Read the best with F+: Endangered culture of debate and skyrocketing construction costs

Dear reader, where does the uneasiness come from when it comes to

?

Many women (and many men too) suspect that it is just a

.

Susanne Kusicke from our political editorial team wrote a comment about this, which has been read a lot this week and has been the subject of frequent comments: Shouldn't it be better to think about how to achieve concrete improvements for women (and others) rather than just in a symbolic field? , asks Kusicke.

Because that's what it's all about:

.

It is repeatedly implied that gendering will somehow improve the conditions and opportunities for women over time, but convincing evidence is lacking.

In essence, it is about a new type of discrimination, and not a positive one at that.

“As a result, women are repeatedly thrown back to being a woman, which they actually want to overcome through their social emancipation, at least from a social point of view.

They just wish that it would no longer matter that they are a woman, because that was exactly the reason why they were not allowed to do so many things in the past.

The truly universal, truly equal claim should therefore be: to be able to contribute to a society as a human being.

Anything else just splits.”

Carsten Knop

Editor.

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An interview that my colleague Mechthild Harting and I conducted with the

goes well with this.

In their view,

Ackermann calls on everyone to defend these values.

In her latest book, which was published this spring with the title "The New Spiral of Silence", she describes the development she has observed, according to which fewer and fewer people dare to say something "because it may not be completely politically correct".

Ackermann sees this development

and ultimately also democracy and the open society in the long term

.

In her own words: “I want to describe a social dynamic where people are less daring to say something because it may not be entirely politically correct.

Freedom of expression applies and of course exists.

But in the political discussion, in the social discourse, there has been an increasing pressure to conform for several years.

There's a lot of research that says freedom of political expression is coming under pressure as more and more people feel they need to be careful about expressing their opinions publicly.” Is there any truth to that?

We discussed it with Ackermann - and she with us.

High energy costs drive up

costs.

That's what Nils Köster says in an interview with Dyrk Scherff from our business editorial team.

Building contractor Köster also knows where savings can be made.

Construction costs have risen by an average of 17 percent over the past twelve months.

The main drivers are the

.

They make the production of building materials and the use of construction machinery more expensive due to higher diesel prices.

Incidentally, glass in particular will definitely become even more expensive, because its production is very energy-intensive.

But for Köster there are possibilities to take countermeasures: “By agreeing on

we can react to fluctuating prices.

We do this for partial work on the building that is only due a year or two after the start of construction, where the uncertainty about price developments is particularly high.”

You don't have to reinvent the wheel every time.

The individual design of the facade can still be retained.” Worth reading, not only for builders and those who still want to become one despite everything.

Thank you for your loyalty, by the way, there is another

.

On Tuesday evening, December 6th, starting at 7 p.m., he will deal with the Patricia Highsmith thriller "The Two Faces of January" - and then invite you to a discussion.

Here you will find everything you need to know.

And as always, if you have an F+ subscription and have any questions, please write to me: c.knop@faz.de

Greetings and a nice second advent

Yours sincerely, Carsten Knop

Publisher

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung