ABSTRACT
The Unknown Society, or Die neue Unubersichtlichkeit, as Habermas called it in his speech to the Spanish parliament. Plurality is a recurrent theme in political discourse precisely because it is inherent in political life. Plurality—differences between people who deal with each other—is what politics is concerned with. Plurality is valued also because it makes for vitality and resilience. Plurality provides flexibility, facilitates adaptation, and offers the possibility of generating alternatives that may prove indispensable under changed circumstances. In today's society, which we may call postmodern, late-modern, or The Unknown Society—the label is of minor importance—plurality has a different place and form than it had in the modern industrial society of the 1950s. For purposes of citizenship, many conceptualizations of plurality start at too high a level—that is, at the level of the group rather than of the individual. Everyone knows that plurality—confrontation with surprising or disturbing differences with other people—arouses emotions.
