Consumers have power. The Internet portal Utopia.de means to show how they can use this power so as, if not to save the world, then at least effectively to improve it by ?intelligent? consumption. In the meantime businesses have begun to sit up and take notice....
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Damned to expertocracy
The end of democracy? Philosopher Peter Sloterdijk talks with Marius Meller about French revoltism, British phlegm and Europe's national hallucination chambers.
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Friendly takeover
In response to the French 'no' to the European constitution, France's new Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin has proposed a new kind of union between France and Germany. Historian Gustav Seibt argues that this would be a disaster for Germany and insists that Europe be considered in a broader historical perspective.
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The victory of Euro-nihilism
The French no is standing guard on the frontiers of the old European Community. The referendum on the constitution became a retrospective referendum against the enlargement from fifteen to twenty-five member states. Formerly Euro-skeptics, the French who recklessly promoted the no on May 29 have become Euro-nihilists. By André Glucksmann
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"I can't live without Europe"
Both France and the Netherlands have rejected the European Constitution. German-Iranian author Navid Kermani reflects on what this means to him, as someone who wanted to become - or thought he was - a European.
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In full knowledge of the facts
The
practice of holding a referendum on a subject like the European
constitution is suicidal. It is an electoral absurdity that puts in
question the political intelligence not only of the French president,
but also of his immediate entourage and communication advisers. By Paul Virilio
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The illusionary "Leftist No"
To
the French naysayers: A Left which aims to tame and civilise capitalism
with a "No" to the European constitution would be deciding for the
wrong side at the wrong time. By Jürgen Habermas
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Europe demands courage
An open letter to French voters from German intellectuals, artists and academics warns the French public that voting "No" to the EU constitution would mean betraying progress and abandoning the ideals of the Enlightenment.
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Wake up, Europeans!
Or you will find yourself subjected to a constitution you never wanted, discussed, or decided on. By Oliver Eberle
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RSS
The dead body of Russian artist Anna Alchuk was pulled out of the river Spree in April this year. She and her husband, philosopher Michail Ryklin, had moved to Berlin in November 2007 after life in Russia became intolerable as a direct consequence of Alchuk's participation in the exhibition "Caution: Religion!". Michail Ryklin looks to his wife's tormented diary entries to help him approximate the causes of her death.
Last year secularists and multiculturalists converged at signandsight.com to debate Islam in Europe. Both parties want a liberal society where autonomous citizens live peacefully side by side, but the slightest political provocation is enough to unleash an intellectual Kulturkampf. Jürgen Habermas considers both positions and points beyond them to a post-secular society, where religious and secular mentalities are open to a complementary learning process. (Photo: Wolfram Huke)
At the Durban Conference against Racism in 2001, anti-colonialism bared its anti-Semitic face. The UN is planning a follow-up conference next year in Geneva. Pascal Bruckner tells democracies to keep their distance.
Advocates of Ukrainian democracy are motivated by old desires for independence from Moscow and, now that political autonomy has been achieved, by the need to get under the protective umbrella of Nato and the EU. From an objective point view, though, there are plenty of arguments against Ukraine turning its back on Russia. By Richard Wagner (Photo: Lothar Deus)
On the 60th anniversary of the state of Israel, exiled Iraqi writer, Najem Wali, decided to go and survey the "enemy" territory with his own eyes. What he found was an explanation for the reluctance of Arab leaders to let their people make the same journey: the stagnation of Arab societies and economies cannot be blamed on Israel.
Dragan Klaic arrived in Skopje on the day that Greece vetoed Macedonia's bid to join NATO at the summit in Bucharest. He found a nation reeling from this unexpected slap in the face.
No-one knows what the anti-Koran film 'Fitna' by the Dutch right-wing politician Geert Wilders contains exactly. But fearing Muslim anger many are ready to make concessions regarding the fundamental freedom of expression. Gelijn Molier looks to nineteenth century philosopher John Stuart Mill for advice.
The deportation of Romanians from Italy in the wake of a murder committed by an ethnic Roma has caused a stir in Romania. Yet whereas Romanians object to this discrimination abroad, they fail to see that at home the Roma are treated with nothing but hatred and disdain, and neither the Church nor the state is doing anything about it. By Mircea Cartarescu
Since the 19th century Ukrainians have been dreaming of a return to the paradise lost of Europe. But Ukraine's rich and painful history remains a blank spot in the European collective consciousness, or a mighty underground river flowing out of Europe's cellar, littered with corpses. By Oksana Zabuzhko