Oliver Nachtwey

Today, a new kind of freedom fighter has emerged in our midst: liberal and open-minded, these individuals champion liberty and resent the imposition of more and more rules and exhortations that constrain their freedom. They are angry, disgruntled, offended. Why should they have to wear a face mask, get vaccinated or follow new rules on diversity and equality? They should be free to choose. They do not long for a glorified past or the strong arm of the state but argue instead for individual freedoms at all costs. Carolin Amlinger and Oliver Nachtwey see this new freedom fighter as symptomatic of the rise of a new political current in Western societies – what they call ‘libertarian authoritarianism’. The rise of libertarian authoritarianism is a consequence of the promise of freedom in late modernity: the individual is supposed to be free and self-reliant, but in reality many people feel powerless in the face of an increasingly complex world, an experience that manifests itself in resentment, anger and hostility towards democracy. Drawing on numerous case studies, the authors paint a vivid portrait of this new social figure of our time, showing how the unbridled pursuit of individual freedom can turn into authoritarian behaviour towards others, threatening the very basis of a free and equal society.

Today, a new kind of freedom fighter has emerged in our midst: liberal and open-minded, these individuals champion liberty and resent the imposition of more and more rules and exhortations that constrain their freedom. They are angry, disgruntled, offended. Why should they have to wear a face mask, get vaccinated or follow new rules on diversity and equality? They should be free to choose. They do not long for a glorified past or the strong arm of the state but argue instead for individual freedoms at all costs. Carolin Amlinger and Oliver Nachtwey see this new freedom fighter as symptomatic of the rise of a new political current in Western societies – what they call ‘libertarian authoritarianism’. The rise of libertarian authoritarianism is a consequence of the promise of freedom in late modernity: the individual is supposed to be free and self-reliant, but in reality many people feel powerless in the face of an increasingly complex world, an experience that manifests itself in resentment, anger and hostility towards democracy. Drawing on numerous case studies, the authors paint a vivid portrait of this new social figure of our time, showing how the unbridled pursuit of individual freedom can turn into authoritarian behaviour towards others, threatening the very basis of a free and equal society.

One of the German-speaking world's leading young sociologists lays out modern Germany's social and political crisis and its implications for the future of the European hegemon. Upward social mobility represented a core promise of life under the "old" West German welfare state, in which millions of skilled workers upgraded their VWs to Audis, bought their first homes, and sent their children to university. Not so in today's Federal Republic, however, where the gears of the so-called "elevator society" have long since ground to a halt. In the absence of the social mobility of yesterday, widespread social exhaustion and anxiety have emerged across mainstream society. Oliver Nachtwey analyses the reasons for this social rupture in post-war German society and investigates the conflict potential emerging as a result, concluding that although the country has managed to muddle through the Eurocrisis largely unscathed thus far, simmering tensions beneath the surface nevertheless threaten to undermine the German system's stability in the years to come. Nachtwey's book was recipient of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation's 2016 Hans-Matthöfer-Preis for Economic Writing.

Der Band liefert eine verständliche sowie inhaltlich umfassende Einführung in das Denken von Karl Marx und vermittelt Grundlagenwissen im Studium der Sozialwissenschaften. Zugleich wird eine Brücke geschlagen zwischen den Marxschen Schriften und aktuellen wissenschaftlichen sowie politischen Diskussionen.

SPD und Labour Party haben sich in der letzten Dekade grundlegend gewandelt. Die klassische Sozialdemokratie erkannte die Märkte an, wollte aber das Soziale vor den Mühlen des Marktes auf Distanz halten. Sie zweifelte an den Fähigkeiten des Marktes, soziale Gerechtigkeit und gesellschaftlichen Ausgleich zu garantieren. Deshalb wollte man seine Macht begrenzen, seine Auswirkungen korrigieren und seine Entwicklung steuern. Die Marktsozialdemokratie verkehrt dieses Verhältnis: Der Markt soll mit den Mitteln des Sozialen gefördert und das Soziale nach Marktprinzipien organisiert werden. Politische Ökonomie und der Leitbegriff der sozialen Gerechtigkeit werden deshalb neu gedeutet, was mitunter zu drastischen Legitimationsproblemen der Marktsozialdemokratie führen kann.