(literally good human in German) is an ironic, sarcastic or disparaging cultural term similar to the English do-gooder. Those who use the term are implying that Gutmenschen have an overwhelming wish to be good and eagerly seek approval—further suggesting a supposed moralising and proselytising behaviour and being dogmatic, while prioritizing "right" and "correct" attitude or sentiment (Ultimate end, ethics of moral conviction) over responsible, balanced, rational and reflected decisions (ethics of responsibility). In political rhetoric Gutmensch is used as a polemic term.
Context
Users of the term believe that people or groups of people with a specific moral attitude show a wrong or problematic behaviour. Therefore, it was used as a popular term in the 1980s for people who valued humanistic, altruistic, but also religious and human goals in life higher than utilitarian ones. They organise their actions, politics as well as their lives accordingly.
The term Gutmensch is also connected to the term political correctness and has been used in a derogatory manner since the mid-1990s. In general language use it is always used as a negatively connoted foreign appellation. A use that is meant in "a nice way" can often be found only in face-to-face conversations, such as the saying "to have a heart of gold", in generosity or in an extreme form of altruism.Gesa von Leesen: " 'Das sagt man nicht!' Political Correctness zwischen Moral und Kampfbegriff". In: . 1 February 2007.
The term also hints at the possible difference between "meant well" and "well done". Gutmenschen have good intentions, want to solve specific problems, or have the desire to create a better world. Those who use the term Gutmensch in a negative way evaluate the actions of Gutmenschen as not appropriate and/or unnecessary. This is how the term is used in everyday language. The German dictionary Duden, which included the term in 2000, defines Gutmensch as "a naive person who acts in an uncritical, exaggerated or tedious way while fighting for political correctness.""Gutmensch", Duden. Accessed 24 February 2012.
Origins and use According to researcher Rembert Hüser, the term Gutmensch was coined as a joke made by German feuilleton writers of the "generation 1989", such as and Klaus Bittermann. They were among the authors of dictionaries opposing the protests of 1968. These dictionaries were written in the style of Eckardt Henscheids Dummdeutsch dictionary (dealing with language criticism) and can be considered a combination of popular and political literature. They did not differentiate between the meaning of a word and how it is used. Bittermann explains in his epilogue of the Wörterbuch des Gutmenschen (dictionary of the Gutmensch):
Since the mid-1990s, Gutmensch has been used alongside political correctness in political and ideological debates, in order to degrade political opponents as over-moralizing.Cf. ; Brigitta Huhnke: "'political correctness' – ein Mantra nationaler Erweckung". In: ZAG 30, 1999 (also in: ZAG Online); Brigitta Huhnke: "'pc' – Das neue Mantra der Neokonservativen". In: Andreas Disselnkötter u. a. (eds.): Evidenzen im Fluß. Demokratieverluste in Deutschland. Duisburg 1997.
Former Merkur publisher Kurt Scheel once claimed to have used the term first in that sense.Letter to the editor by Karl Scheel in the Frankfurter Rundschau, 19 November 1997.Dieter Herberg u. a.: Neuer Wortschatz: Neologismen der 90er Jahre im Deutschen. Berlin 2004, pp. 148 ff Gutmensch was considered the "latest critical chic" in the art sections of newspapers. Writers like Klaus Bittermann came up with a variety of neologisms referring to PC and accompanying the appearance of Gutmensch. Some of them can roughly be translated as Gutmensch language, bleeding-heart language, attitudinal kitsch, attitudinal language or chatter jargon.
In 2006, the German Journalists Association (DJV) claimed that the term Gutmensch had its origins in Nazi Germany. Following that claim, the association planned on including the term in a handbook on the sensitive use of language for journalists, which they wanted to publish in cooperation with the Duisburg Institute of Language and Social Studies. However, some time later the Institute explicitly objected to that claim made by the DJV. Having conducted their own research on this topic, the Institute concluded that there was no clear connection between Gutmensch and Nazi Germany.DISS-Journal des Duisburger Instituts für Sprach- und Sozialforschung Nevertheless, in a pre-published sample of the above-mentioned handbook, it was stated that Gutmensch had been introduced by the Nazis to refer to followers of Cardinal von Galen, who had openly opposed the Nazi programme of forced euthanasia. According to the DJV, Gutmensch was derived from the Yiddish expression "a gutt Mensch" (a good human). Furthermore, they indicated that it was Adolf Hitler, who in his book Mein Kampf had repeatedly used the prefix "gut" (good) in a derogatory way, so as to accuse people who expressed goodwill and good-heartedness of collaborating with what Hitler perceived as the German enemies.Cf. Adolf Hitler: Mein Kampf. There "well-meaning" is often a synonym for "Jews", but also for Germans who were ambivalent about the National Socialist "movement". As in the case of Nietzsche, however, no use of the word "Gutmensch" could be documented here.
