Conference
Freedom and Democracy -
19 November 2004
9.00 – 20.00
Library of Congress, Washington
Civilization and Power
America has become the leader of the world, and Thomas Mann’s dream, a federation of European states, is coming true. At the same time, there are many, both inside and outside of the West, who feel today that Western culture is untrue to its own ideal of civilisation, and that its universalism has degenerated into mere globalism. To these critics, the notion of freedom, which was central to Western democracy and which has become increasingly arbitrary, is no longer the fullest expression of human dignity. The question is: what is it that Europe can learn from America, and vice versa?
Speakers

Gilles Andréani

Kwame Anthony Appiah

Anne Applebaum

Ronald Asmus

Michael André Bernstein

Christoph Bertram

Ladan Boroumand

Mark Danner

Jean Bethke Elshtain

Hillel Fradkin

Francis Fukuyama

Moshe Halbertal

Willem van Hasselt

Ágnes Heller

Ramin Jahanbegloo

Mark Juergensmeyer

Robert Kagan

Charles Kupchan

Farid Laroussi

Anatol Lieven

Thomas L. Pangle

Diana Pinto

John Ralston Saul

Karl Schlögel

Peter Schneider

Aleksander Smolar

Bassam Tibi

John Vinocur

Richard Wolin
