Engage the Enemy More Closley! The Destruction of Public Space in a Culture of Intimacy

written by Robert Pfaller

 

In my contribution I want to present a public sphere of a very special kind. A sphere of the social imaginary, a sphere that I would call the sphere of illusions without owners. Before I jump into this matter I want to emphasize that to my point of view this sphere is currently under menace. It is a sphere which is being destroyed, just as on the economic level it is the case with the sphere of public property and with public space. This can especially be seen by the amazing lack of resistance that we observe amongst those people who are the victims of this destruction of the public space. The first astonishing thing is this extreme lack of resistance of populations in Europe against these times of “dealing and stealing” which do not only occur in former socialist countries but also in other countries in Europe - especially when social democrats are in power.