Another widespread opinion on the origin of Gutmensch is that it was coined by Friedrich Nietzsche. There are numerous disparaging remarks in Nietzsche's writings concerning the "good human", albeit not as a fixed expression. The Association for the German Language mentions as their first source a 1985 edition of Forbes magazine, in which Franz Steinkühler, at that time co-chairman of Germany's biggest metalworker's union, is called a Gutmensch.Gesellschaft für Deutsche Sprache zum ersten Aufscheinen des Begriffs im Deutschen: Fragen und Antworten: Gutmensch.
A more positive link may be Bertolt Brecht's play The Good Person of Szechwan () whose main theme is the difficulty of acting good in a world that is not good.Theaterbremen: Der gute Mensch von Sezuan (accessed 2 January 2017)
Die Welt journalist brings into play German pedagogical scientist Christian Oeser, who may have invented the term. In Oeser's book Letters to a Maiden on the most fundamental Topics of Aesthetics, published in 1859, he writes about naive Gutmenschen as follows: "Isn't it clear that in the end, such a gullible Gutmensch will be laughed at for his unconditional love towards humans, that the whole world will call him a fool and that he will eventually fall prey to his own weakness?"
Similar terms can be found in other languages as well, for example the Italian buonismo, with meanings all referring to the Gutmensch.
In areas critical of society
Occasionally, people who see themselves as critics of society ironically condemn would-be campaigners who criticize society without applying the same criteria to themselves. The term Gutmensch sees criticism of racism as symbolic when the speaker's own racist behaviour is not reflected. That kind of criticism means that political utterances which don't demand consequences are only made to allow the speaker to appear in a good light. Sunday speeches of politicians will be especially criticized if they pretend to be advocates for "victims". People who are concerned determinedly reject being locked into a role as victim.Siehe Susan Arndt: Weißsein. Die verkannte Strukturkategorie Europas und Deutschlands und Mythen des weißen Subjekts: Verleugnung und Hierarchisierung von Rassismus. In: Maureen Maisha Eggers u. a. (Hrsg.): Mythen, Masken und Subjekte. Kritische Weißseinsforschung in Deutschland. Münster 2005, pp. 24–29 and p. 340–362.
The "friend of foreigners", having good intentions, is a specific example. According to humanistic approaches, they think everyone is equal, but foreigners impose their "own needs, ethical and moral ideas and goals" on him (jemandem etwas aufzwingen, aufdrängen) Sabine Forschner).See also Susan Arndt: "Mythen des weißen Subjekts: Verleugnung und Hierarchisierung von Rassismus". In: Maureen Maisha Eggers u. a. (eds.): Mythen, Masken und Subjekte. Kritische Weißseinsforschung in Deutschland. Münster 2005, pp. 340–362
On 11 August 2014, Norbert Bolz (TU Berlin), an academic in media and communication, said on radio station Deutschlandfunk:
In political debates The term is used with a different purpose and frequency in the overall political spectrum, i.e. as a polemic term in a discussion with (actual and would-be) representatives of a "political correctness", but mainly in the field of conservativeness, right-wing populism and right-wing totalitarianism.
In political rhetoric The political right use the term more often in order to discredit political opposites. By downgrading "left" ideals to "do-goodism", they emphasise the claim to argue in a realistic way and on a factual level while the Gutmensch are implied to have lost touch with reality, to have a weak reflecting capacity, an unrealistic and high claim or utopian ideas. , for example, chief executive at German news magazine Focus, accused:Michael Klonovsky: "Das Gott-Wort der Guten", Focus, 31, 2 August 2010.
People who are offended in such a way see this as a rhetoric trick, which ridicules their striving for humanism, solidarity and social equity. Seeing the counterpart as Gutmensch took the discussion to a personal (argumentum ad hominem = "ad personam") and emotional level, in order to avoiding a discussion on a content level.
The term is often used as an aggressive defense strategy against criticism on personal positions. Potential criticism on (factual or putative) racist, homophobic, antisemitic (and increasing also anti-Islamic) or sexual violations taboos is debilitated by downgrading the person with those rhetoric strategies.
Moralistic strategy In political discussions the usage of the term Gutmensch gains a moral polarized shape, which is convenient to decrease the respect of the political opponent and to discredit them. There are strategies in political rhetoric to discuss political topics either on a factual level or on a moral level. Stigmatizations of political opponents by using terms like "pc" (political correctness) or Gutmensch moralize communications. Therefore, the position of the political opponent is discredited and he is forced to change position, if he doesn't want to lose reputation. Especially obvious becomes the strategy, if there are actual or claimed taboos. The art of the rhetoric is working when terms like Gutmensch or "moralizing prig" bring the political opponent in discussions into situations where the reply is supposed to say "my opinion or the tabooed view". This rhetoric proves as effective, because only under difficult circumstances can factual matters be discussed analytically. from the University of Siegen refers to this relationship.
As "ideological code"