Has your imagination gone so far that you could imagine what we have been through in the past few weeks?

Has your imagination gone so far that you could imagine what we have been through in the past few weeks? Blom: Of course not. The book subtitle now sounds more prophetic than it was intended. On the other hand: This crisis only focuses on all the problems that were there before. It has only made it clearer that this model of hyperconsumption, including a globalization that has reached completely bizarre proportions, is terribly unreasonable. We cannot go on as we have lived up to now – otherwise we will soon no longer exist. And very soon.

On the other hand, we have now seen that incredible things were possible … Blom: That is the brilliant moment! We were always told: “Yes, what happens to the climate is terrible, but what should we do? The economy has to go on. If you interrupt that, the world will end.” And it has been said that ultimately every question will be solved by the market. Now suddenly a crisis has come and we have found: “We cannot and do not want to trust the market to solve this crisis. It has to be answered by the state. For that to happen, everything that was previously completely impossible has to happen, and that immediately , within days. ” I think there is magic in this moment. No one can ever again tell us: We can’t do that!

What is responsible for the fact that everything is possible now? Blom: Scared to death! We are currently producing the biggest economic crisis in 100 years. Millions of people will break down their model of life, and because we are globalized, it will affect millions in countries that are much less affected by the virus itself. This economic crisis, and the political crises that will arise from it, could get really terrible. Nevertheless, it is also important to understand this moment as the opportunity that it is. This model has brought us to the brink. It’s a bit like someone jumping off the 30th floor and he’s in great health until the moment of impact. We have seen the first effects of the coming impact in recent years. This is really the time to think about it: how do we want to live? What do we want to use all these resources for? But it’s incredibly difficult to talk about something you don’t know yet. On the one hand it makes sense to think the world in a much more local way, on the other hand it is very important to know that the world does not stop at our borders. Climate, financial or migration flows, terrorism – these are all things that can only be understood globally.

Borders suddenly became extremely important. What does the strengthening of nation states mean for the future? Does that make the next Central European war a little more possible? Blom: If you work historically and are interested in moments of upheaval, then you can see that anything is possible at any point in time.https://123helpme.me/ And that the big disasters always come when a society feels particularly safe. But there are good arguments against a Central European war or against a rise of fascism in Europe, and the strongest argument against it that I know is quite simply the demographics: We had a lot of young men in the 20s and 30s, from which the older ones had already been brutalized by a war. We have an aging population today that has never been through a war. But we are already seeing how democracies are slowly being eroded and abolished around us. Another play has long been played between the scenes of democracy. And if, in the future, public life would only be possible through tracking apps, this would create an information infrastructure that can be catastrophic if it falls into the wrong hands.

“The comfort in which we have established ourselves has become deadly.”

Very restrictive measures under the heading of “health crisis” were accepted surprisingly without contradiction. Is that also one of the lessons from this crisis: that we ultimately put up with everything? Blom: I think it’s a matter of indolence. We have so much that it is very easy to withdraw into an apolitical life and to be entertained, informed and drunk 24 hours a day. In this way, a certain lifetime can be unwound very smoothly without getting politically involved. Most people only take to the streets when they feel bad. As long as most people are fine and having a good time, they are probably quite ready to come to terms with many systems. We need more discomfort, however, because the ease in which we have established ourselves has become fatal.

Will the crisis, which shows what is possible, bring us closer to or remove us from the real question of human survival? Won’t it soon be said that we have to start up the economy again, no matter what the cost, and we’ll take care of the climate later? In your book you call it the “omega phase” of a society: against better knowledge, continue towards the abyss … Blom: In my book I write that there will be a battle of stories, a battle for the authority to explain this time . It is not the truest and noblest story that wins, but the most effective. I believe that people who are passionate about the need to start living differently must try to do everything possible to make this story the most effective. We must not take our responsibility here. For many generations after us we must now decide which direction it will go. In a certain way, without wanting to negate the tragedy for many people, this corona shock is the best that could have happened to us: It shows that there is another way, yes, we can pull the emergency brake if necessary. We are not an appendix to the market, we have our own strength and our own priorities.

But did the politicians understand that too? Blom: Politics is a pragmatic art. You still have to pursue visions, and the vision cannot be that what we have now is already the best. Not only because we behave in a predatory manner towards natural resources and other people, but also because we see: young people scratch themselves so that they can feel something, people take tons of antidepressants – nobody can tell me that these are the happiest societies in the world are. We have to change our society. We have realized that we are not the masters of creation. We realized that we are one organism in a huge system. That would be a very simple insight that could promote a new society. We are at a moment as radical as the Enlightenment, as radical as the beginnings of our culture. We have to set a new course. Because what we have now will probably no longer be viable in 20 years.

