The West: A Compass of Values – Is the Free World Undermining Itself?

For decades, Western values have been associated with individual freedom, liberal democracy, human dignity, and the rule of law. In recent years, there has been increasing talk of an “end of the Western community of values” – usually in the context of geopolitical shifts and changes in the transatlantic relationship. Yet another, at least equally significant, development has received less attention: the foundations of liberal democracy are increasingly being challenged from within – by extremist actors from the left, the right, and the Islamist spectrum, but also by milieus and arenas that often see themselves as moral authorities, including parts of academia, the arts and cultural sector, influencer ecosystems, and activist movements in the streets.

In some parts of society, including well beyond political fringes, it has increasingly come to be regarded as morally imperative to hold “the West” broadly responsible for the world’s ills. This phenomenon is not limited to Germany but can be observed across much of the Western world.

The guiding question is therefore: How can a society stand by its values and defend them against threats from within and from abroad if it increasingly questions and delegitimizes those very values itself? The panel takes this question as its starting point – not as a contribution to a culture war, but as an analysis of one of the central conflicts of our time, with the aim of developing a practical compass for action.

Panel discussion in front of a live audience, with accompanying livestream.

In German.

Location:
palisa.de Tagungs- und Veranstaltungszentrum
Palisadenstr. 48, 10243 Berlin