Member-only story
The Döner Dilemma
Symbolic Döner vs. Real Döner —Immigration seen through the lens of Lacan… and kebab?
Europe’s got a population problem — declining birth rates, aging workers, and a general lack of fresh blood to keep the economic wheels turning. Immigration was hailed as the solution to our problems.
When the migrant crisis was at its peak, Angela Merkel famously proclaimed, “Wir schaffen es,” or “we can handle it.” But as with most things, what politicians say and what happens on the ground are often worlds apart.
The idea is simple: when native populations aren’t reproducing fast enough, immigrants can step in and fill the gaps. And for many, immigration’s been sold as a win-win, a feel-good narrative that brings people together.
If you need a poster child for this, look no further than Germany’s Turkish diaspora and the döner kebab — a dish so thoroughly integrated into German culture that it’s now as synonymous with Berlin as bratwurst is with Bavaria.
But like most things, there’s more to it than meets the eye.
Borrowing a page from Lacanian psychoanalysis, let’s break this down into two versions: the symbolic döner and the real döner. Because, much like the difference between symbolic and real love, what we think we’re getting from…
