English Issue 12/2024

In a dialogue from Goethe’s The Green Snake and the Beautiful Lily, a king asks the snake “What is more glorious than gold?” and she replies, “Light.” “What is more delightful than light?” asks the king. “Conversation,” responds the snake. Genuine conversation is precious, and today, we are challenged to not feel polarized, alone, or misunderstood.

This week’s issue offers perspectives for helping us navigate this social realm anew. Bodo von Plato walks us through an understanding of social ethics corresponding to contemporary circumstances. Wolfgang Held takes us into the streets with an account of a recent pro-democracy protest. And John Bloom gives us a threefold approach to coherent organizational structure, depicting good governance as something we always have the potential to participate in.