Nils Heisterhagen is a self-defined „left-wing realist“ and author. Until October 2018, he was a policy advisor for the SPD parliamentary group in Rhineland-Palatinate. He studied political science and economics at the Universities of Göttingen and Hanover and completed his doctorate in philosophy at Humboldt University in Berlin with a thesis on "existential republicanism". He has worked as an intern at WirtschaftsWoche and the political magazine Cicero. He conducts research in the field of political philosophy.
Moderation Robert Misik, Author and journalist
Whether Austria, Germany or France. Social democracy is in crisis across Europe. At the same time, right-wing populists are succeeding as new labour parties with formerly left-wing rhetoric. They promise jobs, security and want to curb globalised capitalism.
How could this happen?
For Nils Heisterhagen, former SPD spokesperson in Rhineland-Palatinate, the Social Democrats are under a „liberal illusion“. He calls for a „left-wing realism“ that ends the ingratiation with neoliberalism on the one hand, but also speaks plainly on the issue of migration.
Nils Heisterhagen
The liberal illusion: Why we need left-wing realism
Dietz Verlag 2018, 22.00 euros, ISBN 978-3-8012-0531-7