The climate adhesives have come astonishingly far. So much so that their change of course made it into one of this week’s news stories, including a well-worth reading obituary about the climate stickers from my colleague Jan Heidtmann: The last generation is giving up on sticking. She no longer wants to block roads and highways. Instead, she now wants to stand up for the “social foundations of life,” including democracy.
Thank you, dear “last generation”, and respect for the ability to change course. Seriously.
The courage of desperation brought many of the “climate glue” onto the streets. And yes: it’s hard not to despair. The findings are clear, but change is poor, too slow, sometimes non-existent. And this applies not only to political but also to social change. The “Last Generation” rubbed salt into this wound.
If it has been achieved, and that is why the change of course is so important, it has little benefit from it. Desperation does not legitimize breaking the law. Neither coercion nor damage to property permanently shakes up a society or inevitably leads to change. At best they appeal to the well-meaning, while repelling many others. That’s why many of the actions of the past two years have polarized rather than united. But a polarized society finds it difficult to solve problems together. In a polarized society, groups talk about each other instead of with each other. But that won’t work, not with real climate protection in particular and not with the state in general.
But nothing will happen without people who raise their voices. The “Last Generation” now wants to bring a “critical mass” of people onto the streets who will stand up for the climate and a just society. That’s good. This means that the activists may have their concerns heard more than with all the pasting and paint campaigns combined – which were often drowned out by the outrage over the consequences. At the same time, the “Fridays for future” are no longer just calling for climate demonstrations, but for the fight for democracy – and are proving on stages across the country what organizational power and rhetorical talent they have accumulated in recent years.
Turning away from provocation and turning to defending an open and democratic society – these are two sides of the same coin. Because as urgent as the climate crisis is, reversal will neither come from the streets nor will it be imposed from above. In a democratic state it must be rooted in the middle of society or it will fail.
That’s why the change gives the climate movement so much hope: it’s fighting for the democracy it needs for change. And it will only change society from within, as part of it. It takes arguments, alliances and ultimately majorities to get this country on course for climate change.
“We are ordinary people with everyday problems who peacefully stand up for a just society,” the “Last Generation” wrote in its statement. But that’s not correct. They are exceptional because they fight for much more than their own interests. With perseverance and the right resources, they – and everyone else in the climate movement – can still achieve a lot.
(This text comes from the weekly Newsletter Climate Fridaythat you here free of charge can order.)