The Hidden Power (Ed Straw and Philip Tottenham)
Explore every episode of The Hidden Power
| Pub. Date | Title | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 Sep 2020 | New Podcast: The Hidden Power | 00:03:14 | |
New release date - Saturday October 10th - Episode 1, Ed Straw on the Hidden Power. We live in confusing times - and a lot of that confusion is about where power lies. With Ed Straw, former chair of Demos and consultant to government, & Philip Tottenham. In 2017 the UN, the WHO and the OECD all called for the use of Systems Thinking to deal with highly complex problems. But what does that mean? In Series 1 "Proof of Concept" we explore power - power in terms traditional ideas about it, and in terms of beneficial impact on the ground - and hear from people thinking and operating at the leading edge of where beneficial impact is taking place. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 10 Oct 2020 | Where is the Power? With Ed Straw | 00:41:24 | |
This episode introduces the experience and current thinking of my co-presenter, Ed Straw. We talk about his journey from being an engineering graduate to consulting at the heart of Westminster, how he encountered power and the confusion surrounding it. Then we get into his current thinking - he’s now a research fellow at the Open University’s Applied Systems Thinking in Practice Group, and has found in Systems Thinking many effective responses to issues that have plagued governments down the decades. Ed Straw: The (full podcast!) story of General Motors' collaboration with Toyota is a great rehearsal of how systemic change can work, and the relevant challenges: https://www.thisamericanlife.org/561/nummi-2015 W. Edwards Demming, genius behind Japanese revolution in manufacturing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Edwards_Deming and that revolution: Relevance of Drawing the Boundary to Systems Thinking: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boundary_critique The Compassionate Frome Project: DAD and EDD: http://www.edstraw.com/new-public-service-management-from-dad-to-edd/ Ed's story, told in more length and depth on Survival of the Kindest: Real world example in Australia: https://johnmenadue.com/cock-ups-conspiracies-or-system-failures/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 17 Oct 2020 | Progress in the Field of Child Protection with Eileen Munro | 00:17:28 | |
Professor Eileen Munro turned decades of inadequate child protection on its head with one simple question: are we helping or hindering the front line? In this episode, she reflects on the successes - and revealing failures - of her review into child protection. Eileen covers a lot of ground in a short space of time. It is fascinating. Talking points:
In our commentary Ed and I pick up on these and other points, specifically the governmental conditions that allowed for success, and especially: leaders believing they have grasped the systemic nature of necessary change, when in reality they haven’t. What to do? Find out in this concentrated and stimulating episode. The Munro Review into Child Protection: Eileen Munro: LSE https://www.lse.ac.uk/social-policy/people/Emeritus-Visiting/Professor-Eileen-Munro The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/profile/eileen-munro Detail on what child protection actually entails (podcast) (listener alert - not for the feint-hearted): https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07ffxtr Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 24 Oct 2020 | Authorising Change at Ground Level with Julian Corner | 00:27:10 | |
Where is the power? Julian Corner used a process of local ‘action enquiry' to bring about effective social change. This in places where, as he puts it, a system of ‘care' is effectively a system of oppression - siloed, systematised, and more focussed on privileging its own rules than on the value of human care. In this episode he talks about these challenges, and how this ‘action enquiry' model has allowed them to ask bigger, harder questions, or as he says "to navigate the uncertainty, to reveal what there is to be revealed, to adapt strategies - to connect new things together" - and, crucially, to create a community of fellow enquirers. Improvement flows from the enquiry: to learn is to change. As Ed points out in our discussion, we all have the opportunity, when the system of governance isn’t working for us, to set up alternatives. "These institutions are essentially inventions of the mind," he says, "and they always need to be refreshed... deconstructed, and reconstructed." About Julian Corner: https://lankellychase.org.uk/person/julian-corner/ First person view of what “complex problems” actually amounts to - George the Poet - episode 1 is pretty inspiring, also the episode on the Grenfell Tower tragedy: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p07mk7cx Robert (Not John!) Peel’s Principles - No. 7: “To maintain at all times a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and that the public are the police, the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence.” Full article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peelian_principles#Sir_Robert_Peel's_principlesNa General discussion of national service: https://www.europeanceo.com/finance/redrafting-national-service-policy/ Reintroduction of national service in France: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/06/france-is-bringing-back-national-service/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 31 Oct 2020 | Governance and Cyberspace | 00:30:16 | |
John Naughton, tech columnist at The Observer Newspaper, talks about that great Wild West of our time - Cyberspace. From its roots in “permissionless innovation” to the staggering dominance of a very small number of companies over most aspects of our lives, he surveys the absence of governance, and how two effective sovereigns - Apple and Google - have appropriated powers normally associated with sovereign powers of territorial control. In our discussion Ed and I pick up on the de-globalisation of the internet, the digital divide and on surveillance capitalism - and while it turns out these problems are not new, the perennial importance of Truth to our Age of Enlightenment once again comes to the fore. Talking points:
Most of our main challenges are bewilderingly complex, and they will never be solved through adversarial two-line posts. But they might well be mitigated by inclusive, deliberative conversations. John Naughton: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Naughton John Naughton in the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/series/networker Article we were discussing: Google’s dominance in search, as a graph that is well worth a view: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/this-chart-reveals-googles-true-dominance-over-the-web/ Tech and truth - mainstream media turns out to be the biggest amplifier of White House disinformation: These problems are not new (1984 interview): https://billmoyers.com/content/30-second-president/ BILL MOYERS: What I see and hear deals more with the emotions than what I read. TONY SCHWARTZ: That’s right. We are in the business of using PR in a new manner, not in the old print terms of press relations. We are using PR as people’s reactions, personal retrieval of your feelings and associations. PR — people’s recall, of their experiences. PR — planning reactions. That’s our whole new business. It’s a PR business, planning reactions. BILL MOYERS: But isn’t it manipulating people to in effect tell them what they’re feeling instead of telling them what they need to know to vote? TONY SCHWARTZ: I use the word not manipulation, I say partipulation. BILL MOYERS: Partipulation? TONY SCHWARTZ: You have to participate in your own manipulation. In that, you’re bringing things to your manipulation. If you don’t want to participate in it, you could turn off the commercial. You could tune it out. But there are things that get into you. And that’s the participation. The global network of local internets is a step closer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-53686390 Podcast - Facial recognition and racial profiling - cautionary tale: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-daily/id1200361736?i=1000486946788 A spelling out of the substance and scope of surveillance capitalism (Alexander Nix/Cambridge Analytica): Google in China article (MIT): https://www.technologyreview.com/2018/12/19/138307/how-google-took-on-china-and-lost/ China’s AI Surveillance State goes global: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/09/china-ai-surveillance/614197/ Podcast - More on Cyberspace and Governance - Preet Bharara (NY state prosecutor dismissed by Donald Trump after refusing to resign) talks to John Carlin, the US Justice Department’s former head of the National Security Division: https://omny.fm/shows/stay-tuned-with-preet/introducing-cyber-space-with-john-carlin The world is awash with bullshit: Film - The Social Dilemma: https://www.thesocialdilemma.com https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Social_Dilemma Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 07 Nov 2020 | The Sense of Powerlessness at the Heart of Leadership with Dr. Piret Toñurist | 00:35:31 | |
