Against Hate

Racism, extremism, anti-democratic sentiment ? our increasingly polarized world is dominated by a type of thinking that doubts others? positions but never its own.

In a powerful challenge to fundamentalism in all its forms, Carolin Emcke, one of Germany?s leading intellectuals, argues that we can only preserve individual freedom and protect people?s rights by cherishing and celebrating diversity. If we want to safeguard democracy, we must have the courage to challenge hatred and the will to fight for and defend plurality in our societies. Emcke rises to the challenge that identitarian dogmas and populist narratives pose, exposing the way in which they simplify and distort our perception of the world.

Against Hate is an impassioned call to fight intolerance and defend liberal ideals. It will be of great interest to anyone concerned about the darkening politics of our time and searching for ways forward.

Foreword

1. Visible, Invisible

Love

Hope

Worry

Hatred and Contempt, Part 1: Group-focused

Hostility (Clausnitz, Saxony)

Hatred and Contempt, Part 2: Institutional Racism (Staten Island, New York)

2. Homogeneous – Natural – Pure Homogeneous

Original, Natural

Pure

3. In Praise of the Impure

Postscript

Notes

Carolin Emcke is a prominent journalist, academic and author. Her contribution to public life has been recognized with many awards, including the Otto Brenner Prize for Critical Journalism and the Peace Prize of the German Publishers’ Association, Germany’s most prestigious literary award.