"It has become a questionable matter with the self-evidence of democracy around the world." This remark does not stem from a comment on the current political situation but from Thomas Mann's lecture "On the Future Victory of Democracy" from 1938. It's no coincidence that Thomas Mann is being rediscovered in the present as a passionate defender of democracy. He personally experienced how tenuous this form of government and its associated culture can be through the destruction of the Weimar Republic. For the first time, this volume gathers all the relevant speeches, essays, and addresses on democracy. Thomas Mann remains astoundingly relevant, particularly because he also understands democracy as a way of life: as a practice in gracefully dealing with plurality.
With an afterword by Matthias Löwe and Kai Sina.
