Do you have to occupy the centre to secure the power? Or is it rather the place where the greatest danger threatens, namely from all sides? Does a strong center hinder the progress of history? What exactly does "middle" mean? Why has it become the key political term? And to what extent is it related to the virtue of measuring?
Herfried Münkler shows how the ideas of middle and measure developed together, from antiquity to the present: from Aristotle to the greed debate of our days, from the self-understanding of China as a "empire of the middle" to the German Empire as a "middle power", from the medieval city, whose centre is marked by church tower and town hall. to the shrshrin Middle class in 21st century societies. This creates a multifaceted picture of the combination of middle and measure that permeates our culture in such a special way.
The question, which is, as it were, the vanishing point of all considerations worries: is the "middle of society" so vividly summoned because it is in danger of disappearing? And if so, what takes its place? A book that confidently combines historical analysis, present diagnosis and future forecasting.
