When countries introduce or consider introducing bottle deposit schemes, they do so mainly for en... more When countries introduce or consider introducing bottle deposit schemes, they do so mainly for environmental reasons. Such schemes often have social consequences, too, such as low-income people collecting containers in the streets for a variety of reasons including simply additional income. Increasingly, charitable organisations use deposits as a means to an additional donation income. In particular, they cooperate with stores in which customers who return their deposited containers can donate the deposit money instead of collecting it. This paper aims to analyse to what extent deposit collections and deposit donation opportunities offer potentials for social involvement and redistribution in addition to their contributions to recycling schemes. Based on a thorough sociological discussion of the phenomenon of deposit collectors and an empirical analysis of the donor-beneficiary relationship for exemplary deposit donation schemes in Sweden and Germany, it is argued that both phenomena offer distinctive and supplementary ways of redistribution and social involvement. Deposit collections offer a local, performance-related way of redistribution and potentially social integration for the beneficiaries. Deposit donation schemes allow for an additional low-threshold social involvement that seems to be able to reach donors that are disproportionately younger than in regular donation mechanisms. Possibly, this could be regarded as an instrument to enhance the social involvement of younger generations in general and their direct or indirect impact on the agenda, composition, aims and procedures of the respective charitable organisations in specific.
Sufficientarianism claims that there is a threshold at which an individual has enough. It is good... more Sufficientarianism claims that there is a threshold at which an individual has enough. It is good and socially desirable to live up to this line, but once it is reached moral claims for redistribution cede to exist or become significantly less. Due to its central importance, the plausibility of a sufficientarian theory depends on plausibility of this sufficiency line. Therefore, it needs to fulfill different criteria: it has to be unambiguous and unarbitrary, neither under- nor over-demanding, and has to cover all relevant aspects of life. Measured along these categories, the absolute and relative poverty lines as common indicators do not meet the requirements for such a threshold. Roger Crisp’s compassion approach is a useful theoretical conception but lacks of practical applicability. While ‘basic needs’ are already a sensitive advancement, the capabilities approach performs best and seems to be the most plausible framework for a sufficientarian threshold that convinces both intuitively as well as conceptually. Multiple threshold models allow for the avoidance of under- and over-demandingness, but do not seem to be the magic bullet since they have their own disadvantages. However, although the capabilities approach seems to be the most promising path, it still requires work on its practical applicability in policy making at which it risks to incorporate an increasing level of arbitrariness as well.
Die differenzielle Sterblichkeit sorgt für eine systematische Unfairness im deutschen Rentensyste... more Die differenzielle Sterblichkeit sorgt für eine systematische Unfairness im deutschen Rentensystem, welches nur einen unvollständigen Begriff von Beitragsäquivalenz nutzt. Um die Ziele von Leistungsbelohnung und Armutsverhinderung zu erfüllen, müssen sie daher zwei getrennten Mechanismen verfolgt werden.
Die Idee, dass Menschen ab einem bestimmten Alter für den Arbeitsmarkt unbrauchbar sind, ist ein ... more Die Idee, dass Menschen ab einem bestimmten Alter für den Arbeitsmarkt unbrauchbar sind, ist ein Kind der zunehmend industriell geprägten Gesellschaft an der Wende zum 20. Jahrhundert. Ein prägendes und ebenso symptomatisches Ereignis ist die Fixed-Period-Kontroverse um den kanadischen Mediziner William Osler. Sie beginnt mit Themen der praktischen Philosophie: Alter und Altersdiskriminierung. Sie endet mit einem PR-Desaster.
Kaum eine gesellschaftliche Gruppe erfährt so viel Missbilligung wie die Arbeitslosen. Der häufig... more Kaum eine gesellschaftliche Gruppe erfährt so viel Missbilligung wie die Arbeitslosen. Der häufigste Vorwurf lautet, dass sie auf Kosten der Allgemeinheit leben würden, obwohl sie sich selbst versorgen könnten. Doch mit Bezug auf mangelnde Fairness in der Lastenverteilung allein gelingt es nicht, die Tiefe dieses Ressentiments zu begründen. Die zentrale und identitätsstiftende Stellung der Arbeit in modernen Gesellschaften trägt zwar sicherlich zur Erklärung bei. Doch darüber hinaus weckt der arbeitslose und damit offiziell als tätigkeitslos gestempelte Mensch eine Urangst, die nichts mit Arbeit, dem Arbeitsmarkt, Lastenverteilung oder Solidarsystemen zu tun hat: die Angst vor der Untätigkeit oder dem Stillstand.
Since the 11th century and until pretty recently, it has been believed that the Bavarians descend... more Since the 11th century and until pretty recently, it has been believed that the Bavarians descended somehow from the Armenians. The origin of this mythological lineage can be traced back to the publication of the Annolied around 1080AD, an opus praising the archbishop of Cologne, Anno II. The author needed to underline Anno's power by the support of the mightiest Germanic tribes who needed for their legitimacy an impressive and ideally Christian ancient ancestry. Since other ancient people were taken already, he chose the Armenians as the Bavarian ancestors. This sparked many accounts of how and when the Armenians exactly made it to today's Bavaria.
