"Perhaps the first gap we need to overcome is the gap between knowledge and understanding!" - This was one of Jörg Alt's key messages in his lecture on Thursday, November 28 at the Ernst Bloch Center on the topic of "Against the gap between talking and acting - How much civil disobedience does the socio-ecological transformation need?" The philosopher, theologian, sociologist and activist works as a university chaplain in Nuremberg and at the Jesuit Ukama Center for Social-Ecological Transformation there.
He gave a lecture at the invitation of the HWG Ludwigshafen and the Ernst Bloch Center as part of the second part of the "Social Issues" series of events launched in October this year. According to Prof. Jörg Reitzig (HWG) in his introduction, Alt's answer to the question of the importance of civil disobedience is not merely intellectual, "but sometimes highly practical and with his own body - for example, in so-called containerization, i.e. the fight against food waste or participation in adhesive protests against climate change." He is therefore a border crosser in a positive sense, who not only critically analyzes conditions, but also actively engages with them in his own life practice, e.g. in joint actions with Fridays For Future, the Last Generation or the Wir Transformieren Bayern alliance. Just a few days ago, the Bavarian Supreme Court confirmed a sentence against Jörg Alt for participating in a road blockade, which is why he is currently preparing to start a substitute prison sentence, from which, as he later explained, he does not want to buy his way out by paying a fine.
In his speech, Jörg Alt not only addressed the dimensions of the overuse of natural resources and the exceeding of planetary carrying capacity limits, but also contrasted these with other problems in the world, such as the distribution crisis, as a result of which inequality between people and countries is growing, or the democracy crisis and the influence of a few dozen large corporations with growing populism. Reality, as his plea could perhaps be summarized, not only forces us to adopt more consistent attitudes, but also to act more consistently in view of the impending tipping points in the global crisis.
The subsequent discussion, which was moderated by Prof. Peter Rahn (HWG), was lively. The numerous questions and comments from the audience related to his experiences in confronting the justice system and possible personal risks, the role of the churches and the public, as well as his thoughts on what the older generation could learn from the younger generation. Thanks to the director of the Bloch Center, Prof. Amodeo, the event was recorded by the Offener Kanal Ludwigshafen and will soon be available on the Ernst Bloch Center's YouTube channel(www.youtube.com/@ernst-bloch-zentrum4321/videos) for those who were unable to attend in person.
Text & Photos: Prof. Dr. Jörg Reitzig, HWG LU
