic figures, including Theodor Mommsen, Moritz Lazarus and Ludwig Bamberger. Treitschke's texts have been seen as crucial to the development of modern antisemitism in Germany, but the debate that they provoked also points to some of the conceptual weaknesses of the liberal critique of antisemitism. Stoetzler suggests that both Treitschke's support for antisemitism and the ambivalence evident in the views of his opponents are rooted in the contradiction between inclusionary and exclusionary tendencies inherent in the nation-state. To the extent that liberal society constitutes itself in the form of a national state, it cannot but strive to guarantee, or produce, some degree of homogeneity or conformity in the form of a national culture that, in turn, cannot be separated from issues of morality and religion. Stoetzler argues that a discussion of the Berlin Antisemitism Dispute in its specific context of German nineteenth-century liberalism, if interpreted in the more general framework of modern liberal society, can contribute to current debates on nationalism, patriotism, ethnic minorities, immigration and ‘multicultural society’.     

German Income Tax Policy Between Equity and Efficiency

Equity and efficiency are usually regarded as the main objectives of tax policy. Commenting on Dr. Reginald Hansen's doctoral dissertation, the author analyses the meaning of the equity-efficiency trade-off framework in the context of the ongoing debate regarding the reform of the German income-tax system. Schmoller's and Wagner's contrasting conceptions of income taxation are discussed. The role of the tax law as an instrument of interventionism within the framework of the social market economy, especially through the use of tax incentives, is highlighted. Contrary to Dr. Hansen, the author adopts an Austrian viewpoint and argues that both the (catallactic) efficiency and equity of tax incentives are disputable, especially but not uniquely through their (ab)use in tax shelter constructions.     

Cold war era relations between West Germany and Turkish political Islam: from an anti-communist alliance to a domestic security issue

ABSTRACT

West Germany played a significant role in the growth of Political Islam in Turkey during the Cold War. By recruiting from among Turkish workers in West Germany, Islamist organizations and the religious communities known as cemaats acquired significant economic revenues, which they used to fund their activities in Turkey. Moreover, West Germany served as a liaison between Turkish Islamists and Syrian and Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood members, who have influenced Political Islam in Turkey since the 1960s. Prominent Muslim Brotherhood representatives in West Germany took on important roles in the recruitment of Turks and also played some part in shaping the ideological development of Turkish Islamists. Due to the pervasiveness of anti-communism in West Germany and Turkey during the Cold War, the established orders in both countries viewed Political Islam as an antidote to the ascendancy of the Left. However, in the 1980s, Bonn and Ankara grew concerned about Islamist organizations becoming further radicalized and impossible to control; the two governments often cooperated in order to bring Political Islam under their own authority.     

Christian Wolff and the classics of“scientific socialis”

The paper analyses the reception of Christian Wolff in the work of the founders of scientific socialism. It is discussed how Marx, Engels and Lenin thought about a leading representative of German Enlightenment. The author argues that the classics of scientific socialism knew about Wolff in an off-handed and secondary way. As the case of Wolff shows their studies regarding philosophical, legal, sociological and economic theories and those who represented them were strongly influenced by thinking with the logic and in the categories of class antagonism and struggle. The Wolff treatment by Marx, Engels and Lenin determined his reception in the philosophy and economics of the state socialism.     

《德意志意识形态》中马克思利益思想的三条进路

在《德意志意识形态》中，马克思从现实的物质利益关系的原则和本质出发，对社会历史发展中呈现的个人利益与共同利益相对立的二元结构，利益与法、国家的关系及人的解放及自由发展问题进行了阐述，从而为马克思的唯物史观及理想社会的建构提供了坚实的理论基础。     

The new German Data Protection Act and its compatibility with the European Data Protection Directive

A substitution of the right to maintain mailing lists for marketing purposes (the so-called list privilege) by a strict opt-in requirement as proposed by the German Government for the amendment of the German Data Protection Act does not conform with European law. Making the use of relatively innocuous data like name and address for marketing purposes subject to the data subject's declaration of consent infringes upon the requirements of the European Data Protection Directive. The Directive allows for the use of personal data either on the basis of a data subject's declaration of consent or after a balancing of legally protected interests. Reducing this two-track model to a one-track model (based on the data subject's declaration of consent only) does not do justice to the idea of balancing of interests or free movement of goods and services which are a mandatory part of European law. The draft bill interferes drastically with the free movement of goods and services. A tightening of the opt-in requirements would be a severe burden for the German economy because it is impossible for businesses to distribute their goods and services without the help of marketing measures. The economic cycle would be hit at its weakest point, i.e. the link between businesses and consumers which is gaining more and more importance especially with a view to cross-border competition.     

德国辩诉交易的实践与启示

在德国,辩诉交易制度完全是实践中自发的产物。德国辩诉交易实践的形态、产生、争论及相关司法判决和改革草案的分析表明,辩诉交易已经成为德国解决刑事案件的方式之一,这种方式的出现回应了德国刑事诉讼的特点及其面临的困境,同时也缩小了两大诉讼模式的差距,呈现了世界范围内体系差异而解决方式一致的诉讼规律。德国辩诉交易实践表明,在我国建立基于被告人认罪而迅速结案继而获得刑罚减轻的结案方式成为可能。     

德国警察制度简述

德国警察总体上呈现出二元化的特征 ,即由联邦警察和州警察构成。德国警察教育重视理论教育与工作实际的紧密结合 ,推行院校教员同现职警官交流制度 ,实行教育晋升一体化。德国警察的任职晋升与教育培训紧密挂钩 ,他们一般都有明确的晋升前景 ,这对稳定警心很有益处。     

马克思哲学革命视域下的社会发展三形态理论——重读《德意志意识形态》

在《德意志意识形态》中,马克思详尽论述了社会发展三形态理论的科学基点、逻辑线索和具体内容,这是马克思在哲学革命之后首次科学地提出社会发展三形态——依靠共同体阶段、采取物的形式进行统治阶段和真正共同体阶段。