Germany’s Agenda 2010 reforms: Passive revolution at the crossroads

Abstract

This article examines Germany’s Agenda 2010 reforms, passed in 2003, with regard to Antonio Gramsci’s discussions of passive revolution. It does so via a consideration of the inherently expansionary nature of passive revolution as a concept, for in its genesis lie both comparative and international dimensions. Nevertheless, one consequence of the realisation of passive revolution’s conceptual potential is the need to redefine hegemony as the granting of active consent by the led to the leading—a move I view as untenable. Agenda 2010 is a useful test case, for it can be analysed successfully with regard to either passive revolution or hegemony, although I consider hegemony to be better placed for analysing this period in Germany’s contemporary history. I conclude with some suggestions for how to utilise more effectively the concept of passive revolution, and with some reflections on the impact of the current crisis on Germany.