A Lost Horizon: Revisiting “the Societal Rationalization of the Economy” (Translator's Introduction)

This short essay situates The Societal Rationalization of the Economy: Guaranteed Minimum Income as a Constitutional Right by Harry F. Dahms, published in 1992 (and included in this volume), in its historical context in Germany shortly after the unification of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). The challenge of implementing a guaranteed minimum income served as an anchor for discussing a unique opportunity to create greater consonance between the quality and effectiveness of social policies and claims about how the latter were supposed to support democratic citizenship and equality. The essay provides a brief summary of Dahms' chapter, his take on the idea of a guaranteed minimum income, and the concept of the societal rationalization of the economy between socialism and neoliberalism.