This episode of the Dig is brought to you by our listeners who support us at patreon.com and by Verso Books which has loads of great left-wing titles

Perfect for dig listeners like you. One that you might like is Germany's hidden crisis,

social decline in the heart of Europe by Oliver Nactway. Upward social mobility

represented a core promise of life under the old West German welfare state,

in which millions of skilled workers upgraded their Volkswagen's to outies, bought their first homes, and sent their children to university.

Not so in today's Federal Republic, where the gears of the so-called elevator society have long

since ground to a halt. In the absence of the

social mobility of yesterday, widespread social exhaustion and anxiety have emerged

across mainstream society.

Oliver Nactway analyzes the reasons for this social rupture in post-war German society

and investigates the potential conflict emerging as a result.

He concludes that although the country has managed to muddle through thus far,

simmering tensions beneath the surface,

nevertheless threatened to undermine the German

system's stability in the years to come. Germany's hidden crisis, social decline in

the heart of Europe by Oliver Nactway.

Out now from Jacobin magazine. My name is Daniel Denver and

I'm broadcasting from Providence, Rhode Island.

What is Democracy?

It's a very good question, but one that too few in the political establishment bothered to ask.

Instead, they simply warn that democracy, which they self-servingly conflate with the

pre-donald Trump status quo, is under threat from Donald Trump.

...