Music and Science with Prof. Becker in the Elbphilharmonie

The fact that science and music can form a harmonious whole was demonstrated in the lecture "Social Law and Social Policy in Transition" by Prof. Ulrich Becker, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy, in the Elbphilarmonie in Hamburg. Framed by the baroque pieces of Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach and Georg Philipp Telemann, Becker explored the challenges of a changing society for the welfare state, especially with regard to demographic shifts and the digitization of work. While the former puts pressure on benefit systems primarily financially, the latter requires innovative, transnational responses for new groups of workers. Following on from Telemann's suite "Burlesque de Quixcotte", he compared the restless fighter against windmills with the pension reformers and their constant efforts to keep the system stable and at the same time create a balance between the generations. With regard to the ongoing digitization, Becker reminded that a look back can also be helpful in solving new types of problems.
The series "Music and Science" is a cooperation between the Max Planck Society and the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra.