326 CHRISTOPHER NEUMAIER AND ANDREAS LUDWIG
consumerism” of the 1950s and 1960s to the “unity of economic and so-
cial policy” led to a boost in what was referred to as social consumption.
Although this move allowed for private consumption, it was by no means
the top priority. Consequently, there were considerable diff erences in
the assessed sociopolitical and sociostructural value of consumption be-
tween East and West.
There were similar trends in family and lifestyle choices in the FRG
and the GDR, but the responses to these shifts diff ered greatly. In West
Germany, new types of families emerged as a result of the private choices
made by many couples; these slowly gained social acceptance. Even-
tually, after a long and gradual process, the political realm took notice
of these changes. Diff erent family styles also became more prevalent in
the GDR, but they did not spark nearly as much debate or negotiation
as in West Germany. The political response to these shifts focused on
increased fi nancial support for sociopolitical programs with the goal of
increasing the birth rate. Alternative lifestyles that did not fi t into this
model of a welfare state also appeared, especially in the 1980s, but they
were deemed oppositional in nature and left out of the system.
There were clear shifts in family life in both East and West Germany,
but they occurred at a diff erent pace. The governments in both states re-
acted at a policy level to the pluralization of individual lifestyle choices
and notions about ways of life in general. In West Germany, the focus
went from supporting the traditional nuclear family to child-centered fam-
ily policies that also applied to single mothers and unmarried couples with
children. Social policies in the GDR, on the other hand, went from target-
ing women’s issues to looking at ways to support families in light of demo-
graphic concerns. In the East, the normative ideals of a traditional nuclear
family did not seem to be as fi rmly entrenched as in West Germany. When
it came to consumption, there was a huge leap in private consumption in
both states thanks to the improved fi nancial situations, but this shift took
place within two opposing economic frameworks. In West Germany, the
long-term development of consumer society was very much a story of ac-
celeration during this period; in the GDR, however, it marked a move away
from the notion of East Germany’s “special path” in consumer policy.
From the 1970s onward, the move to establish new kinds of private
lifestyles pushed forward despite considerable resistance, resulting in a
broad social acceptance of new ways of life in the 1980s. As a result
of the general trend toward individualization, the political desire to reg-
ulate private lives, as well as the interpretive power of norms, waned
over time. Individuals now have a wider variety of options when it comes
to deciding how to live their lives, which has fostered the development
of a kind of “live and let live” attitude that kept gaining ground in the