Conference with Bernd Ulrich : Pragmatic ‘ Policy’ or democratic ‚revolution‘ : How can the transition succeed ?

Bernd Ulrich, has been working as a journalist since 1991. He has written for FAZ, FR and taz.

 ‘If politicians even hint at impositions, the citizens become an angry people,’ is one of the central statements made by Bernd Ulrich, together with Hedwig Richter in their recent book “Democracy and Revolution”. The authors’ central analysis: the necessary reforms are also failing in Western democracies because it is being pretended that a social-ecological transition is feasible “without impositions”. But, according to the authors, floods, droughts, biodiversity loss, etc. are the consequences of

human activity in recent decades.

This devastating development can only be slowed down if politicians clearly identify the challenges, define goals and have a little faith in the citizens, but also demand something in return, including from the so-called middle class. In view of the urgency of the crises, rapid action is required. What is needed is the will to change at a revolutionary pace, and accordingly, a clear language of politics. In doing so, the authors are bound to offend with their ideas. This is because, according to the authors, a ‘contradiction has arisen between democracy and ecology, between the inevitable pressure of time and the seemingly God-given slowness of democracy.’

The historian Hedwig Richter and the journalist Bernd Ulrich want, as stated in the presentation of their work, ‘[…] to overcome this contradiction and show how a necessary revolution to preserve our livelihoods can go hand in hand with the necessary defence and development of democracy. To do this, they look back and into the future. They ask about the dark side of the history of democracy, about the often destructive social and fossil conditions under which our democracy in Germany and elsewhere has developed. And they sketch out a future that also guarantees the coming generations the freedom of choice that is essential for a democracy.’

Speaker: 

Bernd Ulrich, born in Essen in 1960, has been working as a journalist since 1991. He has written for FAZ, FR and taz. After working for Wochenpost and Berliner Tagesspiegel, he has been deputy editor-inchief of Die Zeit until 2003. ‘Democracy and Revolution – Ways out of Self-Inflicted Ecological Immaturity’ is the title of his recently published book together with Hedwig Richter.

The conference will be held in German. Simultaneous interpretation into English will be provided.