The Basic Law was promulgated on 23 May 1949 and came into force the following day. 75 years later, what is the status of human dignity, which is enshrined as a fundamental norm in the very first article? A guest article by Oldenburg political scientist Tonio Oeftering.
Today we are celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Basic Law. This came into being after the Second World War and was an attempt to anchor (West) German democracy on a firm foundation of values after the horrors of National Socialism. The fundamental norm is human dignity as laid down in Article 1, Paragraph 1. It states: "Human dignity is inviolable. To respect and protect it is the duty of all state authority."
But what about human dignity? A glance at the latest news does not bode well: we have war in Europe, a conflict in the Middle East that is flaring up again and again, and the climate crisis is no longer a distant tale of the future, but its effects are becoming increasingly tangible - not only in faraway countries, but also here at home. All of these phenomena show how endangered human dignity is when war, persecution, death, poverty and flight become the existential experiences of countless people.
But what exactly is meant by human dignity, the existence of which is precarious in so many ways?
With Kant, we can say that human dignity is what makes a person a unique, rational being. And, according to Kant, dignity is that which is beyond all price. And the moment we begin to no longer recognise people in their uniqueness, no longer accept them as an end in themselves, but only as a means to an end, we are already beginning to question their dignity.
If we take a look at the German Basic Law, we read that human dignity is inviolable. But isn't that a counterfactual narrative? Don't we witness (hopefully not suffer) marginalisation and shaming, violations of dignity on a daily basis?
However, the postulate that dignity is inviolable also entails the mandate to ensure living conditions that prevent violations of dignity as far as possible or mitigate existing violations. This means that dignity is, on the one hand, an intrinsic characteristic of every human being and, at the same time, a mandate that state authority in particular is obliged to fulfil.
But not only. Even though the Basic Law states that the state has a special duty to respect and protect human dignity, it must not be forgotten that the state alone is not in a position to guarantee a humane society. Its endeavours must be embedded in a culture of human dignity. This means that people living in a state are also called upon to stand up for human dignity and to advocate for its protection, whether in the private sphere, at school, in public or at work.
This also and especially applies to universities, which are not only committed to finding the truth, but also see themselves as places of academic exchange, encounter and joint work towards a humane community.
That is why it is good and right for university management to take a political stance time and again, for example in response to the rise of anti-Semitism following the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023. But here too, a culture of human dignity cannot be imposed from above. All other members of the university are also called upon to stand up for a humane university.
This also applies, and perhaps in a special way, to ours, which bears the name of Carl von Ossietzky, who, as is well known, was prepared to lay down his life for the values that found their way into the Basic Law 75 years ago.
