Fortschritt in der Sackgasse? Von negativer Individualfreiheit zu funktionaler Fremdbestimmung

Abstract

In his contribution, Hildebrand seeks to encourage a critical comparison with the traditional Islamic culture. At the beginning he describes the development and understanding of the prevailing concept of freedom in the West. In contrast to ancient ideas, freedom in modern Europe and North America was initially understood as a negative individual right of defense against the authorities. The French Revolution of 1789 resulted in the propagation of an ideal of equality, among other things, which ultimately led to the development of the ideal of the welfare state in Europe in an increasingly pronounced form. While it was initially about fighting social misery, over time this developed into an individual right to care and increasingly complex forms of participation emerged. According to the author, the welfare state became a state principle that governs all state activities. After the 1968 revolution, and at the latest since the 1970s, the concept of freedom has been given an additional important component through the idea of ever-advancing emancipation, a never-ending fight against all forms of discrimination, and the propagation of minority rights. The initially dominant understanding of freedom as a negative right to defend oneself became a positive, participatory understanding. The democracies of modern times do not run the risk of being overthrown by revolutions, but there is a risk of a creeping erosion of the institutions from which the democratic spirit threatens to dissipate. In his article, Daniel Hildebrand makes it clear how the ideas of progress, freedom and equality that emerged from the Enlightenment are ultimately reversed, in that the role of the state is constantly being strengthened and society is being permeated internally by the state. This results, among other things, from the fact that there is an inner contradiction between freedom and equality. The idea of a linear progression or an ever-advancing emancipation threatens to lead to a reversal into the absurd.