In 2075, beautiful people undergo ugly surgery: “Envy is a big problem in Germany.”

How unfair is beauty—and how dangerous are its enemies? Rainer Zitelmann on his dystopian novel and the resentment of the masses. An interview.
Dr. Dr. Rainer Zitelmann in an interview about his first novel: “2027. When Beauty Becomes a Crime.” PhotoAlto
Beauty has never been insignificant. Never irrelevant. It has launched careers, shaped societies, and quietly acts as an invisible architect of social order. It is both a promise and a judgment—a social currency whose value shifts but whose power remains. In an age when equality is elevated to the highest value, beauty is offensive. Because it is unfair. It favors, divides, seduces.

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Berliner-zeitung