Die Welt von morgen

In
The World of Yesterday
Stefan Zweig describes the cosmopolitan Europe before 1914, but by the time he writes his memoirs, it no longer exists, "washed away without a trace" by fascist barbarism. Zweig died in 1942, but the supranational Europe was given a second chance after 1945. Visionaries initiate an epoch-making peace project, borders fall, nationalism gives way to co-operation.
But even this project could soon be history. Democratic deficits lead to protest. A variety of crises are scaring people. In many member states, politicians who no longer (want to) learn from the experiences of the founders are fuelling a new nationalism. Today, Europe is once again at a crossroads. What will the world of tomorrow look like? Robert Menasse explains and defends the European idea, but also invites us to criticise and overcome the systemic contradictions of the Union. The alternative we face is not complicated: Either the historically unique, namely the construction of a post-national democracy, succeeds, or there is a threat of a relapse into the Europe of nation states. That would be another defeat of reason - with the dangers and consequences that we should be all too familiar with from history.