Generation Biedermeier on the move?

Western 30 somethings came to politcal being in the wake of the end of the cold war and the "end of history". Liberal market democracy seemed unavoidably the best model, and only technical adjustments were to be made. The "political" was discredited as lobbyist and left for career politicians. In private conversation, political debate was almost considered faux pas.

The return of big questions of war and peace, (social) justice and existential dilemmas like climate change and energy security have politisized many. Some even discovered the joy of debating, swordplay and philosophising.

In Germany, the distinction between the "citoyen" and the "bourgeois" never materialized due to a lack of any real revolution. Thus, middle class always struggled over being spießig, recalling the the '68 revolution. A new Biedermaier generation reinvented Germany on the bourgeois side, rightfully critisized by a more political aware avantgarde.

However, the need for a qualified generation that can reassure social values and stabilize globalization shaken instutitions is blanked out. The Prenzlauerberg-happy crowd needs to take positions, to re-introduce the political into the private and prepare to run the system - its cosmopolitan attitudes, post-industrial work experiences and common sense pragmatism are needed to master a century proned to unseen conflict and deteriation.