Dr Piret Toñurist, Systems Thinking lead at the OECD's Observatory for Public Sector Innovation talks about the sense of powerlessness at the heart of leadership. She discusses how the pandemic has offered an opportunity for change, and what transformation looks like. She characterises systems thinking as a neutral zone where the ideology of what has to be done doesn’t exist. Themed on this question of power, our discussion looks at what power is, really, when it comes to the granular detail. Talking Points - Connecting knowing and doing - The end-state fallacy, manifestos and political experiments - Politics as a rash - From where does innovation in schools come? Dr. Piret Tōnurist at the OECD’s Observatory for Public Sector Innovation: https://oecd-opsi.org/about-observatory-of-public-sector-innovation/ Articles: https://oecd-opsi.org/author/piret/ …at TalTach: “Wicked” Problems: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicked_problem End-state fallacy: https://www.csis.org/analysis/end-state-fallacy-setting-wrong-goals-war-fighting Toxteth Housing project: Welsh Streets, Liverpool: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_Streets,_Liverpool Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 14 Nov 2020 | Post-Crash Analysis and Preflight Checklist | 00:25:05 | |
For this final episode of series 1, I wanted to build on Buckminster Fuller's idea of our planet - our habitat and life-support system - as being like a spaceship - Spaceship Earth, as he calls it - and building on this idea to use two related models for our discussion: the post-crash analysis and the preflight checklist First we look at the globally used post-crash analysis as a model for investigating governance - "It's important that they are not looking to blame someone," Ed says. Then we get onto Ed's Preflight checklist - essentially a renewal of our global social contracts, or constitutions, as they are known, that would take into account the conditions necessary for our survival. Finally we hear from Gerald Midgley, philosopher on human systems and founding father of systems thinking as an intentional discipline, spelling out with some excitement the impact of what in many respects has been his life's work. Gerald Midgley: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_Midgley https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_systems_thinking Ed’s preflight checklist for planet Earth: https://www.edstraw.com/principles-for-systemic-governing/ Eileen Munro (Episode 2 Contributor) advocating post crash analysis model to address culture of blame in child protection: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/nov/03/serious-case-review-child-protection On checklists - great article overall, if you want to cut straight to flying fortress story go about 1/4 of the way in, paragraph opening “On October 30, 1935, at Wright Air Field in Dayton, Ohio…” https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/12/10/the-checklist On October 30, 1935, at Wright Air Field in Dayton, Ohio, the U.S. Army Air Corps held a flight competition for airplane manufacturers vying to build its next-generation long-range bomber. It wasn’t supposed to be much of a competition. In early evaluations, the Boeing Corporation’s gleaming aluminum-alloy Model 299 had trounced the designs of Martin and Douglas. Boeing’s plane could carry five times as many bombs as the Army had requested; it could fly faster than previous bombers, and almost twice as far. A Seattle newspaperman who had glimpsed the plane called it the “flying fortress,” and the name stuck. The flight “competition,” according to the military historian Phillip Meilinger, was regarded as a mere formality. The Army planned to order at least sixty-five of the aircraft. On the Psychology of Military Incompetence https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Psychology_of_Military_Incompetence 9 Lessons from the Blue Zones: Thoughts on Purpose: Listen to Why Cornel West is hopeful (but not optimistic) from Future Perfect on Apple Podcasts. https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/future-perfect/id1438157174?i=1000486452652 Welcome to the Anthropocene: https://vimeo.com/anthropocene/shortfilm Perspective, via some very interesting maps: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 21 Nov 2020 | Special Episode: The Doomed Career of Dominic | 00:28:34 | |
Special episode on the Doomed Career of Dominic Cummings. Dominic Cummings has been seen as a controversial and divisive figure, but as with so many people at the political extremes, significant parts of his analysis can be agreed upon by disparate factions across the political spectrum. In this special episode we unpick the good and the less good from this lauded and demonised character, assess the reality he found himself confronted with and also assess where he went wrong. His intent to improve significantly the capacity of central government to produce meaningful change throughout Britain has been felt by many past radicals in and around no 10. And we have the unexpected good fortune to have a co-presenter - Ed Straw - who has been deeply involved in an attempt to achieve the same aims as Dominic Cummings - civil service reform. And who can spell out in clear terms why, regardless of his wit, intelligence and muscle, he was never going to succeed in reforming the government machine. Why does the Civil Service need reform? What might be the best way to achieve it? Why was Cummings’ attempt more on less doomed from the outset? Indeed, why have all 5 attempts, over 5 decades, at civil service reform - failed? Is this a symptom of something else? Find out in this hastily assembled episode, dense with anecdote, comparison and analysis. Links: The actual control room - Chile 1973: “Cybersyn", no doubt an inspiration for James Bond films. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Cybersyn Stafford Beer “The Godfather of systems thinking” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stafford_Beer Salvador Allende, Communist president of Chile https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidency_of_Salvador_Allende Article by Ed as accompaniment to this podcast https://www.edstraw.com/four-lessons-of-civil-service-reform/ The Economist is on side: https://www.economist.com/leaders/2020/11/19/remaking-the-british-state Ed’s 2004 report, adopted by Tony Blair - The Dead Generalist: https://www.demos.co.uk/files/TheDeadGeneralist.pdf Peter Hennessy, leading constitutional historian https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Hennessy The Thick of It - Available on Netflix, or here are some "deleted scenes”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=im_KryFuPeg Yes Prime Minister - also on Netflix, I think - On The State of Education: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeF_o1Ss1NQ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 30 Jan 2021 | Series 2 Preflight Checklist - Introduction | 00:21:53 | |
Welcome to The Hidden Power Podcast, Series 2 - Pre-flight Checklist, where we - Ed Straw, and Philip Tottenham - examine conditions necessary for a comfortable and flourishing life on Spaceship Earth, on the far side of the current climate emergency. In this nice, concise episode we revisit and draw some of the connections from series one - governance, systems thinking - and explore how, through this medium of a constitution, or "preflight checklist," as we frame it, we can alleviate some of of the pressures we face, and enhance the joys of the apparently unique paradise we find ourselves living on. Listeners have expressed how much they enjoyed series 1, but still were not clear about what we mean when we talk about systems thinking - so we also try to frame this complex but powerful subject in simple terms. Any questions or comments? Please email us at thehiddenpowerpodcast@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 05 Feb 2021 | Check 1 - Biosphere and People: The Biophysical World | 00:21:38 | |
The first and fundamental principle of this series - and indeed this entire way of looking at things - reflects the unseen, creeping processes causing catastrophic climate change. Why do we need this? How are we to think about it? What can we do? Talking points:
There are so many links relating to this topic, it's hard to know where to start - but to get a global view on an array of challenges on the horizon, it's hard to beat Earthtime, an open source mapping project which allows you to view other people's stories, or play around with available data yourself: New economic model: https://time.com/5930093/amsterdam-doughnut-economics/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 13 Feb 2021 | Check 2 - Biosphere and People: People and Constitutional Sovereignty | 00:31:04 | |
Not all players convey links - find us on Acast if this text is not clear. Sovereignty - we've heard a lot in the UK about both sovereignty, and "taking back control" - but this taking back of control in the context of leaving the EU has so far barely extended to us as citizens. Why and how is the current UK system so paternalistic? What are the roots of the widespread and long-standing political apathy in the UK? What alternative models can we look to for inspiration? In this episode we examine how the UK's First Past The Post system creates, not least in Boris Johnson, but also Tony Blair and Margaret Thatcher, rulers that are effectively sovereign monarchs, and a citizenry of disempowered subject-consumers. And we explore what it would take for us to assert our sovereignty more effectively. Talking points:
Bonus Links: Sovereignty boffin and Brexit campaigner Claire Fox celebrates the engaging effect that the UK's leaving the EU has had on democratic participation in the UK, and that this is only the beginning - neatly illustrating that for some, Brexit is a gift that keeps on giving, even if for others it is a night - long, dark, damp, and cold - with no promise of morning. Brrr. Pioneering paediatrician and psychotherapist of family systems D.W. Winnicott's 1949 essay exploring the question of maturity in individuals and society, strongly anticipating themes of systems thinking. From the In Our Time History Archive - now pieces of history in themselves: Long history of psychoanalysis and democracy (2002) Thoughts on the Nation State (1999) - prescient and rather Brexity in retrospect. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 20 Feb 2021 | Check 3 - Biosphere and People: The Rule of Law | 00:24:32 | |
