Civic Duties 2.0: Society also needs innovations

At the end of the year, 1E9 is, for once, not concerned with scientific or technological innovations, but with a proposal for social innovation: “Citizen Duties 2.0”. Inspired by the legendary John F. Kennedy quote, Don’t ask what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country. In his book The Bill of Obligation, former US diplomat Richard Haass offered suggestions for ten new civic duties should contribute to the preservation of democracy and freedom – at a time when constitutions and fundamental rights alone can no longer guarantee this. Especially since fundamental rights can compete with one another.After reading the book, Thomas Lange asked himself which of the proposed new civic duties could be particularly relevant for Germany and analyzes them in 1E9. This includes an openness to compromise, which could somewhat mitigate the outrage over the ongoing “traffic light dispute”. Lange also quotes the constitutional lawyer Christoph Möllers in this context: “Democratic compromises are not a second-class decision. Democratic decisions are often compromises between parties, wings or camps. This is not a defect, compromises are not ‘lazy’. […] The need for an uncompromising democratic decision follows the authoritarian fiction of pure political will.”Which civic duties could further advance democratic coexistence in Germany? Civilized interaction in political discourse, but also – because of “those up there” – respect for the public service. And to make a general disdain for politics and administration, Richard Haass writes something that can probably also be applied to German conditions: “We are the Deep State. Therefore, we should want the best and brightest among us to work in government, whether for a period of time or for an entire career.”