When the French nobleman Alexis de Tocqueville visited the United States 190 years ago, he observed a tendency towards conformism in local society that alienated him. Not the government, but society itself, gave itself rules that put great pressure on the citizens. Strong social control, it seemed to him, dictated how the individual should behave, and the individual bowed to this pressure for fear of isolation. He saw the majority principle, which is so decisive in democracy, as a danger to the freedom of the individual. What if the majority decided to suppress the minority? There is no way to defend oneself against such a “tyranny of the majority”. "Who should he contact?" Wrote Tocqueville. “To public opinion? She is it,which forms the majority. To the Legislative Assembly? It represents the majority and blindly obeys it. To the exercising force? It is appointed by the majority and serves as a docile tool. "

Some of the current social situation in Germany might remind you of Tocqueville. Even today, a striking number of citizens complain about strong social control, have the impression that attempts are being made to dictate to them in detail how to behave, and many have the feeling that they cannot defend themselves against it. But one thing is different from what Tocqueville described: the pressure does not come from the majority, but from a minority. This is shown by the results of the current survey by the Allensbach Institute for Demoscopy on behalf of the FAZ

For some time now, surveys by the Allensbach Institute have shown that citizens' feelings of freedom are declining. Since 1953 the question has been asked again and again: "Do you have the feeling that you can speak your political opinion freely in Germany today, or is it better to be careful?" A clear majority always replied that they believed that one could express one's opinion freely. From the 1960s to the last decade, more than two-thirds of those questioned consistently held this view, but the answers have changed dramatically since then. In June 2021, just 45 percent said you could speak your mind freely, while practically the same number, 44 percent, disagreed.

It is noticeable how differently the supporters of the various parties have the impression that they cannot express their opinion freely. Among AfD supporters, 62 percent were of this opinion, but the majority of supporters of the FDP and the Left also said that one should be careful when expressing one's opinion. Supporters of the SPD were divided in this regard, while those of the CDU / CSU felt free to express their opinions a little above average. By far the least pressure on the climate was felt by the Green supporters.

One can assume that the vast majority of people who complain that one cannot express one's opinion freely know that there is no law that prohibits them from freedom of expression. This is why references to the freedom of expression enshrined in the Basic Law are meaningless in this context. Instead, the lawsuit refers to the social sanctions that threaten if you violate the rules of "Political Correctness". How much the climate has changed in this regard over the past two decades is shown by the answers to a question in which the interviewers presented a list of socio-political issues.