Culture and the Location of Work in Contemporary Western Germany: A Weberian Configurational and Comparative Analysis

An intense discussion in the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) crystallized in the 1980s around the theme of “the crisis of working society” (Krise der Arbeitsgesellschaft). Although the debate has offered various unorthodox proposals to combat unemployment (for example, Benseler, Heinze, and Klönne 1982; Bonß and Heinze 1984; Marthes 1983; Offe 1984), a far more fundamental issue has been central: the proper place of work in the post-industrial society. The pivotal concept of de-coupling stands at the center of this controversy.