ABSTRACT
Ralf Dahrendorf discusses the social and political changes transforming the Federal Republic, the impact of the Greens on the West German political system, and the youth protest in the environmental and peace movements. This chapter reviews the evidence of important cultural forces that are transforming West German society and considers the implications for contemporary West German politics. The sociopolitical environment that Dahrendorf described and that provided the context for politics in the immediate post-war period is far different from contemporary West Germany—a great deal has changed in the span of a single generation. The spread of affluence, the expansion of education, the broadening access to information, and other developments transformed West Germany into an advanced industrial society. The West German political system was preoccupied by the problems of economic reconstruction, national security, and political stability. The framework in which these issues were discussed tended to reinforce traditional Left/Right party alignments and the class and religious bases of party support.