Anyone following current affairs will see how the rule of law is often stretched to its limit by autocratic leaders seeking to either evade it or bend it to their will - and while this has come to the foreground in the US and UK since 2016, it is a long-running theme in many parts of the world. However the rule of law is not only about holding the powerful to account, it's also about a fundamental feature of life under a functioning government - personal safety. In this episode we delve into how it has emerged as a principle that requires clear articulation, what difference it makes and where we see versions of it in action. Talking points:
Great Wikipedia article on the subject: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_law Stanford SU discussion on rule of law in Hayek: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/rule-of-law/#Haye The late Lord Bingham, who posthumously won the Orwell Prize for literature with his book The Rule of Law, speaks at the RSA in 2010: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlMCCGD2TeM No busted pluggers - Aussies make it easy to follow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0R20U9zkMmg French TV series, Spiral, on BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0072wk9 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 27 Feb 2021 | Check 4 - Biosphere and People: A Constitutional Court | 00:32:03 | |
Its decisions are binding. Just because we don't live in a perfect world doesn't mean we can't improve things. If events surrounding the death of Ruth Bader Gainsburg in September 2020 left you despairing at the US Supreme Court, perhaps the Supreme Court of the UK's blocking of Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings' attempted prorogation of parliament gave you hope. However a constitutional court is concerned with interpretation of the constitution into law, not law as such. And as such, it requires a degree of specialism. Talking points -
1 in 73 Million - tragic ignorance and Sally Clark Not for the feint hearted - but if you want an epic survey of how our reality is constructed and why, have a look at Adam Curtis' series Can't Get You Out Of My Head Republic of South Africa - Court Youtube Channel Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 06 Mar 2021 | Check 5 - Biosphere and People: Diversity | 00:24:28 | |
All lifestyles are accepted – within the constraint of not harming others or the biosphere. Rather than restate what we have been hearing, our focus here is on the logic of diversity from a governance standpoint - why blind-spots are self-destructive and the embrace of diversity is so enriching. Talking points:
Pluralism as a political philosophy Ibn Khaldun - Berbers and the Maghreb (14th C! Not 10th;) Successful prison experiment in Norway Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 13 Mar 2021 | Check 6 - Biosphere and People: The Commons | 00:32:22 | |
...as to what is in and what is out of the Commons, ie - what is commonly held. Is this about property, or value generation? These simplifications mask the vastness and complexity of human life, and in this episode we explore where common ownership might be effective, and what it takes to make it work. List of Talking Points: What is the commons? The Tragedy of the Commons ...as it relates to the Biosphere Enclosure ...and the commodification of the individual ...and monopolies ...and rent paying Types of commons Eleanor Ostrom's design principles ...examples around the world Other commons to consider: air, open source software, drugs Commons forms as generating more value local park problem traced to governance and taxation model ...and federalism regarding cities etc Commons as a means of citizen engagement Local action linked to wider system can bring about political progress Evolved definition of Commons: resource + community + set of social protocols Extra-monetary value derived from commons ...vs consumerism Commons thinking and global resource conflicts Thinking forward to the next set of episodes: Democracy and Subsidiarity Links: Commons Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commons Enclosure Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enclosure Tragedy of the Commons on Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons Eleanor Ostrom's design principles - wikipedia: ...youtube (2 parts) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEcMLEwaltc plus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTQPy9tC5WE Great David Boiller exploration of commons enhancing city life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3itmhDuem8 3000 year old Persian Qanats and Kariz on Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_water_sources_of_Persian_antiquity#Qanat_and_Kariz Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 20 Mar 2021 | Check 7 - Democracy and Subsidiarity: Elections | 00:33:20 | |
It may seem like a trivial point, that elections should be representative - are they not already? Well they may appear to be - but they're not, really, in the UK. Boris Johnson's government took power with less than one third of the electorate. So two-thirds of voters would have preferred not to have the Conservatives in power. But this is nothing in comparison to the take-over of the Conservative party by a group who are in many ways extremists, who slipped in under the banner of Getting Brexit Done. So very far from being representative of electorate, the system we have has resulted in a wealthy, powerful and power-hungry minority taking control. In this episode we trace the destructive effects of our system of First Past The Post, and explore some systems of Proportional Representation, and the benefits they bring. Talking points: Democracy and Subsidiarity in the context of Biosphere and People, as sub-series of this podcast The current set-up in the UK: First Past the Post as a distortion field Destructive effects of First Past The Post Who does it serve? Politics is an accumulator: hinterland of previous laws Vulnerability to media manipulation: Rupert Murdoch Preferential lobbying: the need for limited and proportional party funding Proportional representation Why the political extremes should be included Varieties of proportional representation - Party List, Additional Member, Single Transferable Vote Electoral boundaries, gerrymandering and the need for extra-governmental boundary setting Analogy with voter registration Benefits of proportional representation - fairness, diversity, consensus Analysis of dysfunction in Italian politics as a counter-example Positive effects of Proportional Representation in Switzerland Links: Why do Italy’s governments keep collapsing? BBC Inquiry Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-inquiry/id932499233?i=1000513494631 A case in point: the food critic behind Italy's deadliest terrorist attack - Times Stories Of Our Times Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/stories-of-our-times/id1501716010 More and Less Represented: James Meek (2019) in the LRB on Leavers and Remainers: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v41/n20/james-meek/the-dreamings-of-dominic-cummings Electoral Reform Society on varieties of election system: https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/voting-systems/types-of-voting-system/ Make Votes Matter on 3 types of Proportional Representation: https://www.makevotesmatter.org.uk/proportional-representation Get proportional representation working in the UK: https://www.makevotesmatter.org.uk/join-the-movement Ed's recent 4-part series of articles on Preferential Lobbying: 1 https://johnmenadue.com/preferential-lobbying-the-rich-get-richer-the-poor-get-poorer-part-1-of-4/ 2 https://johnmenadue.com/preferential-lobbying-money-talks-loudly-part-2-of-4/ 3 4 https://johnmenadue.com/preferential-lobbying-a-scourge-on-our-democracy-part-4-of-4/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 27 Mar 2021 | Check 8 - Democracy and Subsidiarity: Deliberative Democracy | 00:32:43 | |
A right to deliberative referenda shall exist; specific issues shall be resolved through Engage–Deliberate–Decide. How are decisions made? If we cast our minds back, not just to Priti Patel's "Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts" Bill, but to numerous policies including Grenfell Tower fire cladding and the Poll Tax - we see a pattern: Decide, Announce, Defend - or DAD. And the result is, in many, many cases, a mess. Why so? Or, more to the point - is there a better way? Very much so, there is a better way - and in this episode we explore deliberative democracy on a national level in Canada and Ireland, as well as on a local level in Somerset, England. Talking points: Decide Announce Defend in the prevailing culture Thought - or the lack of it - at the centre Continual reform as an outcome and reality "Democracy" in the UK electoral cycle Who's decision is it? Dysfunction in centralised decision-making in the Blair government: (Progress and regress in family breakdown) Levels of deliberative democracy: Engage, Deliberate, Decide ...in the health service in Canada ...under austerity in a Somerset library UK ...in a village in Wales James Fishkin: better outcomes of deliberative democracy Social purpose, and the "Blue zones" Principles on why it works ...Fintan O'Toole (Irish Abortion Referendum) ...Professor Julia Lynch (politics of inequality) Links: From DAD to EDD - The Tinmouth Tiff (Article): https://www.edstraw.com/new-public-service-management-from-dad-to-edd/See The Hidden Power Episode 1, (Podcast - Go to 34'40"): https://www.edstraw.com/the-hidden-power-podcast-ep-1-where-is-the-power/ Priti Patel and the Police, Crime Sentencing and Courts Bill https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police,_Crime James Fishkin, Godfather of Deliberative Democracy (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_S._Fishkin Fintan O'Toole on the successes of the Irish Abortion Referendum (The Guardian): Professor Julia Lynch at the LSE (Facebook video): https://www.facebook.com/lseps/videos/1008977266175627 Stein Ringen gives a 10-min animated précis on his book The Economic Consequences of Mr Brown (Youtube), a stinging rebuke of the system of government in the UK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHcfNy1_zqA Overview of participatory democracy (webinar (1hr+), text) https://www.publicdeliberation.net/the-contours-of-participatory-democracy-in-the-21st-century/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 03 Apr 2021 | Check 9 - Democracy and Subsidiarity: Subsidiarity | 00:30:29 | |
