Detlef Pollack: Große Versprechen
Reviewed by Peter Flick, 2025-05-12
Translated from German version by DeepL
Detlef Pollack: Große Versprechen. Die westliche Moderne in Zeiten der globalen Krise. Verlag C.H. Beck (München) 2025. 191 pages. ISBN 978-3-406-82889-8. 18,00 EUR.
There is a detailed German review for this work. Read here
Summary
Detlef Pollock's essay, written in clear language and therefore also understandable for non-sociologists, offers its readers a stimulating presentation of a theory of modernity that follows Niklas Luhmann's system-theoretical approach. However, his polemic against contemporary approaches to critical theory, which he accuses of being stuck in negativistic attitudes towards modernity, is less convincing. As far as dealing with the “global crises” is concerned, Detlef Pollack's diagnosis misses the blind spots in the self-perception of Western modernity. The way in which Western states are dealing with the global climate crisis or their attitude in armed conflicts in particular shows how far they are currently falling short of their self-imposed normative standards.
Review by
Peter Flick
Lehrer, unterrichtet die Fächer Sozialwissenschaften, Praktische Philosophie und Deutsch
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