This article is part of the 2018 Bardez/Partez bulletin of the Armenian Institute, London.
Die kalendarische Altersgrenze im Rentensystem: Willkür oder Gleichheit? , 2023
The calendar age is the decisive metric for retirement. However, it says little about an individu... more The calendar age is the decisive metric for retirement. However, it says little about an individual's health, earnings or motivation. Is the age limit fair or arbitrary? Elmar Stracke explores this question in his philosophical investigation.
In the first part, he examines equality as a fundamental basis of moral philosophical theories that shape our welfare state, and questions the peculiarity of the category of "age": What dimensions of age are there? Should age discrimination be treated the same as racism or sexism? And to what extent can individual life situations be inferred from calendar age? The detailed analysis of the German pension system makes clear that different and partly contradictory standards of justice have been applied to the pension system and age limits to this day.
Finally, Elmar Stracke weighs arguments for and against calendar age limits from the perspective of individuals and society under the headings of arbitrariness, efficiency and equality. He states that calendar age limits are inherently arbitrary. However, since this arbitrariness is distributed equally and transparently, they may be the fairest of all available options in social practice.
The volume is a valuable contribution to the practical philosophy of calendar age limits and provides a solid justice-theoretical foundation for discussions on retirement age.
When countries introduce or consider introducing bottle deposit schemes, they do so mainly for en... more When countries introduce or consider introducing bottle deposit schemes, they do so mainly for environmental reasons. Such schemes often have social consequences, too, such as low-income people collecting containers in the streets for a variety of reasons including simply additional income. Increasingly, charitable organisations use deposits as a means to an additional donation income. In particular, they cooperate with stores in which customers who return their deposited containers can donate the deposit money instead of collecting it. This paper aims to analyse to what extent deposit collections and deposit donation opportunities offer potentials for social involvement and redistribution in addition to their contributions to recycling schemes. Based on a thorough sociological discussion of the phenomenon of deposit collectors and an empirical analysis of the donor-beneficiary relationship for exemplary deposit donation schemes in Sweden and Germany, it is argued that both phenomena offer distinctive and supplementary ways of redistribution and social involvement. Deposit collections offer a local, performance-related way of redistribution and potentially social integration for the beneficiaries. Deposit donation schemes allow for an additional low-threshold social involvement that seems to be able to reach donors that are disproportionately younger than in regular donation mechanisms. Possibly, this could be regarded as an instrument to enhance the social involvement of younger generations in general and their direct or indirect impact on the agenda, composition, aims and procedures of the respective charitable organisations in specific.
Sufficientarianism claims that there is a threshold at which an individual has enough. It is good... more Sufficientarianism claims that there is a threshold at which an individual has enough. It is good and socially desirable to live up to this line, but once it is reached moral claims for redistribution cede to exist or become significantly less. Due to its central importance, the plausibility of a sufficientarian theory depends on plausibility of this sufficiency line. Therefore, it needs to fulfill different criteria: it has to be unambiguous and unarbitrary, neither under- nor over-demanding, and has to cover all relevant aspects of life. Measured along these categories, the absolute and relative poverty lines as common indicators do not meet the requirements for such a threshold. Roger Crisp’s compassion approach is a useful theoretical conception but lacks of practical applicability. While ‘basic needs’ are already a sensitive advancement, the capabilities approach performs best and seems to be the most plausible framework for a sufficientarian threshold that convinces both intuitively as well as conceptually. Multiple threshold models allow for the avoidance of under- and over-demandingness, but do not seem to be the magic bullet since they have their own disadvantages. However, although the capabilities approach seems to be the most promising path, it still requires work on its practical applicability in policy making at which it risks to incorporate an increasing level of arbitrariness as well.
Die differenzielle Sterblichkeit sorgt für eine systematische Unfairness im deutschen Rentensyste... more Die differenzielle Sterblichkeit sorgt für eine systematische Unfairness im deutschen Rentensystem, welches nur einen unvollständigen Begriff von Beitragsäquivalenz nutzt. Um die Ziele von Leistungsbelohnung und Armutsverhinderung zu erfüllen, müssen sie daher zwei getrennten Mechanismen verfolgt werden.
Die Idee, dass Menschen ab einem bestimmten Alter für den Arbeitsmarkt unbrauchbar sind, ist ein ... more Die Idee, dass Menschen ab einem bestimmten Alter für den Arbeitsmarkt unbrauchbar sind, ist ein Kind der zunehmend industriell geprägten Gesellschaft an der Wende zum 20. Jahrhundert. Ein prägendes und ebenso symptomatisches Ereignis ist die Fixed-Period-Kontroverse um den kanadischen Mediziner William Osler. Sie beginnt mit Themen der praktischen Philosophie: Alter und Altersdiskriminierung. Sie endet mit einem PR-Desaster.
