You might have heard about a German election in Sachsen-Anhalt. I still read a lot about politics. Like really excessively. But I have the feeling often I don't have something sophisticated so say. On philosophy I feel like my consciousness gives me a better access to my reality and my perception of this world's principles. Even though I clearly have a lot of biases.
I read so many articles whether Trump, AfD, Le Pen etc whether they should be called fascists. Honestly, I read so much with really good arguments on both sides that I have a hard time to come to a conclusion. I read a take fasciziation would fit the phenomenon better. But honestly I for going into details about that I probably had to read the article again and maybe it would be better if I wrote this text in my native language.
I recently read an interview with a German activist Philip Ruch. I am not a big fan of his organization and their projects. They try to engage against the up-rise of the far-right but honestly I think in many instances their project backfire. And I get the feeling they use the most extreme comparisons and terms to gain the most attention for their cause. I disagree though whether that's the right approach. But I am ambivalent. You can talk about a scenario where the AfD takes power and implements concentration camps again. But I also have the feeling some of these authors are self-serving. And they want to make money and gain reputation by writing such literature. In generally I am clearly against the both side approach when it comes to the AfD. But I give an example what disliked from the organization Zentrum für politische Schönheit Philip Ruch's organization. There was an interview from a public broadcasting station with Alice Weidel. A leader of the AfD. And the public broadcast journalists often don't do a good job when interviewing the far-right. The politicians are often very aggressive and the election results give them confidence. But Ruch's organization played extremely loud music mocking the AfD to interrupt the interview. I think the interview even could not continue.
I think a heterogenuos mix of projects against the AfD can be tried. And maybe it should be a symbol against giving these people a platform. But will such a behavior really persuade AfD voters to rethink their convictions.
How is this question connected to the question of the title?. In this interview Ruch he stated the following: When the AfD takes power in Germany.
"Three-quarters of people cave in immediately and run straight into the arms of the AfD."
I discussed this with friends. And I know many leftwing friends told me they consider to leave the country when the AfD takes power. And that it is almost already over. Honestly, I think this attitude is dangerous. I think more reforms of the instititutions, judicial system, implementation of quotas for example for positions in he highest court. All of these could strengthen the pillars of liberal democracy even when the AfD takes over power. I think fatalism is the wrong response. If I could work I would also be tempted to leave the country though. I am not sure what I would do if the AfD took over the country. I could imagine I I would go down a path of inner emigration. And disconnect my emotions from politics. I would be pretty anxious because I rely on the welfare state though. And I would be on the chopping block of the AfD early on. I think protesting against the AfD is very important. And I also took part in political demonstrations. But I am not really an activist. Maybe I would start political arguments with strangers online and vent about the AfD to feel like I could so something against the injustice. I don't think with my limited resources I would be in the position to make a change. I also don't really believe in signing petitions. I don't think becoming cynical would be the right answer.
Honestly, in my position I think the best thing I can do is warning people about becoming hopeless. Fatalism weakenes the alliance against the AfD. Even the "Tausendjährige Reich" only lasted 12 years. The price we paid was very very high though. We live in upsetting times. But I think strengthen the democratic resilience would be a good answer. I have the feeling many people act like the future was predetermined. But my personal opinion is that history proceeds in a contingent way. On the one hand this is soofthing on the other hand it is also scary. Maybe lines we thought humankind would never cross again are on the table again. And honestly the most convincing scenarios sound very pessimistic. And I agree these current political developments are really concerning. But I have to think of Francis Fukuyama's End of history where many experts agreed on to that time. And despite that they were wrong. I think the emergent behavior of humans is even for contingent than insights from STEM subjects. Who would have predicted Covid-19? The Ukraine war? A second Trump term? Admittedly most of that was negative. But for sure it changed world history. Different scenarios have different probabilities. Maybe we have dark times ahead of us. People in the US are already going through it. But I am not all that sure whether the far-right will be successful in the longrun. There will be countermovements. There will be people who engage against such regimes. It is not like when they come in power it is over forever. The actions of the people can make a change if they unite. I am very interested whether the Democrats find a promising candidate for 2028. The current weakness of the Democrats is a big gift to Trump.
