Habermas = Kant + Hegel + Enlightenment + Disenchanted Marxism

Philosopher Jürgen Habermas does not need an introduction. But he partially agrees with El Pais' Borja Hermoso when he proposed the above equation to synthesize the philosopher's contribution to the history of ideas. At 88, Habermas remains working and is increasingly worried about the state of the world today, on which he comments in this interview: "I'm still angry about some of the things that are happening in the world. That's not a bad thing, is it?"

He reexamines his idea of the public sphere – a virtual or imaginary community, in which people and groups come together to discuss matters of mutual interest –, arguing that its infrastructure is no longer intact: "Even before the centrifugal and atomic tendencies of the new media came into force, the commercialization of public attention had already triggered the disintegration of the public sphere," he explains. 

Habermas also revisits his idea of Constitutional Patriotism, or the idea that people should form a political attachment to the norms and values of a pluralistic liberal democratic constitution, rather than a national culture or cosmopolitan society. 

In light of renewed nationalist sentiments spreading throughout Europe, the idea is almost anathema to abundant talk on an alleged clash of civilizations, or nationalist movements seeking to capitalize on people's fears of difference: different cultures, different religions, different people migrating to the west. 

The interview is illuminating. Habermas ponders the influx of migrants, youth unemployment, the link between each country's economy and the global market. He comments on Catalonia's push for independence, Germany's position as Europe's leader, and Macron's leadership.