A selection of interesting new additions to the ERSTE Foundation Library catalogue in 2020, compiled by the head of the library, Jutta Braidt
APPLEBAUM, ANNE Twilight of Democracy. The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism New York: Doubleday, 206 pages. In Twilight of Democracy, Applebaum contends that we should not be surprised by the rise of various forms of authoritarianism: political systems with radically simple beliefs are inherently appealing, especially when they benefit the loyal to the exclusion of everyone else. People don’t just act ideologically, she claims in this captivating, elaborate essay, they are also practical, pragmatic and opportunistically inclined. Applebaum shows how conspiracy theories, political polarisation, social media and the longing for an idealised past are instrumentalised to change societies in Britain, the United States, Spain, Poland and Hungary.
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BREGMAN, RUTGER Humankind: A Hopeful History (translated from the Dutch by Erica Moore and Elizabeth Manton). London, Oxford, New York, New Dehli, Sydney: Bloomsbury Publishing, 480 pages. In his new book, historian and journalist Rutger Bregman examines human nature in depth. Contrary to what is assumed in the Western tradition of thought, Bregman argues that humans are not evil by nature. On the contrary, they are innately good. With that in mind, it seems possible to think of the world and the people in it in a completely new and fundamentally optimistic way – at least that is what Bregman suggests.
