Jürgen Habermas is regarded as one of the most important thinkers of our time and helped shape philosophical, political and social debates in Europe for decades.
He became internationally known as a representative of the second generation of the Frankfurt School and as the founder of the theory of communicative action, which argues that societies function best when people resolve conflicts and make collective decisions through open, rational dialogue rather than through power, coercion or economic pressure.
His research on the public sphere, democracy, and reason influenced generations of scholars and was also important for Germany’s political culture beyond university and niche academic study.
