Streit ums Politische: »What if we were wrong?«

»What if we were wrong?« This question, usually attributed to Barack Obama, is directed at a leftwing, liberal and progressive milieu, which puts the blame for the undeniable shift to the right of our societies on a majority made up of others, and in so doing forgets that the strength of the right always implies a weakness of the left. What if we were to discover that the groups fighting for an emancipatory project and an environmental agenda are not just on the defensive, but in fact are now nothing more than a minority without power nor influence? The shift in who gets to control the narrative is palpable. Are we wit- nessing the victory of the great regression? Or should a leftwing that has viewed itself as the voice of the oppressed and defamed not admit that it has been built on a grand delusion?

In the opening conversation of this year’s series, Heinz Bude speaks with political scientist Ingolfur Blühdorn about the untenability of our current world order: the prevailing model of unsustainable global domination is leading us toward disaster, while the emancipatory counter-model and ecological agenda alienate most people. In the eyes of many, the great alternative has revealed itself as the life-lie of a milieu that, faced with today’s polycrisis, can offer no more resistance than anyone else.