Central government only undertakes tasks or makes decisions which localities cannot or which require uniform regulation. The gravitational pull of power to the centre is one of the things designers of the German constitution had in mind at the end of the Second World War. Germany had a certain fundamental and rather paradoxical advantage the UK lacks - they were defeated, along with Japan, and so their institutions were largely dissolved and reinvented in such a way as to avoid the accretion of power at the centre. This is a version of this week's topic - Subsidiarity - and we look at the German model in depth, and why it has been so successful. Talking points: Historic backdrop of Subsidiarity We need to reinvent local democracy Executive mayor in Tubingen and the pandemic How that looks in other countries Trust in government and optimal population (+/- 5 Million) Advantages of principle of subsidiarity Hazards of disempowerment Uniform regulation and local implementation in Germany Ashby's Law of Requisite Variety and subsidiarity ...and child protection Regional power, policy experimentation and learning Links: Good 2 min overview of Subsidiarity (youtube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GD0moAiq22k Troves of info on Wikipedia: Subsidiarity in general: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subsidiarity ...and the Catholic Church: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subsidiarity_(Catholicism) Pope Pius XI's Quadragesimo anno: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadragesimo_anno Great conversation on Local Government in the UK (youtube, 10 min): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RO8c1Iy1VWE Successes in the fight against Covid - (Panorama/ BBC iplayer): https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000thry/panorama-covid-who-got-it-right (Story about Tubingen 42:00 minutes in) A new kind of democracy in Yorkshire (article): https://www.shaping-community.co.uk In depth archive on German law: https://germanlawarchive.iuscomp.org/?p=380 ...and a top-line view on Wikipedia: https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_government_in_Germany Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 10 Apr 2021 | Check 10 - 4th Separation of Powers - Feedback | 00:35:48 | |
"A fourth separation of powers shall be incorporated in every system of government for the independent feedback of results through a Resulture or Feedback Branch of Government." You might imagine that for all the debate at the heart of government, there might be some function to check up on the outcomes of these debates. And in some cases there is. In many, even in most cases - nothing. Maybe a profit and loss account to show value for money - but with regards to the actual purpose of all the laws and policies and programmes, answering the question of whether they have achieved their aims - there is no structure in place to make sure this happens, and so mostly they become atrophy and waste, pointlessly clogging up the system and pointlessly exhausting tax-payer's money. Would a business survive these conditions? In this episode we start with Montesquieu's idea of checks and balances behind the separation of powers, explore its reality in the UK's political system, and think about what effective feedback might mean for this system. Talking points: The Separation of powers from Montesquieu The centralised nature of these powers and opportunities to respond Systems Thinking, Cybernetics: responding to reality The political class - unaccountable and uninformed Wastage Business as a model for government and its limits Feedback on Social Purpose Myths and perceived credibility about the centre Broadband now and the 1984 privatisation of BT Cybernetic feedback as non-political: Something just happens. Law-making - spectacle vs value Messianic transformation vs gradual improvement Diversity of perspective, Design Authorities and purpose - safety, reliability and performance Failure enquiries - no politics, no blaming and the origins in the Victorian rail system ...and the Global Financial Crisis A mechanism to take feedback decisions out of politics The contradiction at the heart of politics Existing feedback institutions, their limits and potential Abandonment powers for laws that don't work The cost would be a fraction of the benefit The building of a body of knowledge about specific circumstances Links: The god-like power of the feedback loop (1 hr BBC 4 film of Jim Al Khalili on The Secret Life of Chaos): https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xv1j0n Mathematics, complex systems and small changes (5 minute clip from above): https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0060b2c On the separation of powers: origins in Montesquieu and Aristotle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_of_powers In Our Time - Montesquieu (podcast - 50 mins) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b5qnfx List of supreme audit institutions : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_audit_institution UK’s National Audit Office: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Audit_Office_(United_Kingdom) Reading List: Schumpeter, Joseph (1976) Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy, George Allen and Unwin Drucker, Peter (Number 14, Winter 1969) The Sickness of Government, The Public Interest Friedman, Mark (2005) Trying Hard Is Not Good Enough: How to Produce Measurable Improvements for Customers and Communities, Fiscal Policy Studies Institute Straw, E. 2014. Stand & Deliver: A Design for Successful Government. London: Treaty for Government. Fazey, I. Schäpke, N., Caniglia, G., Patterson, J., Hultman, J., Van Mierlo, B., Säwe F., et al. 2018. Ten essentials for action-oriented and second order energy transitions, transformations and climate change research. Energy Research & Social Science 40: 54–70. Schwartz, D. 2017. The Last Man Who Knew Everything: The Life and Times of Enrico Fermi, Father of the Nuclear Age. New York: Basic Books. Furubo, Jan-Eric and Nicoletta Stame, eds. 2018. The Evaluation Enterprise: A Critical View. Aldershot: Routledge. Guilfoyle, Simon. 2016. Kittens Are Evil: Little Heresies in Public Policy. Axminster: Triarchy Press. Nyhan, B. and J. Reif ler. 2018. The roles of information deficits and identity threat in the prevalence of misperceptions. Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties: 1–23. Rosling, Hans with O.Rosling and A. Rosling Ronnlund. 2018. Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong about the World – And Why Things Are Better Than You Think. New York: Flatiron Books Forss K, Marra, M., and Schwartz, R., eds. 2011. Evaluating the Complex: Attribution, Contribution and Beyond. Comparative Policy Evaluation, New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers. Extract 1: PROGRESS is a radically different model of school accountability. It explores what might be learned from the history of Antidote – an organisation set up to foster more emotionally supportive school environments – to inform the development of such a model. It starts with pupil, staff, and parent surveys to describe their experience of the school, using the data that emerges to have conversations with each other to develop an explanation about what it means and a strategy for improvement. Every school should engage in this sort of process every year. League tables of public examination results are too blunt an instrument, and unlike the PROGRESS process do not stimulate solutions as well as highlight problems. Independent surveying and confidential reporting averts the syndrome of the untouchable but largely ineffective head teacher. All government agencies should find out how their stakeholders experience them and be held to account for responding to the findings. Board members would then have the judgment of the people and organisations they are there for and not airbrushed data from management in the annual review. - 22 Park, James. 2018. Turning the tide on ‘coercive autonomy’: Learning from the antidote story. Forum 60(3): 387–396. http: //doi .org/ 10.15 730/f orum. 2018. 60.3. 387. Extract 2: Rework was the term used in manufacturing for all the parts of an assembly not made to specification, which post quality control were then sent back for further machining to get right. The cost in time, money and organisational complexity was high. This was a bane of ‘old world’ engineering and led to the demise of much of the West’s manufacturing industry. Starting with the automotive industry, Japanese companies revolutionised the process with ‘zero defects’, ‘right first time’ and similarly purposeful intentions. Today, either a company’s manufacturing is world class or it’s not in business. These attitudinal changes, translated into practice, are at the heart of this book - Laing, T., Sato, M., Grubb, M., and Comberti, C. 2013. Assessing the Effectiveness of the EU Emissions Trading System. Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy Working Paper 126. London: Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 17 Apr 2021 | Check 11 - 4th Separation of Powers - Statutory Duties | 00:28:33 | |
