Zusammen Leben - Ein Abend mit Aleida Assmann und Wilhelm Schmidt

What holds people together? And what separates them, despite all their similarities? Aleida Assmann and Wilhelm Schmid discuss the beautiful and at the same time difficult life in society. Solidarity - a key concept for life in community. But at the same time, we claim uniqueness for ourselves and want to be seen in our individuality. How can we strengthen commonalities and still preserve differences?

Aleida Assmann makes it clear: community is the core of democracy. In her brilliantly written book, she directs our attention away from hatred and anger and towards empathy and respect ("Gemeinsinn. Der sechste, soziale Sinn", C.H.Beck). Wilhelm Schmid, on the other hand, explores the question of whether our society needs an "identity" or rather an "integrity" ("Die Suche nach Zusammenhalt", Suhrkamp). And he comes to the conclusion that society lives from citizens who are not indifferent to everything.

Do we need universal values, or must the characteristics of different nations and cultures be recognized? Is the alleviation of hardship a matter of civil society involvement, or does it reinforce unjust structures that only the state can change? Aleida Assmann and Wilhelm Schmid discuss these and other questions with journalist Shelly Kupferberg.

The event will also be broadcast live online.

In the series: "Understanding our time"