The New Conservatism: Cultural Criticism and the Historians' Debate (Studies in Contemporary German Social Thought)

Social theorist Jürgen Habermas reveals yet another facet of his extraordinary talents in these insightful, often passionate political and cultural commentaries on contemporary German life. The central theme uniting the book is the German problem of "coming to terms with the past" - a problem that has important implications outside Germany as well.Topics include the debate over Martin Heidegger's ties to National Socialism, the rise of neoconservatism, and the avenues open to utopianism today. Of particular note are the essays on what has come to be known as the Historians' Debate: Habermas's attack on the revisionist German historians who have been trying to trivialize and "normalize" the history of the Nazi period and his defense of the need for a realistic assessment of Germany's past.