In the seven observations & reflections below I offer some of my own initial sensemaking as part of a broader conversation happening now. These points reflect my own experiences from a viewpoint of awareness-based systems change: the idea that for deep change to happen, we need to focus not only on the social systems “above the ground”, but also on the deeper conditions of social soil.
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Nov
04
2024
The disturbing power of information pollution
by Michael P. Lynch in MIT Press…When we’re lulled into giving up on truth, we give up on critical thought — even dissent itself.
Sep
16
2024
Global trends are polarizing us: Can democracy handle it?
by Richard Heinberg in resilience.org….Today the world faces historically unique stresses that are likely to be increasingly polarizing for many societies. These...
Aug
12
2024
Chartbook 307 To live or not to live with polycrisis: The USA, Mexico and the need for a regional policy in Central America and the Caribbean.
by Adam Tooze in Chartbook…What is needed is not more border controls and militarized policing, but a pooling of governmental resources amongst the stronger...
Jan
29
2024
Disinformation poses an unprecedented threat in 2024 — and the U.S. is less ready than ever
by Brandy Zadrozny in NBC News…The U.S. presidential election comes at a time of ideal circumstances for disinformation and the people who spread it.
Oct
10
2023
Arundhati Roy: The dismantling of democracy in India will affect the whole world
Millions live on subsistence rations delivered in packets with Modi’s face printed on them. India is a very rich country with very poor people. One of the most unequal...
Jun
09
2023
Chartbook 218: “So far from god” … friend-shoring and the debate in Washington over whether to bomb Mexico.
by Adam Tooze in Chartbook….Proximity brings safety and harmony only if you have sorted out your neighborly relations. That is far from being the case between...
May
26
2023
Beyond growth: speech by President Ursula von der Leyen
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, delivered this speech during the opening plenary of the Beyond Growth conference
May
22
2023
The second phase of the Biden presidency
By David Brooks, The New York Times…f you ask me now what the Biden administration is for, my answer would be different. Today, its main purpose is to prepare the...
Apr
12
2023
The man who leaked the pentagon papers is scared
Daniel Ellsberg, now 91, says “I’m leaving a world in terrible shape and terrible in all ways that I’ve tried to help make better during my...
Feb
08
2023
Davos man must pay
The World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, has always been more than a little problematic. But in recent years, the annual gathering of the rich...