Legitimation Crisis by Jürgen Habermas Week 1

Jürgen Habermas (1929-2026), German philosopher and social theorist, passed away this past March. To honor his passing we will examine Legitimation Crisis, originally published in German in 1973. In this work Habermas provided a sober critique of Western culture, democracy, and capitalism. As a supporter of rationality and democracy, his goal was to lay out the deep problems he saw facing the west at the time, diagnosing them with precision, in order to challenge the very institutions he held dear to change course and avoid disaster. He argued that advanced capitalist societies face a legitimation crisis, in which citizens lose trust in a political and economic system that cannot deliver what it promises, a loss that could undermine the society itself. Now that it is 2026 and it feels like political and economic crises are potentially around the corner at every turn, we can benefit from analyzing this timely text. With the benefit of hindsight we can weigh what Habermas had to say against what actually happened, looking to draw lessons for the present.

We will read this text in four parts. For the first week we will read pages 1-32 (Part 1: Ch 1-4). Participants should read the entire assigned reading before attending this in person meeting. I will be reading from this version here.

For questions please send me a direct message through Meetup.

Best,

Brian