Ferdinand von Schirach, EVERY ONE
Luchterhand - Non-fiction - Hardcover - April 2021
An appeal for a new European Charter of Fundamental Rights.
When the British colonies declared their independence in 1776, they lay down that certain "truths are self-evident": That all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that these include life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
When the American Constitution was signed in 1787, 25 of the delegates owned slaves. George Washington, who presided over the Convention, wore a denture made of ivory and nine teeth that had been extracted from his slaves. So the "self-evident truths" were only an utopia in 1776. They showed a society not as it was, but as it should be.
Now we face entirely new challenges. The dangers we face today were not even imaginable back then. That is why Ferdinand von Schirach proposes five new fundamental rights. They are simple, naïve and utopian. But that is precisely where their power could lie.
Ferdinand von Schirach has set up a foundation which will carry out the technical management of a website whose sole aim is to disseminate and enforce these new fundamental rights. Everyone who lives in a country of the European Community can vote on this website. It is also possible to select only individual rights.
English and French translation available
“Yes, now of all times a thin book is being published that is supposed to put the European Union back on the offensive. It could give citizens of the Union new reason to identify with the abstract political entity. Which could breathe new life into a political idea. It is called "Every Man", Ferdinand von Schirach wrote it, and it has revolutionary potential.” - DER SPIEGEL
“Who, if not him? (...) This media-shy artist is now calling for a new human rights agenda.” - Tagesanzeiger
“Ferdinand von Schiwachs' push for new EU fundamental rights has revolutionary potential. (…) Perhaps this is exactly the momentum that is so urgently needed in times of general disillusionment with politics.” - Profil
Rights sold to: Italy (Neri Pozza), Spain (FLASH)