Customs and Values Wisdom Humour
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Germany |
Australia |
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| Population | 82,369,552 (July 2008 est.) | 20,600,856 (July 2008 est.) |
| GDP per capita ($US) | $34,100 (2007 est.) | $36,300 (2007 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 0.9% industry: 30.1% services: 69% (2007 est.) |
agriculture: 3% industry: 26.4% services: 70.6% (2007 est.) |
| Public debt | 64.9% of GDP (2007 est.) | 15.4% of GDP |
| Racial groups | German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, other 6.1% (made up largely of Greek, Italian, Polish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish) | White 92%, Asian 7%, Aboriginal and other 1% |
| Export partners | France 9.7%, US 7.5%, UK 7.3%, Italy 6.7%, Netherlands 6.4%, Austria 5.4%, Belgium 5.3%, Spain 5% (2007) | Japan 19.6%, China 12.3%, South Korea 7.5%, US 6.2%, India 5.5%, NZ 5.5%, UK 5% (2006) |
Cultural identity
Germans have some trouble defining German culture or defining what it means to be German. If suggestions are made that German culture is drinking beer or dancing while wearing funny hats, they usually say such cultural acts are just stereotypes or Bavarian.
Australians are likewise reluctant to use the culture of minorities to define Australia as a whole. For example, after Paul Hogan’s Crocodile Dundee created a perception that Australians were good natured larrikins, many concerned Australians felt the need to inform international tourists that they don’t say g'day or wrestle crocodiles. For Geoffrey Barker of the Melbourne Herald, Hogan's character reinforced international perceptions that "Australians are gauche, provincial and philistine".
A quote by Albert Einstein may explain why both German and Australians are reluctant to see minority expressions in their countries as representative of the whole country. According to Einstein,
"If my theory is proven correct, the French will say I am a citizen of the world and the Germans will say I am a German. If I am wrong, the French will say I am a German and the Germans will say I am a Jew."
Basically, Einstein was saying that if he was considered worthy of respect, people would want to associate themselves with him. If not, they would want to distance themselves from him. The same psychology can be seen in German and Australian attitudes to minority culture. If the minority culture was seen in a positive way, then Germans and Australians would celebrate it as representative of their culture even if they personally didn't conform to it. For one reason or another, not many Germans and Australians have been raised to see examples of their culture in a positive way, which in turns makes them reluctant to associate themselves with examples of it.
Thinkers
Germans are very cognitive people and have produced most of the world's great thinkers in a range of disciplines. Karl Marx became one of the world's most influential economists. Marx argued that society has always been in a state of class war due to the capitalists exerting their self-interest to the detriment of the whole. Marx believed that this would eventually result in market failure and social revolution. Once the capitalists monopolised all the wealth, the majority would no longer have the ability to provide market demand. Therefore, capitalism would destroy itself.
In Europe, Marxist ideas became the basis for the welfare state and government regulation of the market. Via taxation and the provision of government services, the government believed it could protect capitalism from itself.
In Germany, Russia, Cuba and China, Marxist ideas were taken a step further and became the basis for right-wing governments that aimed to stifle self-interest in order to serve the greater good.
Freud was another great German thinker. Freud pioneered the practice of clinical psychoanalysis, which advocated curing mental problems through dialogue between a patient and psychologist. He also argued that most motivations in life were sexually derived. One of his most famous theories was penis envy, in which he argued female neuroticism stemmed from a subconscious desire to possess a penis.
Einstein was a great physicist who developed e=mc2. This basically proposed that energy = mass times the speed of light squared, or in more simple terms, there was a lot of energy in atoms. Einstein also developed the theory of relativity, which was used to predict the existence of black holes, as well as the mass and size of things travelling at different speeds. Many of the predictions of relativity were later found to be correct.
In addition to the thinkers, Germany has produced a great number of Nobel Prize winners. As of 2007, German had produced 80 winners.
