Centralstation Veranstaltungs-GmbH

On talk shows, in Bundestag debates, at the dinner table—everywhere, people are talking about “victims.” But increasingly, this term doesn’t refer to people who have suffered injustice. Rather, it refers to those who disrupt harmony, are considered soft, drag others down, or try to put themselves above others. “Victims”—that has long since become a reproach. If people didn’t complain so much, it’s said, we wouldn’t have so many problems. What is happening in our society when sensitivity is seen as elitist, while the “law of the jungle” is viewed as egalitarian and authentic?

In her new book, Alice Hasters describes a cultural shift amplified by the media that is no coincidence that it goes hand in hand with a resurgence of authoritarianism and fascism. But even these systems need “victims”: supposedly fragile, vulnerable figures who must be protected in order to justify a policy of harshness—women and children, “European culture,” or “prosperity.” With intellectual restlessness and unwavering clarity, Hasters identifies the devastating consequences of these policies and contrasts them with the political power of solidarity.

Photo credit: Johanna C. Schröder

November 11, 8:00 p.m.

Centralstation, Im Carree, Darmstadt

2-for-1: €19 (seated auditorium, open seating)

November 11, 7:00–7:30 p.m., box office