On September 24, 2025, Philipp Staab, board member of the ECDF and professor of "Sociology of the Future of Work" at Humboldt – Universität zu Berlin, will speak from 7 to 9 p.m. as part of the event series "Society of Fear? Between Crisis, Change, and the Principle of Hope", organized by the Darmstadt Network for Political Education. In his lecture, Philipp Staab will address how late modern societies are shaped by rapid technological, social, and political change – arguing that these transformations are no longer marked by progress. Instead, they aim to preserve existing conditions.

Staab's thesis is that societies become unstable precisely because nothing is supposed to change. On social media, traditional gender roles prevail; electric cars are intended to safeguard established modes of mobility; and political entrepreneurs succeed when they promise to restore societies to former greatness – or at least prevent further decline. The attitude of "business as usual" in times of systemic crisis increasingly leads to problems of legitimacy within green capitalism: the failure of ecological modernization, the fears of a frustrated middle class, and the general shift to the right in society all point to this. Whether due to climate crisis, war, or fear of job loss, an adaptation-oriented society is emerging – one that prioritizes self-preservation over self-actualization.

Venue:

Katholisches Bildungszentrum
NR30, Nieder-Ramstädter
64283 Darmstadt

No prior registration is required to participate.