Why doesn’t government work?
Is it the politicians, the civil servants, the political parties?
Or is it the system in which they all operate?
The Hidden Power goes behind the sporting spectacle of modern politicking to find the real villain.
This series of six podcasts, broadcast weekly from October 10th, provides both critique and answers.
Good government is entirely possible - but not in its current guise.
Hosted by Ed Straw, former chair of Demos - the cross-party think-tank on democracy, and producer Philip Tottenham.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Why doesn’t government work?
Is it the politicians, the civil servants, the political parties?
Or is it the system in which they all operate?
The Hidden Power goes behind the sporting spectacle of modern politicking to find the real villain.
This series of six podcasts, broadcast weekly from October 10th, provides both critique and answers.
Good government is entirely possible - but not in its current guise.
Hosted by Ed Straw, former chair of Demos - the cross-party think-tank on democracy, and producer Philip Tottenham.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We left off at the end of the last episode wondering what might make the Biosphere a compelling object for our attention; this in the context of the all-too-human reality of our challenges - the tragedy of the commons, the addiction system, the psychological imperative of avoidance.
In listening back over this episode, I'm reminded of two things: one, Edmund in King Lear - "Thou, Nature, art my Goddess!" And the other, Fidel Castro: if he was to go through the revolution again, he said, he would select just twelve highly committed comrades - echoing, no doubt, the twelve disciples of Christian mythology.
In this episode we start to feel our way into our relationship with the Biosphere. In particular Ed takes a cue from Lynne White, who argued in the 1960's that Western religion was a root cause of environmental degradation, but - controversial! - a religious way of thinking might be the way out.
Talking Points -
Context: the Tragedy of the Commons, the Addiction System, Avoidance etc
We are an emergent property: nature is an absolute, there's no escape
But the relationship has broken down. How can we restore it?
Lynne White and Environmental Ethics, Human Ecology and Beliefs
What is religion?
Was there a good idea behind Christianity?
Earth Mother as a mind-set
Purpose and fly-fishing on the Danube
Nature as a hedonistic giver
Biophilic design
What should we give to nature? The two way relationship
Biomes
Purpose and change in organisations
Links
Article on Lynne White in Nature:
Original (pdf):
https://www.cmu.ca/faculty/gmatties/lynnwhiterootsofcrisis.pdf
Jesus - a Buddhist Monk - YouTube/ BBC
Kindness is the opposite of stress (Dr. David R. Hamilton)
https://drdavidhamilton.com/kindness-is-the-opposite-of-stress/
And podcast
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/a-scientists-case-for-woo-woo/id1081584611?i=1000548804097-
Biophilic design -
Wikipedia -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biophilic_design
Video 8 mins- sound cuts out between 0:45 and 2:05, but still interesting:
Fly-fishing on the Danube (BBC):
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0015qj3/earths-great-rivers-ii-series-1-2-danube
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
