This essay is too good not to be shared with all of you, even though it’s in German (Google Translate is your friend). My colleague Daniel Graf on how to distill hope in these godforsaken times. Key quote: «Hope, as Eva Illouz puts it, is a performative emotion: it is strengthened in solidarity, because this counteracts fear […] and enables experiences of (self-)efficacy. To put it more succinctly: it strengthens the political fighting spirit. And this is desperately needed in the current situation of the threat to democracy.»

From Weekly Filet #518, in February 2025.