Man without World

»People today are more likely to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism«, is a frequently cited finding. In this extremely well-researched book, Alexandra Schauer gets to the bottom of this late modern malaise. In three historical reconstructions, she shows how the world as a place of mutual understanding and communal action has lost its significance and the idea of the malleability of society, which was once such a pivotal concept to political modernity, has lost its radiance. This has serious consequences for the socialised individuals of the present, who are no longer able to find their bearings or recognise themselves in the reality they have created.

»It is a story of loss. Of the replacement of a social world order. At its centre is man alienated from the world.« Stephan Lessenich on the occasion of the Wilhelm-Liebknecht-Preis

»Alexandra Schauer pulls out all the stops to illuminate the great misfortune of the modern world.« Michael Mönninger, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

»Alexandra Schauer‘s impressive ›Sociology of Late Modern Socialisation‹ is a contribution to the prehistory of modernity.« Jungle World

»Sociologist Alexandra Schauer presents an impressive diagnosis of the present, gained from profound historical research …« Daniel Graf, Republik

»An important and valuable analysis of our present.« Deutschlandfunk