Jürgen Habermas hoped rational discussion could save the world

Unlock unlimited access to all our award-winning journalism, subscriber-only podcasts and newsletters Subscribe to The Economist Unlock unlimited access to all our award-winning journalism, subscriber-only podcasts and newsletters Your browser does not support the <audio> element. H e couldn’t speak. After his second operation for a cleft palate, at the age of five, all Jürgen Habermas could make were muffled sounds that almost nobody understood. Of course, it got better with time. But his odd look and odder speech got him bullied and ostracised at school. For the rest of his life, when really excited, he found himself stuttering. He tried to avoid public appearances, especially unsparing television, if he could. That was difficult, because as Germany’s, and probably Europe’s, most prominent intellectual he was in high demand for decades. It was also difficult because, in his thinking, communication was the key to everything. His vision of an ideal society was one where, rather than ru

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• Katherine Driscoll