Meinhard Miegel is one of the most distinguished social researchers in Germany. He is known for his work on the conditions of the economy and society. As early as 1981 Miegel was one of the first to point out the changing age structure of German society as a result of a massive decline in the birth rate, and thus suggests a system based on a basic tax pension supplemented by private provision. With a doctorate in law, he worked as a lawyer at Henkel & Cie. before he co-founded the Institut für Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft with Kurt Biedenkopf in 1977. Meinhard Miegel served as a Professor at the University of Leipzig from 1992 and he became a member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts in 1994. Since 2007 he has been chairman of the board of the Denkwerk Zukunft - Foundation for Cultural Renewal. The aim of the initiative is to make Western culture fit for the future again. In 2002 he received the Corine Literature Prize, in 2004 the Hanns Martin Schleyer Prize and in 2005 the Theodor Heuss Prize for his work.