Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
Much remains to be done if we’re to manage a leap toward real democracy—nevertheless, we’ve kept alive our prospects for achieving an ecologically livable future while fending off a host of power grabs by would-be autocrats.
We are on a perilous journey from a moribund past to…where? Although we cannot predict the itinerary or destination, we can imagine different directions.
Sustainability means living as nature lives. It means no depletion of the elements of the ecosystem humans have been treating as economic resources, and no waste. What we pursue is up that tree.
This fall’s elections are more important than anything that’s happening here at Sharm el Sheikh, I think—the one in Brazil last month, and the ones across America last week, and the one that could come in Georgia early next month.
The project of direct democracy, of which reason and rational deliberation are an inseparable part, has to be made appealing and desirable for a growing amount of people.
Overall the plan of action should be the same: empowering localized economies and grassroots organizations as a way to mitigate resource overuse and move toward an ecological civilization. Any model that begins from the proposition that consumption patterns can remain unchanged is a nonstarter.
Do you really want to know the truth; are you really willing to let it in, to be changed by it? My hope is to demonstrate that the answer must, simply must, be: Yes.
Per Espen Stoknes is a psychologist with a PhD in economics, a TED Global speaker, and also serves as the director of Centre for Green Growth at the Norwegian Business School. He answers the question of “What Could Possibly Go Right?”
Even without knowing the final outcomes, the focus shifts to the halls of Congress and state legislatures, as well as to the White House and executive mansions around the nation. What it all means for US climate policy is an unfolding story.
The main story, to me, is that the deep polarization pattern continues to stymie our political system.
After I lost my home, I realised we can’t rely on politicians. Communities must act to protect their future.
By moving beyond binaries and incorporating the worldviews of previously marginalized voices, we can co-create shared visions of the future rooted in regenerative justice.