I think will endi t here. This was a lot of rambling. Maybe it is better to stay away from politics. Especially if I don't have an own strong opinion on the subject.
I read so many articles whether Trump, AfD, Le Pen etc whether they should be called fascists. Honestly, I read so much with really good arguments on both sides that I have a hard time to come to a conclusion. I read a take fasciziation would fit the phenomenon better. But honestly I for going into details about that I probably had to read the article again and maybe it would be better if I wrote this text in my native language.
I recently read an interview with a German activist Philip Ruch. I am not a big fan of his organization and their projects. They try to engage against the up-rise of the far-right but honestly I think in many instances their project backfire. And I get the feeling they use the most extreme comparisons and terms to gain the most attention for their cause. I disagree though whether that's the right approach. But I am ambivalent. You can talk about a scenario where the AfD takes power and implements concentration camps again. But I also have the feeling some of these authors are self-serving. And they want to make money and gain reputation by writing such literature. In generally I am clearly against the both side approach when it comes to the AfD. But I give an example what disliked from the organization Zentrum für politische Schönheit Philip Ruch's organization. There was an interview from a public broadcasting station with Alice Weidel. A leader of the AfD. And the public broadcast journalists often don't do a good job when interviewing the far-right. The politicians are often very aggressive and the election results give them confidence. But Ruch's organization played extremely loud music mocking the AfD to interrupt the interview. I think the interview even could not continue.
I think a heterogenuos mix of projects against the AfD can be tried. And maybe it should be a symbol against giving these people a platform. But will such a behavior really persuade AfD voters to rethink their convictions.
How is this question connected to the question of the title?. In this interview Ruch he stated the following: When the AfD takes power in Germany.
"Three-quarters of people cave in immediately and run straight into the arms of the AfD."
I discussed this with friends. And I know many leftwing friends told me they consider to leave the country when the AfD takes power. And that it is almost already over. Honestly, I think this attitude is dangerous. I think more reforms of the instititutions, judicial system, implementation of quotas for example for positions in he highest court. All of these could strengthen the pillars of liberal democracy even when the AfD takes over power. I think fatalism is the wrong response. If I could work I would also be tempted to leave the country though. I am not sure what I would do if the AfD took over the country. I could imagine I I would go down a path of inner emigration. And disconnect my emotions from politics. I would be pretty anxious because I rely on the welfare state though. And I would be on the chopping block of the AfD early on. I think protesting against the AfD is very important. And I also took part in political demonstrations. But I am not really an activist. Maybe I would start political arguments with strangers online and vent about the AfD to feel like I could so something against the injustice. I don't think with my limited resources I would be in the position to make a change. I also don't really believe in signing petitions. I don't think becoming cynical would be the right answer.
Honestly, in my position I think the best thing I can do is warning people about becoming hopeless. Fatalism weakenes the alliance against the AfD. Even the "Tausendjährige Reich" only lasted 12 years. The price we paid was very very high though. We live in upsetting times. But I think strengthen the democratic resilience would be a good answer. I have the feeling many people act like the future was predetermined. But my personal opinion is that history proceeds in a contingent way. On the one hand this is soofthing on the other hand it is also scary. Maybe lines we thought humankind would never cross again are on the table again. And honestly the most convincing scenarios sound very pessimistic. And I agree these current political developments are really concerning. But I have to think of Francis Fukuyama's End of history where many experts agreed on to that time. And despite that they were wrong. I think the emergent behavior of humans is even for contingent than insights from STEM subjects. Who would have predicted Covid-19? The Ukraine war? A second Trump term? Admittedly most of that was negative. But for sure it changed world history. Different scenarios have different probabilities. Maybe we have dark times ahead of us. People in the US are already going through it. But I am not all that sure whether the far-right will be successful in the longrun. There will be countermovements. There will be people who engage against such regimes. It is not like when they come in power it is over forever. The actions of the people can make a change if they unite. I am very interested whether the Democrats find a promising candidate for 2028. The current weakness of the Democrats is a big gift to Trump.
I think will endi t here. This was a lot of rambling. Maybe it is better to stay away from politics. Especially if I don't have an own strong opinion on the subject.
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