Kaum eine gesellschaftliche Gruppe erfährt so viel Missbilligung wie die Arbeitslosen. Der häufig... more Kaum eine gesellschaftliche Gruppe erfährt so viel Missbilligung wie die Arbeitslosen. Der häufigste Vorwurf lautet, dass sie auf Kosten der Allgemeinheit leben würden, obwohl sie sich selbst versorgen könnten. Doch mit Bezug auf mangelnde Fairness in der Lastenverteilung allein gelingt es nicht, die Tiefe dieses Ressentiments zu begründen. Die zentrale und identitätsstiftende Stellung der Arbeit in modernen Gesellschaften trägt zwar sicherlich zur Erklärung bei. Doch darüber hinaus weckt der arbeitslose und damit offiziell als tätigkeitslos gestempelte Mensch eine Urangst, die nichts mit Arbeit, dem Arbeitsmarkt, Lastenverteilung oder Solidarsystemen zu tun hat: die Angst vor der Untätigkeit oder dem Stillstand.
Since the 11th century and until pretty recently, it has been believed that the Bavarians descend... more Since the 11th century and until pretty recently, it has been believed that the Bavarians descended somehow from the Armenians. The origin of this mythological lineage can be traced back to the publication of the Annolied around 1080AD, an opus praising the archbishop of Cologne, Anno II. The author needed to underline Anno's power by the support of the mightiest Germanic tribes who needed for their legitimacy an impressive and ideally Christian ancient ancestry. Since other ancient people were taken already, he chose the Armenians as the Bavarian ancestors. This sparked many accounts of how and when the Armenians exactly made it to today's Bavaria.
This article is part of the 2018 Bardez/Partez bulletin of the Armenian Institute, London.
Die kalendarische Altersgrenze im Rentensystem: Willkür oder Gleichheit? , 2023
The calendar age is the decisive metric for retirement. However, it says little about an individu... more The calendar age is the decisive metric for retirement. However, it says little about an individual's health, earnings or motivation. Is the age limit fair or arbitrary? Elmar Stracke explores this question in his philosophical investigation.
In the first part, he examines equality as a fundamental basis of moral philosophical theories that shape our welfare state, and questions the peculiarity of the category of "age": What dimensions of age are there? Should age discrimination be treated the same as racism or sexism? And to what extent can individual life situations be inferred from calendar age? The detailed analysis of the German pension system makes clear that different and partly contradictory standards of justice have been applied to the pension system and age limits to this day.
Finally, Elmar Stracke weighs arguments for and against calendar age limits from the perspective of individuals and society under the headings of arbitrariness, efficiency and equality. He states that calendar age limits are inherently arbitrary. However, since this arbitrariness is distributed equally and transparently, they may be the fairest of all available options in social practice.
The volume is a valuable contribution to the practical philosophy of calendar age limits and provides a solid justice-theoretical foundation for discussions on retirement age.
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This article is part of the 2018 Bardez/Partez bulletin of the Armenian Institute, London.
Books by Elmar Stracke
In the first part, he examines equality as a fundamental basis of moral philosophical theories that shape our welfare state, and questions the peculiarity of the category of "age": What dimensions of age are there? Should age discrimination be treated the same as racism or sexism? And to what extent can individual life situations be inferred from calendar age? The detailed analysis of the German pension system makes clear that different and partly contradictory standards of justice have been applied to the pension system and age limits to this day.
Finally, Elmar Stracke weighs arguments for and against calendar age limits from the perspective of individuals and society under the headings of arbitrariness, efficiency and equality. He states that calendar age limits are inherently arbitrary. However, since this arbitrariness is distributed equally and transparently, they may be the fairest of all available options in social practice.
The volume is a valuable contribution to the practical philosophy of calendar age limits and provides a solid justice-theoretical foundation for discussions on retirement age.
This article is part of the 2018 Bardez/Partez bulletin of the Armenian Institute, London.
In the first part, he examines equality as a fundamental basis of moral philosophical theories that shape our welfare state, and questions the peculiarity of the category of "age": What dimensions of age are there? Should age discrimination be treated the same as racism or sexism? And to what extent can individual life situations be inferred from calendar age? The detailed analysis of the German pension system makes clear that different and partly contradictory standards of justice have been applied to the pension system and age limits to this day.
Finally, Elmar Stracke weighs arguments for and against calendar age limits from the perspective of individuals and society under the headings of arbitrariness, efficiency and equality. He states that calendar age limits are inherently arbitrary. However, since this arbitrariness is distributed equally and transparently, they may be the fairest of all available options in social practice.
The volume is a valuable contribution to the practical philosophy of calendar age limits and provides a solid justice-theoretical foundation for discussions on retirement age.