Even though Australia is roughly the same age as Germany, it has yet to produce the same number of world-renowned intellectuals. Amongst Australian intellectuals, the lack of fame is explained as stemming from the tall-poppy syndrome. The intellectuals argue that the ordinary Australian is jealous of their intellect so he or she tries to cut them down. The main problem with this explanation is that people around the world haven't recognised any great intellect in Australia either.
Australian intellectual traditon tends to focus on finding fault in Australia, which may explain both the lack of quality thought as well as the lack of support for intellectualism if it ever produces any. In 2008, Paul Kelly, editor of the Australian, wrote:
" I think that one of the problems with the public intellectual class in this country as I see it is that they have been too hostile or suspicious of the policies which have underpinned our successes over the course of the last 25 to 30 years and they have been quite unhelpful in helping us address our policy failures...I think that the task of intellectuals is to clarify, is to inform, is to enlighten, is to guide public debate in an effective and intelligent way and I think far too often what we get is a polemic. A polemic which is designed to create anger and indignation, a polemic which doesn't enlighten or clarify at all."
The negative focus is probably a penal legacy. When Convicts dominated Australia, the elitest intellectuals developed a culture of flogging Australia and that culture has endured until today. In Australia, intellectuals feel there is status in criticising their country.
Even though Australia hasn't produced any great theoretical intellectuals, Australia has produced some good scientists and great inventors. Australian inventions include the Jindalee radar system that transformed the $16 billion American "stealth" bomber into nothing more than an unusual looking aircraft. Other inventions include the cochlear implant, the winged keel, the electric drill, the refrigerator, black box flight recorder, nuclear fusion, differential gears, orbital combustion engine, penicillin, ultrasound, gene shears and the scram jet. The sheer number of inventions seems to show that critical and independent thinking can have an upside.
As of 2007, Australia had produced ten Nobel Prize winners. Nine of the Australian winners were for science or medicine and one was for literature. Another eight people with links to Australia have won Nobel Prizes.
Sport
Like most of mainland Europe, Germany embraced the English sport of soccer, but largely rejected the English sports of cricket, rugby union, and rugby league. Handball is the only team sport that could be defined as partly a German creation.
Like all large English-speaking countries except New Zealand, Australia has been prolific in the creation of team sports. Australian football is Australia’s most popular sport. Other Australian inventions include indoor cricket, polocrosse, and touch football.
Popular spectator team sports include the English sports of rugby union, rugby league, test cricket, one-day cricket, and 20/20 cricket. Like most English-speaking colonial countries, Australia has never really taken a shine to soccer, although the game has seen some growth in popularity in recent years.
American sports such as basketball and baseball were popular in the 80s and 90s but have since declined in popularity.
Beer
World-wide, Germany is famous for its beer. It was the first European nation to introduce beer standards and the desire for a form of quality control helped Germany build its reputation. In addition, German beer brands benefit from the impressive culture of the Bavarian minority. With an average annual per capita consumption of around 170 litres, Bavarians are known as the world's most beer loving people. They celebrate their love with the Oktoberfest beer festival. While many Germans often dismiss Bavarians as not really German, the rest of the world sees them as German and gives praise to all of Germany in the process.
Australia is also quite famous for its beer, although the fame stems from stereotypes of beer love instead of an obsession with quality. Per capita beer consumption in Australia is actually quite low. In 2009, per average per capita consumption for Australians over 15 was 106 litres of beer a year, or about 8 glasses a week. Most of the consumption is done by the ocker Australian male who comprises just 10 per cent of the population but consumes around 80 per cent of the beer. The high consumption rate by the minority also helps define Australia's positive reputation as a whole.
Music
The independent German speaking states that existed prior to the federated German state produced some of the world's greatest classical musicians. These composures include Ludwig van Beethoven, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Richard Wagner, Johannes Brahms, Johann Sebastian Bach.
After World War II, Germany continued its impressive musical tradition. German composers like Karlheinz Stockhausen and Hans Werner Henze began experimenting with electronic sounds in classical music. It was their experimentations that eventually gave rise to technotronic. Today, Germany has the largest electronic music scene in the world.
