“Democracy without arguments is not possible”
Guests in this episode of Open End are Christian Schertz, Muhterem Aras and Florian Schröder (from left to right)
Source: Landtag Baden-Württemberg / Jan Potente, Frank Eidel, Thomas Koehler / photothek.net; Montage: Infographics WELT
We all argue. Again and again. But why? What is the argument doing to us? What does it mean for our democracy and how does our society deal with it? Michel Friedman talks about this with Muhterem Aras, Christian Schertz and Florian Schröder.
Muhterem Aras, President of the Baden-Württemberg state parliament, says: “Democracy is conversation, it is a dispute about the better argument. But instead of an argument, I increasingly hear voices that incite one another, that get louder, that are not interested in compromises. “
The media lawyer Christian Schertz sees “a neglected culture of debate in which it is only about defamation! We don’t argue enough! New things emerge only from quarrels and arguments. “
The cabaret artist Florian Schröder also thinks that “a constructive kind of argument in the sense of a culture of debate is increasingly rare”, “because everyone has locked themselves in their wagon castles and from there shoots at the other side. If the other person disagrees, he is one of the bad guys. I consider that to be a dangerous development that is being massively reinforced and emphasized by the Internet as a fire accelerator. “
To the podcast: A good discussion requires openness, curiosity, honesty – and time. That is why “Open End” with Michel Friedman only ends when the topic has been fully discussed. It’s the talk without a time limit. With guests from science, culture, business, politics and journalism, Friedman discusses the big issues: freedom, anger, human rights and much more.
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