“People have to notice it firsthand in order to react. «

But which story would be catchy enough to change political action so permanently? Blom: We are psychologically very ill equipped to deal with gradual and slow crises. A sudden, catastrophic change like Corona, we can react to it very effectively and quickly. But such a creeping change as the climate, where the biggest and most catastrophic changes take place elsewhere, is much more difficult. At the same time, this is a catastrophically dry spring, and we will likely have a very warm summer in which people will have circulatory problems. People have to feel it firsthand in order to react. But we need huge changes quickly, we need a real green new deal, a green, sustainable infrastructure that our grandchildren can still use. Then we would again have the hope in our society that we are working for a common future and not just for our individual prosperity. The builder who drew the plans for St. Stephen’s Cathedral knew that his grandchildren would never see this cathedral finished either, but in a few centuries there will be something huge. That would be an access that we need now. We have lost the future and we have to create it again.

ABOUT THE PERSON: Philipp Blom, born in Hamburg in 1970, studied philosophy, history and Jewish studies in Vienna and Oxford. He lives in Vienna as an author, journalist and historian. His best-known books include “The Staggering Continent. Europe 1900-1914” (2009), “The Torn Years. 1918-1938” (2014) and “The World From Its Hooks” (2017). In 2018 he was the opening speaker of the Salzburg Festival.

Read news for free for 1 month now! * * The test ends automatically.

More on this ▶

NEWS FROM THE NETWORK

Win true wireless earphones from JBL now! (E-media.at)

New access (yachtrevue.at)

8 reasons why it’s great to be single (lustaufsleben.at)

Salmon shrimp burger with wasabi mayonnaise and honey cucumber (gusto.at)

In the new trend: Shock-Down – how long can the economy withstand lockdowns? (Trend.at)

The 35 best family series to laugh and feel good (tv-media.at)

E-Scooter in Vienna: All providers and prices 2020 in comparison (autorevue.at)

”

The historian and publicist Philipp Blom has dealt in depth with the great crises of the past. For a long time he has urged a radical rethink in view of climate change. In his new book “The Great World Theater” (from May 25th) he renews this requirement. He calls them

Corona crisis

a great opportunity.

Mr. Blom, your new book was created at the suggestion of the Salzburg Festival. How did that happen? Philipp Blom: After my opening speech at the Festival in 2018, (President) Helga Rabl-Stadler and (Artistic Director) Markus Hinterhäuser asked me: “Write us a book for the 100th anniversary of the Salzburg Festival. It should be called ‘The Great World Theater’. What We are happy to leave you to write. So much openness was a big challenge. You wanted me to present the book at the Festival, and I think you wanted it as part of the dialogue that the Salzburg Festival has with your present and future I was concerned with the role that art and stories play in shaping a society – how one can learn to think ideas, and how perhaps art can also help us to learn what a new society might look like Today we see more strongly than ever that we are in a model of economy and society that is suicidal. Corona is ultimately a symptom of our being too deep into nature local contexts intervene. We now have a historic opportunity to consider how we could live differently.

What did they say about the book at the Salzburg Festival? Blom: It was a different book than you expected, but you saw that it was my attempt to seriously answer your question. It is a book that does not deal explicitly with festivals and high culture, but tries to take this question further and to say: We are beings who tell themselves. The stories we tell determine which societies we form. When the story goes that we are the masters of creation and should subjugate the earth, we behave in a certain way. These narratives can be helpful, but they can also get grueling. That is why it is very important for a society to consider: What do we want to tell ourselves about ourselves?

It has not yet been decided whether and in what form the Salzburg Festival will take place this year due to the corona crisis. Are they really supposed to take place? Blom: I am sure that the most responsible decision possible will be made. I don’t think we can have mass events again until we have effective therapies and effective vaccines. It is very difficult at the moment to think about how culture can remain present – especially culture that exists from living encounters. I wish the Salzburg Festival that they find the best way to carry the flame on, especially in this hundredth year.

“We cannot go on as we have lived up to now – otherwise we will soon no longer exist.”

Your book is subtitled “On the Power of Imagination in Times of Change”. Has your imagination gone so far that you could imagine what we have been through in the past few weeks? Blom: Of course not. The book subtitle now sounds more prophetic than it was intended. On the other hand: This crisis only focuses on all the problems that were there before. It has only made it clearer that this model of hyperconsumption, including a globalization that has reached completely bizarre proportions, is terribly unreasonable. We cannot go on as we have lived up to now – otherwise we will soon no longer exist. And very soon.