Rammstein is one of the leading German bands. Their music and video clips are highly artistic and confront taboo topics such as terrorism, homosexual cannibalism, national socialism, and religious temptation. Rammstein’s videos showcase a lot of Nazi themes, which is quite understandable considering that Germans are constantly informed of their Nazi history, if only to make them ashamed of it. The brutality of Nazi history perhaps desensitises Germans from confronting brutality in other areas of life. Another feature of Rammstein's video clips is the band's willingness to act as the bad guys. It is a relatively unique trait amongst world musicians.
Rammstein - Rosenrot
An interesting exploration of the conflict between morals and emotions. 6 travelling monks from different religious orders visit a small village and are tempted by the emotional and physical pleasures on display. The monks deal with their temptation by violently whipping themselves. One of the monks gives into his desire and kills a young girl’s parents at her request. The girl then cries out and the other monks lead the villagers in the bashing of their colleague. The monks further liberate their emotions by leading the villagers in the burning of their colleague at the stake. While morality and emotion are in conflict for much of the clip, in the punishment of their colleague, they are in synergy once more.
RAMMSTEIN ich will
Released the day before the September 11 terrorist attacks, Ich will (I want) shows bank robbers/terrorists/attention seekers being celebrated as heroes. It may demonstrate the media's obsession with a good story that allows immortality to be achieved by those that do wrong. When the crowd cheers that they are heard and felt, the band yells that it doesn’t understand the crowd. In the final scene, an exploding bomb releases scenes from the bands other video clips. This could imply that the band itself is composed of bad people who are made into heroes as a result of media criticism of them. Alternatively, it could imply that the issues the band sings about are by-products of certain psychological conditions fuelled by the media.
An alternative explanation is that that video explores some of the contradictions of left-wing revolutionaries. Dressed in tuxedos, the men invade the bank and show contempt for money by throwing it in the air. Presumably, a bomb later destroys it. Ironically, despite showing contempt for the selfishness of those motivated by money, the invaders are themselves very selfish people. They keep repeating “I want” and say they want to be understood, to be felt, to be heard, to be believed, to control.
Australia's greatest musical export is AC/DC, a hard rock band that has become one of the largest selling acts of all time. AC/DC's chief subject matter is sex and booze, which are favoured subject matters for many Australians.
AC/DC - Big Balls
AC/DC have never seen themselves as having a story to tell or great artistic insights to impart. Even so, many of their songs can be quite interesting. Although created as a bit of fun, Big Balls acts as a useful mirror upon Australia’s egalitarian ethic and different conceptions of status in different sections of Australian society.
AC/DC Jailbreak
Jailbreak was written about Chopper Reid, a true-life criminal that became a celebrity after he was released. Read was sentenced to 16 years for murdering a gang leader, but planned a jailbreak. After he was caught, the newspaper commentary inspired the band to write a song about him.
Travel
Both Germans and Australians are keen travellers, but both approach the world in slightly different ways. Many Germans approach the world in fear that they will be seen as a Nazi. In Europe and America the fear is well founded. A large number of locals in both regions view Germans as much the same people who supported Adolph Hitler. In China and Japan, the opposite is the case. Japan was a Nazi ally so there is no social status in criticising Germans. As for the Chinese, many view Adolph Hitler as a strong socialist, like Chairman Mao, who stood up to America. Furthermore, Communist theory is based on the work of Marx and Engels and the Communist Party of China has historically praised Germany for that reason.
Australians have traditionally approached the world in a positive way. Songs such as Land Downunder, and I Still Call Australia Home have created an idea that the world is exciting and there is adventure to be had. Unlike Germans, Australians don’t fear being disliked. Of course, there are many countries that don’t like Australians. Asians generally view Australians as rude, lacking in culture, disrespectful and unrefined. That said, many like the fact that Australians are mostly relaxed and fun. Likewise, the English have traditionally seen Australians as corrupted by the Convict streak, which, for many English people, makes Australians a lot of fun. Even though some nationalities criticise Australians for lacking culture, it has never really bothered many Australians to the extent that they worry saying they are from Australia.
