Michael Sandel: Democracy's Discontent. SCRIPTS Lecture, 05 June 23, Freie Universität Berlin

Public Lecture & Discussion with Michael J. Sandel, Political Philosopher, Author, Harvard University. Hosted by Stefan Gosepath, Prof. of Practical Philosophy, Freie Universität Berlin.
Societies like the U.S. are facing a significant democracy problem, with unprecedented divisions fueled by social media, populism, social inequality, unrest in response to racial violence and the intensification of individual isolation during the global pandemic. Insufficiently regulated by governments, the financialized global economy creates winners and losers and fuels toxic politics, with devastating consequences for our democracies. This is the recently updated and expanded account of "democracy's discontent", by the well-known political philosopher Michael J. Sandel. His widely debated book of that title is now available in German. To reinvigorate democracy and detoxify politics, Sandel calls for an alternative to the current neoliberal vision of the economy, one that empowers citizens as participants in a shared public life.
Speakers:
Michael J. Sandel is a Professor of Political Philosophy at Harvard University. His work links up enduring themes of political philosophy to the most vexing moral and civic questions of our time. Sandel's writings on topics such as justice, ethics, democracy, and markets have gained a global readership. His online lecture series on Justice has been viewed by tens of millions of people around the world, making him one of the most popular moral philosophers today.
Stefan Gosepath is Professor of Practical philosophy at Freie Universität Berlin and co-director of the collegiate research group 'Justitia Amplificata'. He is principal investigator at the Cluster of Excellence SCRIPTS as well as at further interdisciplinary research projects in Berlin. Gosepath's area of expertise is the link between moral philosophy and political theory. His research focuses on the role of equality and justice in political contexts and the tension between democracy and moral rights. He is a full member of the Academy of Sciences and Literature | Mainz.
An event of the Cluster of Excellence “Contestations of the Liberal Script (SCRIPTS)” and S. Fischer Verlag.
Jun 05, 2023 | 06:00 PM - 08:00 PM
Freie Universität Berlin
Lecture Hall 1a
About SCRIPTS
The Cluster of Excellence “Contestations of the Liberal Script (SCRIPTS)” is a research consortium that analyses why the liberal model of order has fallen into crisis despite its political, economic, and social achievements. Interdisciplinary research teams investigate why alternative concepts of social order are on rise, how these contestations differ from earlier contestation, and what the consequences are for the global challenges of our time. SCRIPTS is hosted by the Freie Universität Berlin and unites 8 major Berlin-based research institutions. www.scripts-berlin.eu/

[@AdolfoLeija-id3tz]

Democracy gives people the right to be stupid if that is what they want. The right to choose, even if they are wrong, lets them at the end live with the consequences of their decisions.

[@miltonkawatak5659]

. (1:02:10) The Washington Consensus imposing an end to national borders on capital and commerce brought a distortion of the perception of the world.
. All military analysts in the mainstream neoliberal media were wrong to bet that Russia would not invade Ukraine in February-2022. And then they were wrong again saying that Ukraine would not resist the Russian army for a week.
. The neoliberal West believed that there would be no more wars with the end of the Soviet Union and the Washington Consensus became a dogma to be followed blindly and they believed that countries like Russia and China would do the same as beneficiaries of globalization. By mistake, China pretends to be neutral in the war in Ukraine, but if NATO proves weak, the Chinese will also demand the incorporation of Taiwan because it is inhabited by Chinese.
. That's why many Europeans and Americans are enchanted by the Ukrainian people who have not yet been indoctrinated by neoliberal ideology, which implants exacerbated individualism and narcissism. Its people were busy with the collapse of the USSR and soon after with Putin's Russia.