Statutory duties for the behaviour of politicians and officials at work, including the duty of straight speak, shall be set. If you stopped, for even a second, to wonder what might increase trust in government, or any governance, you might start with Being Trustworthy. This week (mid April 2021)in the UK, a Welsh MP - Hywel Williams - referenced a bill put forward in 2007 by Plaid Cymru ("Plyed Kimri"), proposing to make lying by politicians illegal. He asked the Prime Minister, known for his extravagant attitude to the truth, whether he would support the principle behind the bill. The Prime Minister responded that he would “concur with the basic principle that he just enunciated”. Is that a yes? A no? An evasive circumlocution? An evasive circumlocution. Does it increase anyone's trust in the Prime Minister? There was once a version of trust within government, a fabric of norms and tacit agreements which maintained a standard of behaviour but - crucially - wasn't encoded. Over the decades around the turn of the 21st century, this culture of trust has decayed to the point where, with the ascent of Boris Johnson to power, many MP's have fled the parliament at Westminster, whose culture is routinely described as toxic. This week we discuss: Feedback effects of lying, cultural depression Corruption as waste - Ceaucescu and the orphanages, China and the pandemic Cultures of lying - in corporations and politics Sources of lying - politicians are required to make promises and defend performance Blame vs. improvement (design authorities) From failure - we learn What have we elected people for? Trust and learning - getting away from "good" and "bad" Governing is a team sport - it's about teams, not glory Hywell Williams and Boris Johnson David Cameron's lobbying woes Statutory duties would also protect government actors from risk Decay of culture of trust within government Rehearsal of some essential statutory duties How would they be enforced? ...through intention, and through institutional enquiry - ultimately through judiciary and constitutional court Need for clarity and strictness in corrective Relating this and trust in government in countries with Proportional Representation Analogy with company principles - eg Amazon Links: Great explication of Greensill affair with reference to inadequate rules (FT podcast, 30 mins) Hywell and Boris: https://nation.cymru/news/boris-johnson-just-agreed-with-principle-that-politicians-must-not-lie/ Truth and untruth in ocean governance (Netflix - Seaspiracy 1:03 hrs): https://www.netflix.com/watch/81014008?trackId=14277281&tctx=-97%2C-97%2C%2C%2C%2C David Cameron and Greensill: https://www.ft.com/content/ade87a61-b1e1-433a-a79f-25fc6b9a0aaf Amazon's much-vaunted leadership principles: https://www.aboutamazon.com/about-us/leadership-principles Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 24 Apr 2021 | Check 12 - 4th Separation of Powers - The Press | 00:39:45 | |
The first statutory duty of straight speak for politicians and officials shall apply also to the media. With photography and news stories, it's hard not to view what one is seeing - as reality. And yet these stories and images are mostly taken out of context, and elements are suppressed and magnified, and if reality remains in the final image - it is distorted. Less of an issue when multiple perspectives colour in the true reality - but seriously problematic when interests are manipulating these distortions and their audiences for nefarious purposes. Why and how does our view of reality get distorted through our media? Who benefits from all this? In this episode we pick over the presence and absence of major issues, who owns the media in the UK; the role of the press and how it might be fixed. Talking points: The main lies - our environmental predicament News as entertainment Truth and "balance" The Fourth Estate myth News ownership and political power The friend-enemy distinction Diversity of media, ownership and corporate governance Constitutional court as arbiter Noble role of journalism Citizen scrutiny in East Lancing, Michigen Links: Many books on the news media as political institutions(article) https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/fox-news-propaganda-eric-alterman// Citizen scrutiny in East Lancing (article): https://eastlansinginfo.news/about-eli/ “Seaspiracy” - documentary on confusion and malice in global fishing (Netflix, 1 hr) https://www.netflix.com/title/81014008?s=i&trkid=13747225 Former US intelligence director backs Turnbull and Rudd’s call for Murdoch media inquiry (Guardian) Who owns the British media? (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_media_in_the_United_Kingdom Book recommendation: Re psychology, and us all wanting to believe something other than what is, including the politicians stuck in a dysfunctional system: Jackson, Jodie. 2019. You Are What You Read. London: Unbound. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 01 May 2021 | Special Episode - Preferential Lobbying | 00:48:47 | |
Why should we care about political lobbying? Isn't business all about making connections? What's the problem? You hear phrases like "systemic" and "endemic" - but what does that actually amount to? Unfortunately it amounts to a vast global problem that creates the illusion of democratic process, but with out much actual democracy. Instead, all kinds of effects which are clearly and obviously problematic are ignored and suppressed - climate change, wealth inequality and much more. In this special episode we start out with a look at the hypocrisy at the heart of the preferential lobbying machine, and in particular we explore not only how it became visible to Ed during his time working with central government, but also how, as he and Ray Ison applied systems thinking to governance, all roads seemed to lead one way: preferential lobbying is the central problem in our many and various challenges, and it can only be adequately mitigated, and even eliminated, by means of constitutional change. Talking points: The true intent of the 2014 lobbying bill, and the way David Cameron expressed it Strategic lying Lobbying in the time of Blair Civil servants and ministers are not equipped to understand Ed's report on the civil service got squashed The problem with reform "Superficial civil servants and daft academics" Private meetings and address books Legitimate lobbying and grey areas The capability to employ professional lobbyists Secrecy is a central part of the problem Broadband as a case in point Preferential lobbying has emerged as a central theme ...as a common root cause Post master controversy as a case study Appearance and reality in democracy pros and cons of industry experts Transparency Visionary leadership vs. the reality of financial markets Preferential lobbying is a zero sum game: it's wealth extraction A capitalist ideal vs. rent seeking Ethics and pragmatism Feedback Big pharma stamps out Teatree oil Multiply that hundreds and thousands of times viable systems method - how these conditions were identified Problem - Analysis - Policy - Approval - Implementation - Solution But policy making is fundamentally experimental The need to build in redundancies 9 conditions necessary for preferential lobbying Changing the constitution is the necessary condition of stopping preferential lobbying Good lobbying is about making your case in pubic The Finance Curse Links: Polly Toynbee on the 2014 Lobbying act: A corporate entertainment story - Biathlon (NY Times - article) https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/28/sports/olympics/biathlon-russia-doping-besseberg.html Strategic lying (The Conversation - article) Chart of the Ascent of Everest (diagram/ infographic) https://historyshots.com/blogs/news/18078975-chart-of-the-ascent-of-everest Book recommendation: The Finance Curse: How Global Finance Is Making Us All Poorer - Nicholas Shaxson - Vintage The 9 key conditions that facilitate preferential lobbying: 1. Preferential access to decision makers 2. Government decisions made in private 3. Low subject knowledge of ministers and officials 4. Few restrictions on political party funding 5. Availability of patronage 6. An effective choice of two parties for government 7. A politicised judiciary 8. No direct or participative democracy 9. Weak checks and balances on government decisions, especially the lack of independent feedback Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 08 May 2021 | Check 13 - 4th Separation of Powers - Public Speech | 00:36:30 | |
We each have a duty to think before we speak. What does the world look like if people don't take the time to think before they speak? Oh wait, that's the world we live in already. And the results are bemoaned, debated and endured. But what is duty, really? And what does "thinking" actually entail? And what are we really doing, when we speak? In many ways, in this episode, we cut to the heart of the hidden power, our hidden power - our capability to set a tone, to make our appearance something joyous, or something terrible. Talking points: "Duty," "Think," "Speak" - what do they really mean? Context in challenges to environment, democracy and truth Speech after WW2, individualism, where we are now Simplistic thinking and authoritarian speech How does this help us? What a measured response can do for you. Andrew Mitchell on what we are really doing with language We are "creating" - whether we like it or not Right or wrong? The pleasures of being wrong Mental Models
