A Psychotic Society

The philosopher Ariadne von Schirach talks about the theses of her book "The Psychotic Society": stories of people who have a lot but no longer know who they are. Her diagnosis: We do not need a new world, but a new, meaningful consciousness.

You'd think the world had gone mad. What if that is indeed true?

In the face of an increasingly crazy present, it is time to remind ourselves again of our dignity, our dreams and our responsibility for our own and common lives. "The Psychotic Society" is a clairvoyant analysis of our economized society and at the same time a passionate plea for a different approach to nature, humanity and love.

Suicide bombers, fugitives and populist presidents. And then the climate goes crazy. There are many reasons for this crisis. The economization of the world is almost complete in the 21st century. For a long time now, it no longer only affects the visible, but extends deep into the invisible: into the social, into our dealings with ourselves, others and the world. Self-worth has become a market value, the boundaries between the self and the world have become blurred. The result of this collective identity crisis is a psychotic society whose members neither know who they are nor what they are supposed to be, and are therefore incapable of dealing with themselves and each other consciously, appreciatively and appropriately. But every crisis carries within itself the possibility of a new order, it is a chance to retell our relationship to ourselves, to others and to the world.