In my last article, I tried to voice my pessimism about Best Practice, methods, processes, standards, certificates, etc.
Now I am thinking of it while sitting in the InterCityExpress Train, being hungry and yet avoiding the Spaghetti Bolognese offered at the “Bordbistro”. Mind you, I basically like Spaghetti Bolognese, but not as “convenient food”. This same meal is probably advertised and served in all German ICE trains today. What is worse, I remember well how delicious the meal I took in a Romanian dining car a few years ago tasted.
Now I wonder who I should thank for all this. I am sure the industry is partly to blame. But the consumers with their “stinginess is super” attitude will certainly also be partly responsible. However, I also find it annoying that there are “free” clubs that actually promote this nonsense. It would be better if there were clubs protesting against it. And I am sure there are more serious problems in the world against which to get active.
Clubs have different goals and purposes. Especially in Germany, the number of clubs is horrendous.
There are some “good” NGOs that, in my estimation, prevail like a bastion through the ages. On a world-wide scale, I consider AI (Amnesty International) one of them. Others started well, but then, as time went by, they developed more and more into systems. Regardless, they still make a positive contribution in my opinion, even though there are often quite a few things that smell. I mean the likes of the Red Cross, Green Peace and similar organizations.
There are also some clubs that have been founded for a specific improvement, for instance Greencity or the Urbanauten. Others want to be quite differentiating when it comes to their social enthusiasm. In Germany, sports clubs have a huge tradition. Consequently, the number is endless: from alpine sports to gymnastics and shooting. These clubs were founded because of the common desire to do something new together.
Since all clubs are social systems, they also underlie the normal rules of development. They might well come to have the system maintenance as their only goal (self-goal) or become commercial enterprises (ADAC, enterprises of the entertainment industry “sports”). Regardless, I consider these clubs basically ok. And a sports club for everybody is definitely more to my liking than a fitness studio.
But there are also clubs the foundation of which was nothing other than the wish to gain advantages for its members from the outset. They were founded to break good laws and socialize losses. Their rules are determined according to the wishes of their customers.
I do not like them. I am talking lobbyists. They put enormous pressure on politicians and members of parliament in order to gain advantages for enterprises or sectors. As a general rule, these enterprises only want more profit for their customers, without taking the common good into consideration at all.
Lobbyism is one of the great challenges of democracy. As I see it, democracy can only work if we abolish lobbyism!
RMD
(Translated by EG)
P.S.
The industry of the cat-gold-salespersons and happiness-whisperers (aka marketing) with their motto “buy yourself happiness” are another threat to social market economy. Besides lobbyism, this is the second weapon of late capitalism for suppressing humans. Especially the marketing of today with its filigree methods and techniques is a hindrance to the development of an autonomous life lived in self-responsibility (called freedom) even in its early stage. I will soon write more about this.
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