Die vulnerable Gesellschaft

How the new vulnerability threatens our freedom. Many of the currently heated debates are expressions of a gradual shift in values. This fundamentally changes our society, yet we are hardly aware of it. More and more, we seem willing to accept restrictions on our individual freedom to accommodate an increased sense of vulnerability. Thus, we are slowly transforming into a society of "the vulnerable."

In her compelling investigation, Frauke Rostalski draws our attention to this new conflict between freedom and vulnerability – and advocates for an open conversation: How much vulnerability are we willing to accept at the expense of freedom? Rostalski demonstrates how notions of vulnerability have already led to changes in the law – not only in matters of medical risks such as a pandemic but also in areas of sexual self-determination, assisted suicide, protection against discrimination, and abortion.

However, vulnerability is not only the covert guiding principle of a new law and a new ethics. The new sensitivity has also permeated our culture of debate, thereby blocking societal negotiation processes. Frauke Rostalski urges us to keep this "discourse vulnerability" in check – so that we can truly engage in the urgent conversation about freedom and vulnerability.

"The late modern society proves to be an increasingly vulnerable society." Andreas Reckwitz

Freedom and vulnerability – a conflict of our time. How vulnerability changes our law and ethics. A critique of the disruptive influence of heightened sensitivity on our culture of debate.