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Coverabbildung von "Der überflüssige Mensch"

Ilija Trojanow - The Superfluous Human

An essay on human dignity in late capitalism.

Someone who neither consumes nor produces is redundant - according to the cutthroat logics of late capitalism. International elites claim that overpopulation is our greatest problem. If the population needs to be reduced, who will have to disappear asks Trojanow in his humanist essay that argues against the redundancy of humankind. In his forceful analysis he covers points such as devastation caused by climate change, ruthless neo-liberal politics on the labor market and the apocalypses presented in mass media that we, the seeming winners, fervently consume. One thing we have failed to realize is that these issues also concern us. They concern everyone and everything.

Book details

from the series "Keeping Uncalm"
96 pages
format:140 x 220
ISBN: 9783701716135
Release date: 06.08.2013

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Description

Die Reihe UNRUHE BEWAHREN antwortet auf eine Gegenwartstendenz, die immer ungemütlicher wird. Dem Fortschritt der Moderne wohnt eine Verschleißunruhe inne, während die Vergangenheit zunehmend entwertet und die Zukunft ihrer Substanz beraubt wird. Dagegen steht das Prinzip Anachronie. Engagierte Zeitgenossenschaft sollte mit dem Mut zur Vorsicht ebenso wie mit der Leidenschaft für das Unzeitgemäße verknüpft werden. UNRUHE BEWAHREN ist daher auch das Motto, dem sich die Frühlings- und Herbstvorlesungen der Akademie Graz verschrieben haben.
Herausgegeben von Astrid Kury, Thomas Macho, Peter Strasser
Beratung: Harald Klauhs

Authors
Ilija Trojanow

born 1965 in Sofia, grew up in Kenya and now lives in Vienna. Trojanow has received numerous awards, including the Adelbert-von-Chamisso-Preis 2000, the Preis der Leipziger Buchmesse 2006 and the Berliner Literaturpreis 2007. Next to his extensive literary works, he has published essays and reports on global political and cultural issues. His book "Der Weltensammler" (2006) is a bestseller.

Press

This book is not for the faint-hearted. In just under 100 pages, Ilija Trojanow asks the most painful, important questions. WDR 5/SWR2/MDR, Günter Kaindlstorfer

For a lot of us, social inequity is just a given these days. That is exactly what Ilija Trojanow rebels against in his pamphlet "The Superfluous Human". His appeal for more empathy is justified in detail and provides wellresearched examples of frightening developments. DEUTSCHLANDRADIO, Carsten Hueck

With its accessible style and committed, polemical tone, this essay will appeal to a wide readership interested in social injustice and the current political landscape. While there is certainly no shortage of books critiquing the neoliberal condition, the perspicacity of The Superfluous Human and its highly engaging and informative style make Trojanow’s book stand out. NEW BOOKS IN GERMAN, Spring 2014

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