Links: Andrew Mitchell on Second Order Thinking (youtube, 25 minute talk in 1hour discussion: Michael Fuller author of Kill the Black One First - podcast interview (50 min) https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/shade/id1469562537?i=1000442294103 a16z podcast on moderating discussions (1hr) Haim Ginott (Wikipedia) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haim_Ginott Everything that's wrong in a condensed piece of philosophy: The Law of the Excluded Middle (Wikipedia) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_excluded_middle Jung (Wikipedia) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Jung Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 15 May 2021 | Check 14 - 4th Separation of Powers - Institutionalised Bribery | 00:33:48 | |
Eliminate institutionalised bribery: No one shall benefit financially or electorally, directly or indirectly, now or later, from a decision in which they are involved or have influenced. There is a Grey Area. Not a clearly defined circle of criminality, but a vast zone of stasis and obfuscation which represents an almost impenetrable sea wall to buffet back waves of improvement. It's not necessarily easy to perceive, and it exists as a cultural norm. But, versions of incentive - pensions, honours, remunerations and golden handshakes - used inappropriately as they often are, distort decision-making, contribute to inequality, and, cumulatively, along with the preferential lobbying discussed in a previous episode, are at the creeping heart of our corruption. What is "institutionalised bribery"? How does it affect us? What would the implementation of this principle look like? In this episode we consider the vital importance of boundaries, and conclude that - since, as we've seen in a previous episode, all root cause analysis of wrong things in government leads to preferential lobbying - this principle has the potential to be a silver bullet, clearing out the political system and opening the way to a vast landscape of beneficial change. Talking points: Drawing of boundaries, separation of powers and separation of people Voter ID intervention How is bribery institutionalised? If one player cheats, the others lose interest We can't quite grasp this soft corruption, but it degrades us The doctrine of irresponsibility is like a slime that sticks to us Spelling out neoliberalism Job security and insecurity in politics Types of institutionalised bribery:
Effects of bribery and benefits of using this principle Where do we see models of this? The global problem. The Treaty of Watangi (New Zealand) Links: Cui Bono (wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cui_bono The Treaty of Waitangi: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Waitangi ...and its principles: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principles_of_the_Treaty_of_Waitangi Fintan O'Toole: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fintan_O%27Toole Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 22 May 2021 | Check 15 - Governments - The Character of Good Government | 00:31:36 | |
Governments shall serve democracy, and be effective, stable, adaptable, accountable, and open. What is government for? What to we want from it? We can hazard a guess at what we don't want: uselessness, volatility, inflexibility, opaqueness and inaccessibility may seem like familiar themes - and we know we don't want them. And a government that does not serve democracy - well, what would that look like? What it calls to mind is really the classic kleptocratic autocracy. But this question of what government is for, or what governance is for, is also a question we each answer with our actions and habits - and to approach the idylll imagined in this principle would require us to embrace our roles as exemplars and stewards of good governance in order to establish the requisite culture. In this episode we not only explore these themes through various examples, but also drill into how good governance can be explored and modelled through a Systemic Enquiry - the engagement of social learning around complex situations of concern. Talking points: If you don't get the system right, you won't get the government right Subsidiarity: we determine government, and can demand change Change is possible Our neoliberal predicament and the degradation of governmental culture Step away from the system and start with purpose Think, and talk, about what you might want from this entity What is the point of Welsh independence? An ongoing discussion Deep Dive into Dentistry as a case study for Systemic Enquiry Also - Ken Livingstone and the GLA Also - a welfare system Systemic Enquiry and Palestine? Developing an environmental consciousness And how behaviour relates to forms of governance
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 12 Jun 2021 | Check 16 - Governments - Purpose | 00:27:20 | |
The purpose of government is to produce beneficial change One of our central concerns in this podcast is why government is so ineffective - why don't governments work? And while many roads have led to preferential lobbying, there is arguably a deeper, darker reason even than that: aimlessness. The result? Bureaucracy, shiftlessness, the famous treacle that blinds and obstructs us in our endeavours. But institutions - and individuals - are capable of great things, if they act in concert - which is to say, if they act with a sense of purpose. What is the point of government? How do we fit into this as individuals? This principle may seem self-evident, but as we find out, it certainly requires to be reiterated. Talking points: It's not as simple as it looks Hobbs and the pessimistic view How do we fit into this? Orchestrating change Needs and myths of leadership Clarity, purpose and mud Beneficial change Without purpose, there are various phenomena that present themselves Privileging rules over purpose What the purpose becomes in the absence purpose Publicity, personal power, ideology, peers groups Maturity and government Breaking the inheritance It worked for Germany and Japan post WWII Cybernetic governance Modelling beneficial change Links: Sasha Swire - British government is amateur (Guardian review) Robert Cialdini - Influence Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 19 Jun 2021 | Check 17 - Governments - Experiment | 00:30:07 | |
Recognise that most ‘decisions’ by government are political experiments. ...except that with normal experiments - the scientific kind - measurements are taken, changes are monitored, conclusions drawn, theory is adjusted. Oddly, this is not the case with government decisions: debate is held, rehearsing the full repertoire of grimace, flush, sound and fury; and someone wins, and after that - a hot cup of tea. No connection with implementation. And yet with almost every regulation it is impossible to get a full view of how this adjustment to law or regulation will play out in reality, with the inevitable unintended consequences - so we end up with decision makers who are not fully informed making decisions for people who aren't aware that anything has changed. Even more jaw-dropping - roughly 150 of these changes occur each week per ministry. That's about 10,000 per year, year after year, in a kind of nightmare of bureaucratic process. How would it be if, rather than decisions being taken, forgotten, and tossed into the bureaucratic machine, they were seen as designs for action, to be monitored and adjusted as their process unfolds? In this episode we survey the ghastly scene of current decision-making, and find hope in the impact of the pandemic. Talking points: Decisions: words on a piece of paper, or designs for action Wandering from start line to start line without staying to watch the race The sheer volume and impossibility of keeping track How subsidiarity would alleviate this The Tiny Top and the noise The end-state fallacy: housing developments post-war, EU and CO2 emmissions The whole new-liberal economic system is an experiment PAPAIS - the dark truth of how government functions Ashby's Law of Requisite Variety: Science and system The limitations of government Ostrom: “Human societies are constituted by the symulateous operation of various experiments variously linked to one another” The government should be setting up the system The pandemic has forced experimentation The Observatory for Public Sector Innovation The Monetary Policy Committee at the Bank of England Links: The Observatory for Public Sector Innovation - for more on this see Series 1 Episode 5, The Sense of Powerlessness at the Heart of Leadership with Dr. Piret Toñurist. The Monetary Policy Committee at the Bank of England https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/about/people/monetary-policy-committee W. Ross Ashby https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Ross_Ashby Law of Requisite Variety: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variety_(cybernetics)#Law_of_requisite_variety Vincent Ostrom: "Human societies... are constituted by the simultaneous operation of diverse experiments variously linked to one another." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_Ostrom Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 26 Jun 2021 | Check 18 - Government - Evolution | 00:41:21 | |
