Jan Klage

The "Mutti" Complex

Germany on the Couch

Mom, we need to talk!

Germany has built up a high level of social security. But in doing so, we’ve almost forgotten what that could actually enable us to do: take more initiative, be more active, and deal with uncertainty in a more relaxed way.

In his new book, The Mom Complex—Germany on the Couch,
Jan Klage asks how a great strength could have turned into a mindset that is increasingly getting in our way today.

Germany has built its success on caution, risk management, and reliability. But what was long a strength has become a mindset. We regulate, review, and safeguard—and have grown accustomed to acting only after risks have been ruled out as much as possible and responsibilities have been fully clarified.

Yet it is precisely the high level of safeguards we have achieved that could free us up: for more initiative, for change, and for decisions whose outcome is not predetermined.

The “Mutti Complex,” therefore, describes far more than a political style or a bygone era. It stands for the expectation that, when in doubt, someone else will take care of things—ideally in all situations. Jan Klage describes a “carefree” country full of contradictions: We want less bureaucracy, but as little additional risk as possible. Change, but please without extra work or new burdens. A fresh start, but ideally without giving up cherished privileges.

This is precisely where the real challenge lies. The change Germany needs cannot be ordered from “Mutti” yet again. It demands more initiative, a willingness to take responsibility—and a different approach to dealing with what cannot be fully safeguarded.

A fresh start doesn’t come for free.

About the Author: Jan Klage holds a Ph.D. in media economics and has been studying the intersection of corporate culture and change management for many years. After nearly 25 years in leadership positions in the publishing and media industries, he has been teaching as a professor of “Leisure and Media Economics” at Stralsund University of Applied Sciences for the past decade.