An End to Silver Linings or An Old Lesson for a New World
Recognizing that caring for the environment and dismantling racism are not silver linings but interconnected, interdependent goals in their own right is the first, beautiful step.
building resilient societies
When a Resilient Future Calls by to See if you Want to Come Out to Play
Now that these myths lie shattered, let us move on from here, the smell of fresh air in our nostrils, and build the future our dreams tell us is what we, and the world around us, deserves. And one that this time works for everyone, not just a select few…
Mayor McCheese & Modern Medicine: the Good & Bad of High Energy Modernity (Episode 23 of Crazy Town)
In this episode, Rob, Asher, and Jason ask themselves, “If High Energy Modernity is on the way out, what will we miss most, and what will we be glad to see go?” And they ponder appropriate technology and whether the digging stick is primed for a comeback.
Common Sense Redux
To state unequivocally, “These are revolutionary times!” is to recognize that the world is changing in ways that we would not necessarily choose; that it will change even if it goes against what we would otherwise choose; and that we can no longer choose to resist it.
Earth Day 50, Under Lockdown
Maybe the pandemic, along with the resulting temporary shuttering of travel and commerce, is an opportunity to rethink and reboot both our individual lives and our collective ways of being on this precious planet. That would make this Earth Day a truly meaningful occasion.
Covid Parties and Second Hand Smoke
Covid is giving us a golden opportunity to grow a bit more beyond “my way or the highway” – whichever side of whatever wall you are on. Hopefully this crisis will be like a teething ring, giving teeth to our ideal of liberty and justice for all.
Thomas Paine’s 1797 call for a Basic Income: a New Paper Tells the Full Story
If you know something about Basic Income, you may be aware that one of the first proposals for a Basic Income came from Thomas Paine, hero of the American and French revolutions.
The Coronation
For years, normality has been stretched nearly to its breaking point, a rope pulled tighter and tighter, waiting for a nip of the black swan’s beak to snap it in two. Now that the rope has snapped, do we tie its ends back together, or shall we undo its dangling braids still further, to see what we might weave from them?
Pandemic Armchair Philosophy Blog 04-15-2020
What better time to step back and consider alternatives, to review those hidden assumptions about success, happiness and work-life balance, and to do some of the deep thinking that philosophy is famously known and occasionally ridiculed[2] for?
Is COVID-19 a Collective Rite of Passage?
Many transitions in human cultures are marked by rites of passage, such as baptisms, weddings, even funerals. And, during those transitions there is a moment when those involved are neither what they were, nor what they will become.
No New Normal: Building the Commons
The etymology of “apocalypse” points to an “unveiling”, dropping illusion and finding revelation. As our global production systems and social institutions (eg. healthcare, education) are suddenly overwhelmed, their basic unsuitability is exposed.
Eight Emerging Lessons: From Coronavirus to Climate Action
The coronavirus crisis is prompting us to improvise new ways of collaborating and coordinating. Data-driven Awareness-Based Collective action (D-ABC) operates by attending to a situation together, and then adjusting one’s behavior accordingly.