Ironically, even though few Australians fear saying they are from Australia, Australia has developed a culture of one Australian criticising other Australians in an international environment. For example, Men at Work’s Downunder, which most Australians thought was patriotic, was really intended to be an insult. It seems that when they were singing, "I come from a land down under where women glow and men plunder", Men at Work didn't think Australians would see the lyrics as a compliment. A similar form of cultural confusion was seen in the song Red Gum’s “I’ve been to Bali too.” The song was intended to be a criticism of Australians going to Bali to have fun instead of to learn about local culture. The criticism went over most Australians' heads and they just thought it was celebrating going to Bali to have fun.
Land Downunder
Although written as a criticism of Australia, it was embraced as a compliment
Nazis
Since World War II , many Germans have been trying to convince the world that they are not Nazis. In contrast, many Australians have been trying to convince the world that they are. One such Australian was the late Al Grassby. According to Grassby, identifying one's ancestors as Australian on a census form was a sign of racial supremacist attitudes that would be comparable to killing 6 million Jews. In his own words,
"It would mean there was a secret master race that considered themselves pure Australians...It would be worse than the Third Reich."
In 2006, 37.1 per cent of Australians cited their ancestry as Australian on the census forms. If the Grassby stereotype were to be believed, then Australian businesses that construct gas chambers should be doing a roaring trade.
In 2008, actor Hugh Jackman told an American audience that a policy of eugenics ruled in Australia up to the 70s. According to Jackman, the Australian government devised a policy of removing mixed-race children from Aboriginal communities and raising them in white society. According to Jackman, mixing Aboriginal blood with white blood somehow preserved white blood and prevented its corruption. In Jackman's words:
"The stolen generation was a policy that was born out of eugenics. Eugenics in Europe, as we saw with Nazi Germany, was sort of popular at the time. This idea that if you mixed races or mixed breeds you lessened the blood or something and that you had an inferior human being, right?
So many well-intentioned people thought this was a good idea and in Australia if you had an Aboriginal parent and a white parent or a European parent, the government would take you away from your family, they would tell you your family had died or been killed in an accident, they would put you in an institution. "
Jackman's thinking was unsound. If the Australian government was motivated by eugenics, then it would have believed that it was making whites inferior by bringing Aboriginal blood into white society. Meanwhile, it would have believed that it was protecting black supremacy by keeping white blood out of black society.
In 2007, Australia's leading intellectual, the left-wing Robert Manne, sent The Australian newspaper an article which argued that Australia was entering a Nazi style era of political control. In an editorial, The Australian responded:
"There is no better way to start the day than with a good chuckle. Happily, there was Robert Manne in the letters pages of The Australian yesterday to give us one...Manne says debate is "presently under threat", which would be why people were too terrified to march in their hundreds of thousands against the war in Iraq. You hardly ever hear a word against the Government's Work Choices legislation either, do you? David Marr can never get a word in...Pity we won't be able to hear through the mouth gag he is forced to wear, both hands tied behind his back to prevent him from writing books, essays, columns and, now, letters to The Australian."
In 2009, journalist Gerard Henderson provided a good summary of the culture of equating Australians with Nazis:
"If he were the first to attempt to equate contemporary Australia with Nazism, or the communist regime established by Lenin and Stalin, he would deserve the bagging he received. But it seems Sandilands is simply repeating a line of attack which he has heard well-educated Australians use over many years.
At times the democratic-Australia-equals-totalitarian-dictatorship line is run by quite able commentators who should know better. Just before the November 2007 election, Bruce Kent (an academic at the Australian National University) wrote an article alleging there was worrying similarity between some of the policies of the Coalition government and the Third Reich. Kent linked John Howard with such mass murderers as Hitler and Himmler.