Designs for action shall be put into practice in the knowledge and positive acceptance that feedback may result in their amendment. Decisions, decisions: as we saw in the last episode, 150 per week per ministry, each spouting its share of paperwork like a photocopier out of control, swamping its surroundings with verbiage, utterly lacking in practical intent, and for anyone trying to see if the system works in any meaningful way - bewildering in its senselessness. But who are the people who make these decisions? And what do they know, really? And what are they expecting to come of them? Contemplating these questions quickly draws one to the conclusion that we are watching a pantomime, a Punch and Judy show, that exists to conceal the pointless governmental machine that is out of control. This principle does two things: it reframes these empty "decisions" in their ideal and realistic intent - to bring about beneficial change, as designs for action. And in being realistic, it is realistic about how plans - designs - need to be course-corrected on contact with reality: they need to evolve. Talking points: First and second order cybernetics: Dashboards, and people within the control system Running the country: the pantomime and the possibilities We would fail if we were politicians too The risks of ineptitude: London as an instrument of Russian power Market liberalisation as a decision - out of sight, out of mind Financial crisis - absence of feedback! Design authority in context: how to prevent ships sinking? The spirit of improvement and learning, the operating principles Every design for action is an experiment Failure inquiries - here to learn, not to blame. Root causes and purpose: Why is government here? The promise of systems thinking: living in paradise, sufficiency The four main benefits of feedback The fundamental importance of good feedback Systems sensibility Factfulness: opinions based on strong supporting facts 7 psychological sins of investing Psychological defensiveness Labour and smoking: a day out Presumption and personal experience Links: Dr. Fiona Hill on The Rachman Review: https://play.acast.com/s/therachmanreview/comingtotermswithputinsrussia Stein Ringen (youtube/RSA): The Roslings on Factfulness (TED talk) Steven Pinker on the world getting better (TED talk) Falsifiability - Karl Popper (wikipedia) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falsifiability Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 03 Jul 2021 | Check 19 - Governments - Systems Thinking | 00:36:40 | |
Beneficial change most often results from working with the affected population through the medium of STiP. Systems Thinking in Practice - or STiP, as we sometimes call it - is, frankly, one of the great hopes of our time. It has the endorsement of the UN, the WHO and the OECD and has proved effective in alleviating difficulties of bewildering complexity by engaging social learning. This principle takes the fundamental purpose of government - beneficial change - and addresses the patchy performance of governments everywhere. The placating, appeasing, and overall absence of effective action on the part of governments is easily traced to the impossibility of such a tiny cohort being able to contend with the vast complexity of their imagined mandate. The systemic response, the STiP response, is to turn this on its head, and put the mandate where it is needed - at the front line, where life is happening, far from the much-vaunted Corridors of Power. What is it, to think systemically? What does it look like, in practice? In this episode we unpack this promising approach to the challenges of our time. Talking points: This great hope Problems are the world's problems The problems with governments - over-stretched Laying it all out - "problems", maps, stakeholders, "solutions" Situations of concern Extending and containing boundaries Systems mapping - a picture of the whole system, how the system works Goulburn-Broken River Catchment - vast complexity Polarised perspectives: Bawdens World-views The library at Shepton Mallet Rich pictures - visual representations and complex communications and humans Framing and re-framing Solutions landscapes - homelessness in Vancouver The design turn - systems thinking in practise is designing ...and is empowering to civil society: Pacific coast tidal wave planning and the pandemic Individual action and STiP - An art therapist bucks the bureaucracy and frees an agoraphobic What Why and How - applying learning to your relationship Links Systems thinking in practise at the Shepton Mallet Library(slide deck): https://www.systemspractice.org/resources/attachment/eca09f7f-03f0-4115-9c9a-1ed113670d5c To beat a pandemic, try prepping for a tsunami (MIT Deep tech podcast)
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 10 Jul 2021 | Check 20 - Governments - Vetting | 00:43:07 | |
Technocratic democracy: Government designs for action shall be disciplined through their vetting. We often hear that politicians are essentially sales staff - but there are implications of this, if we extend the metaphor. They are not the engineers. They don't really understand what they are selling, they're just playing for the team. And if we were to imagine that someone did really understand, we would be a bit naïve. But clearly things - all kinds of things - would work a lot better if the question of how laws and regulations, or indeed overall missions, designs for action, were to be implemented - they would work better if this question was interrogated from the outset. As things stand, at least in the UK, any such evaluation is entirely optional, and normally ignored. Again, the spewing of 150 items per ministry per week should shock us into attention to the sheer dysfunction of our system, and the volume of wastage. What this principle does is, in effect, to paraphrase the famous designer, Dieter Rams: Less, but better. And not only that, but to make it enforceable. And this is where the separation of powers comes in to play - a second chamber can take the Executive's wild if well-intentioned hallucinations of the glorious future, interrogate them and reconstruct them as workable programmes. In this episode, we look in detail at an eight-step vetting process devised by Ed and his co-author, Ray Ison, that would ensure that any designs that a government might have for action would align with the overall ethos of bringing about beneficial change. Talking points: Using expertise within a democratic structure ...as a check on the executive The PR basis of political activity There's nothing to ensure that learning is applied Evaluations do not typically challenge the system Money gets creamed off, culture of graft Commercial due diligence as a model Norman Strauss: ethos The 8 Tests: Framing, Purpose, Engagement and Stakeholder, Insider, Other Countries, Systems Thinking, Capability, Value Some systems have a more conducive ethos Singapore - decisions tree New Zealand - other forms of Capital Links: Norman Strauss https://normanstrauss.wordpress.com/tag/norman-strauss/ Stafford Beer: “Rules come from System 5: not so much by stating them firmly, as by creating a corporate ethos – an atmosphere” The inside and now, the outside and then:
The Viable System Model (blog) https://metaphorum.org/viable-system-model Gillian Tett: Anthropology as the study of what it means to be human in a digital age (Zoom interview with The Mint Magazine) https://www.themintmagazine.com/tribes-and-tribulations Sarah Novak & Dr Caroline Mc Leish: Social Capital and New Zealand's Living Standards Framework (blog/interivew): Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 17 Jul 2021 | Check 21 - Governments - Tax | 00:35:29 | |
Check 21 - Governments - Tax: Too much is never enough Everyone pays their taxes. The deceptive simplicity of this principle belies the fact that, obviously enough, not everyone pays their taxes - quite the contrary, and the leaders of the G7 group of the world's richest nations are attempting to address this by imposing a global corporation tax of 15%. Whether this is enforceable remains to be seen. As things stand the global monetary system is set up in such a way that, on the one hand, nations are in a race to the bottom on tax costs to make their countries attractive to multi-nationals, under the delusion that such winning such a competition will benefit them and not harm them; and on the other, their funds are secreted through tax havens to evade contributing to the various infrastructures they benefit from. So instead - these costs fall to us, the citizens. But if we step back from the whole issue of Making The Big Guys Pay - do we need to pay taxes at all? What does this practice really mean to us, as citizens? How might it become more meaningful? In this episode we place these questions in three key contexts - the citizen, the national economy, and our bio-physical world - the biosphere. Talking points: Why do we pay taxes? "Rent", surplus and the common good The tax planning industry: not bad people, but in a bad system It's about fairness - why are we paying tax and not vast corporations? Nailing down the wealth extractors, rampant individualism, and the fault-lines Global taxation vs global tax competition: The G7 National taxation vs local taxation: efficiency Centralisation, opacity and local power Transparency and accountability - Sweden’s public tax returns The UK’s hand-maiden economy Deadweight taxes - thinking back to Adam Smith A society of rent-seekers vs a society of wealth-creators Efficiencies in tax expenditures: hypothecated taxes, mutual insurances Compassionate communities and cost savings Carbon taxation is a muddle End-to-end producer responsibility vs the planet as an economic “externality” Links: Interview with Fred Harrison (audio interview, 30 min): Nicholas Shaxson on Britains Second Empire (...of tax-havens - article): https://taxjustice.net/2019/09/29/tax-havens-britains-second-empire/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 24 Jul 2021 | Thought for the Summer | 00:01:54 | |
