Lea Ypi: Benjamin Lecture 3 – What May I Hope?

In the framework of the Benjamin Lectures – and the associated Benjamin Chair at the Centre for Social Critique in Berlin – a distinguished philosopher is invited each year, to present the broader public with current debates on key social and political issues. In 2024, Lea Ypi served as Benjamin Chair. The lectures took place on the 19th, 20th, and 21st of June 2024 at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) in Berlin.

June 21st – What May I Hope?

In this third Benjamin lecture, Lea Ypi discusses what kind of political vision is needed to develop an alternative to capitalism. She defends a cosmopolitan socialist alternative that blends the critique of capitalism with a critique of nation states, and is guided by a concept of progress understood as learning from trials and failures of the past (including the failures of socialism in the 20th century). To this end, she defends a critical philosophy of history, and responds to some standard postcolonial and postmodern objections to her approach.

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In this video:

00:00 Intro Trailer
00:15 Welcome by Rahel Jaeggi
03:11 Third Benjamin Lecture by Lea Ypi
1:08:30 Q&A
1:41:32 Final thanks