In July, writing in the Crikey newsletter, Guy Rundle attempted to equate News Corporation's Rupert Murdoch with Stalin. Rundle assigned News personnel in Australia to the leading Bolsheviks of their day. John Hartigan was Lenin, Chris Mitchell was Bukharin and so on. Sure, Rundle is a part-time comedian. But there was a serious message to his historical vaudeville.
In the past decade, politicians have taken to casting the totalitarian stone with a vengeance. Just before the 1996 election, the Liberal frontbencher Amanda Vanstone devoted an entire speech to equating Paul Keating with Goebbels. I spoke to Vanstone about this at the time but failed to convince her there was no causal relationship between a democratic politician and a regime propagandist. In May, Steve Gibbons, the Labor MP for Bendigo, criticised Tony Abbott's position on the pension by declaring he showed "all the compassion of the Third Reich".
The unusual desire of some Australians to see themselves as Nazis partly stems from the lack of drama in Australian life. For more than a century, Australia has seen almost no social conflict (by world standards) and there has been no great human rights barriers to kick down. Amazingly, even though 20% of the Australian population are migrants, Australia has been spared the type of cultural conflict seen in France, England and America. In the absence of social drama, Australians wanting to pride themselves on their social conscience have had to create mythical problems that they can subsequently solve. In some ways, these Australians envy South Africa with its apartheid history, America with its Ku Klux Klan history and Germany with its Nazi history. Human rights problems provide opportunities for human rights heroes. Australia's social stability does not. Admittedly, the last 40 years of government policy in relation to Aborigines has been a disaster, but that has been because Australians with a social conscience have acted stupidly, rather than with malice. As painful as it is for some Australians to admit, Australia just doesn't have the human drama that leads to the kind of humanistic symbolism that wins Nobel Peace Prizes.
National service
Germans probably fret a lot about Nazi stereotypes because they have a strong desire to be proud of Germany. Some of the desire to be proud of Germany is reflected in Germany’s national service law. Men must serve either nine months in the military, or at least six years in a civil protection organization. Families oppressed by the Nazi regime do not need to do the national service. Women are not required to serve either.
Australia does not have national service and attempts to introduce it have always been divisive. In World War 1, the Australian government tried to introduce conscription. This led to division between Australians whose loyalty was to Britain and Australians whose loyalty was to Australia or Ireland. In 1916, the Government held a referendum to give itself the power to conscript Australians and send them to war. Australia voted no. An anti-conscription poster said at the time:
"To Arms!
Captalists, Parsons, Politicians,
Landlords, Newspaper Editors, and
Other Stay-at-Home Patriots
your country needs
YOU
in the trenches
WORKERS
Follow your Masters"
In 1917, the Government again held a referendum on conscription, but censored any advertisements that promoted the no case. Australia voted no again. The majority of volunteer soldiers fighting in the war also voted no.
In World War II, the government introduced conscription but limited it to the defence of Australia in the pacific. Because it involved protecting Australia against a Japanese invasion, it was accepted without much protest.
In 1951, conscription was introduced during the Korean War. All Australian males aged 18 had to register for 176 days of training and five years of service in the central military force. The system ended in 1959.
In 1964, conscription was again introduced, and conscripts were sent to fight in Vietnam in support of America battling a communist insurgency. Because it involved forcing Australians to die in a foreign country, it provoked a violent backlash that led to intense social division on Australian streets. Conscription was banned by the Australian parliament in 1972.
Cultural comparisons
Argentina
Emotion & innovation
America 
Group vs individual
China 
Tradition & change
Canada
Cults of multiculturalism
England
Warden & Convicts
France
Failed revolutionaries
Germany
Thinkers and Drinkers
Ireland
Immigration and emmigration
Japan 
Samurai & Convicts
New Zealand 
Convicts vs Do gooders
Papua New Guinea
Chiefs and Elites
South Africa 
Kaffirs and Convicts
South Korea
The middle-powers