Our society is facing unique challenges in these times of globalization. The mass unemployment that has come about over the past three decades is excluding more and more people and is leading to an accelerated erosion of the foundation on which the German welfare state is based. Demographic change is pushing costs up and at the same time reducing sources of income for social security. A people's belief that things will be better in the future, is being pitted against a growing pessimism about the future. There are still too few people who can imagine the opportunities that this crisis presents. In this context, what could a new and encouraging sociopolitical orientation consist of?