المجتمع الضعيف

Many of the debates currently raging express a gradual shift in values. This transformation is radically changing our society, but we hardly realize it. More and more, we seem to accept restrictions on our individual freedom in response to a growing sense of vulnerability. In doing so, we are slowly turning ourselves into a community of “weak” individuals. In her compelling study, Frauke Rostalski highlights this new conflict between freedom and vulnerability, and calls for an open dialogue: How much vulnerability are we willing to accept at the expense of freedom? Rostalsky shows how notions of vulnerability have already led to changes in the law, not only in matters of medical risk such as pandemic, but also in the areas of sexual self-determination, euthanasia, protection from discrimination, and abortion. However, vulnerability is not merely the hidden guideline of a new legal order and a new ethics. This new sensitivity has also permeated our debate culture, disrupting societal negotiation processes. Frauke Rostalski urges us to keep this “weakness of discourse” in check – so we can have an urgent conversation about freedom and vulnerability.