German textbooks paint a surprisingly differentiated picture of the economy and entrepreneurial activity. The textbooks cannot be said to have a fundamentally negative attitude toward entrepreneurship and the market economy. However, they do not view entrepreneurial and merely market-economy activity as the highest good. They call on students to take the initiative and get involved in society, the economy and politics. The individual is not seen primarily as a future employee or entrepreneur, but rather as a socially responsible individual who must look after the economy, fellow human beings and the environment in terms of his or her own as well as community interests.
This was the finding of a study conducted by a team from the Georg Eckert Institute on behalf of the New Social Market Economy Initiative. The aim of the study was to examine to what extent and in what way the economy, companies and entrepreneurs are dealt with in school textbooks and what values are conveyed in the process. Of particular interest was also the question of whether students are taught entrepreneurial behavior. And finally, it was necessary to clarify what role the textbooks assign to the state: Should it stay out of the economy or should it steer the economy? Are individuals ultimately responsible for their own social security, or must the state guarantee the welfare of its citizens by intervening in the economy?
The study examined nearly 150 German, English and Swedish textbooks from 1997 to 2007. History, geography and social studies textbooks were included. This makes it the most comprehensive comparative study of the image of the economy in European textbooks to date. The results can be considered representative. And they turn common assumptions on their head. Economics and business are widely covered in the textbooks of all three countries. Questions of economic order, corporate structures and economic policy are discussed intensively. The assumption that the market economy and entrepreneurship are generally portrayed in a negative light has not been confirmed.
German, English and Swedish textbooks are committed to a market economy. However, they demand that the economy be subordinated to the interests of the state and society. At the same time, the textbooks in all three countries strive to encourage students to take responsibility for their own actions. In doing so, they set different emphases:
In German textbooks, the role of the state in the economy is particularly emphasized. Society is seen as the interaction of individuals within the state. Students should be enabled to analyze their own interests without neglecting other points of view, to act on their own responsibility and to work for society and the environment.
In English textbooks, the role of the individual in society is emphasized more strongly and the state is seen as an instrument for achieving economic and social goals. Students should learn to participate actively and responsibly in political decision-making as well as in the economic process.
In Swedish textbooks, the state is interpreted as the embodiment of the ideal of the common good, and employees and entrepreneurs participate in it in their respective roles. Individual self-determination and state intervention do not appear as opposites, but as complementary prerequisites of the common good. Students should be empowered to respond flexibly to change, to pursue their own economic interests, and to contribute to society's prosperity in the process.
It is noteworthy that national traditions are reflected in these differences. The understanding of the state and society that has developed over generations in the individual nations is apparently more important for the portrayal of the economy in textbooks than ideological attitudes toward the market economy and entrepreneurs. National value systems thus continue to play an important role in the age of European unification and economic globalization. Future European textbooks must take these differences into account if they really want to reach students in the various European countries.
The study "Entrepreneur and State in European Textbooks. Germany, England and Sweden in Comparison" was commissioned by the New Social Market Economy Initiative. It was officially presented at a press conference in Berlin on June 24, 2008.