We're off for the Summer! But - I found a great quote on the great _nitch instagram this morning, by the writer James Baldwin, who seems to be almost uniquely articulate when it comes to things that really matter. So I thought I'd read it out. We've finished the Governments section of our Preflight Checklist series - basically, a constitution to save the world - and in September we'll be back, tackling what seems to be at the heart of human activity from the standpoint of the planet - Companies. How should we think about them? What do companies look like on a sustainable planet? Find out in these last six episodes of Preflight Checklist, coming this September wherever you find your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 25 Sep 2021 | Special Episode - September 2021 - Autumnal Thinking | 00:41:50 | |
The start of a new season is a good time to take stock, and as we look forward to the next series, on companies, we reflect on where we are now, nearly a year after the launch of The Hidden Power Podcast, on October 11th, 2020. But who has time to reflect? These turbulent years have been eclipsed by another Summer of wild fires and wilder floods, as the climate crisis begins to bite - presenting an appalling, stunning spectacle of human tragedy. So we have the IPCC report, with it's Code Red for humanity. And then there's Afghanistan, which one struggles to adequately describe. In this special episode, we assess the accelerating climate disaster and take a clear-eyed look at what next month's COP26 Conference in Glasgow has to offer. We have a think about whether the UK's "Levelling Up" can have any more meaning than previous political slogans like "Northern Powerhouse" or "Compassionate Conservatism". We also take a look at the storied link between war and business - and see yet again the dark fact of government capture at work. With all this darkness, we also look forward for some light. In the final series of our Preflight Checklist we will be examining the role of companies in shifting our societies to a sustainably happy future. Talking points: The IPCC Report The COP26 Conference Afghanistan and Preferential Lobbying Dominic Cummings Is Apparently Still Relevant Michael Gove is The Minister of Levelling Up - will he fake it or make it? What is working in Systems Thinking? Deliberative schema: DAD and EDD We Need To Talk About Companies. Links Structures and systems and thinking (Youtube, 10 minutes into an hour) Here’s the Big issue piece explaining why the supermarket shelves are often empty, and why HGV drivers are scarce - fed up with being treated as low lifes Here’s a piece on the futility of the war in afghanistan And here is a piece on what it cost and where some of it went: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/sep/11/us-afghanistan-iraq-defense-spending Foreign intervention (article, behind paywall): https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v43/n16/charles-glass/hush-hush-boom-boom 'In 2011, as Obama was considering what action to take in Syria, some of his advisers urged him to support the rebels. Before making up his mind, Obama commissioned a report on the history of US covert operations. Robert Malley, then Obama’s Middle East adviser and now President Biden’s negotiator with Iran, read the CIA’s classified report. It was, he told me in 2019, a litany of failure. ‘I think there were one or two, out of I don’t know how many tens of cases, where you could, at a limit, say that there was a success by working through opposition proxies.’ The vast majority of the CIA’s secret wars had backfired, from Albania in the late 1940s through Angola in the 1980s to Afghanistan in the 1990s. Despite this, Obama ordered the CIA to arm and instruct militants in Turkey and Jordan under a programme that permits such activities in defence of American national security. The outcome was both predictable and tragic: the insurgents failed to overthrow Assad and Islamic State emerged.’ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 02 Oct 2021 | Check 22 - Companies - Purpose | 00:27:34 | |
Companies shall act in the interests of people, and the biosphere. As we've mentioned in recent episodes, from the standpoint of the biosphere, humanity's existence is felt primarily through industrialisation. Resource extraction, pollution, as well as much monoculture in agriculture have taken their toll on both the biosphere and many of the people it supports. Indeed, while populations have been increasingly "farmed" over the decades, the characterisation by technology companies of humanity as end-users to be addicted and data to be mined is an obvious extension of this outlook. And these exploitations are often the preserve not of individual people but of companies, with their diffuse networks of responsibility and "the corporate veil." But things could be different. In this episode we re-imagine the role of companies in our world as inverted: from the current slavishness to the global monetary system and its obfuscating pipework of corporate ownership - to something that privileges human value in the context of our life-support system, the biosphere. Talking Points: Picking apart the principle: the real is almost the reverse of the ideal The corporate veil as central to the current version of capitalism The ethical drift in corporate behaviour over the last several decades Free-flowing capital before and after WW2: neoliberalism This is not an insurmountable problem: we can reinvent the system Crystallising public opinion Tomorrow's Company - since the 1980's A case in point: demutualisation of AA and RAC, submission to global monetary system Design- and Systems thinking vs the pressures of neo-liberalism: Other "tomorrow's companies" - The Body Shop - hinges on structures of ownership Japanese management in manufacturing: raising the global standard through competitive pressure W Edwards Deming Consumer power, shareholder power and greenwashing Paying the true cost is possible - if you can afford it Flooding brought people together, and they never felt happier What is it to be human? Community is a big part of it But also: diversity of experience within the community - or company Aligning the word Company with what it means Links: Alternative search engine to Google: Ecosia. They plant trees: W. Edwards Deming: "Deming's teachings and philosophy are clearly illustrated by examining the results they produced after they were adopted by Japanese industry:" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Edwards_Deming Limited Liability - brief history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limited_liability#History The Corporate Veil (wikipedia) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piercing_the_corporate_veil Global Monetary System: "Leading financial journalist Martin Wolf has reported that all financial crises since 1971 have been preceded by large capital inflows into affected regions:" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_monetary_system The origins of "Tomorrow's Company" stem from a lecture given in 1990 by Charles Handy, Chairman of the UK’s RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) on the question ‘What is a Company For?’. This led to the inquiry ‘Tomorrow’s Company – the role of business in a changing world’, led by Sir Anthony Cleaver, then Chairman of IBM, which culminated in a report of the same name published in 1995. Here's the original report from the RSA: Its current incarnation, 30 years later - https://www.tomorrowscompany.com - Still interesting and forward looking, although their prioritising away from society and toward the embrace of disruptive innovation diverges from our ideal of systems thinking: "[...]In 2016, in the light of all the organisation’s learning and experience in working with companies and investors, Tomorrow’s Company report, UK Business: What’s Wrong? What’s Next? restated [their definition of a Tomorrow's Company as three principles. These are:
Community energy companies and projects This is the largest employee owned company in Scotland: https://homecarescotland.co.uk/ Profiting from Integrity - Alan Barlow (book) https://www.waterstones.com/book/profiting-from-integrity/alan-barlow/9781138090613 There are quite a few surveys of staff as the best places to work (although - what these surveys show and mask is up for debate), e.g. for tech companies: https://blog.greatplacetowork.co.uk/uk-best-tech-companies-to-work-for Quakers Businesses - "Quakers didn't wring every last penny out of a business so they were appealing companies to be taken over." [ie - with the dawn of neoliberalism in the 1980's] - it looks like the great myth of Quaker businesses has struggled to stand the tests of neoliberalism: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-17112572 Couldn't find a list of Quaker company principles - rather, it seems they held each other accountable in the context of how they conducted their meetings. Forbes Magazine says: "..During early Quaker meetings, "the business activities of their members were scrutinized by their peers, not only for their soundness but also to ensure that the interests of the broader community--not just the Quakers--were protected,"...The Quaker congregation "would stand behind the activities of members who were in good standing, and if one of them got into trouble, they would supervise the liquidation of the business and make good the deficit." https://www.forbes.com/2009/10/09/quaker-business-meetings-leadership-society-friends.html Quaker Companies. Predictably enough, Quaker Oats was never a Quaker company. "This is a list of notable businesses, organizations or charities founded by Quakers. Many of these are no longer managed or influenced by Quakers. At the end of the article are businesses that have never had any connection to Quakers [3, to be precise - the first being Quaker Oats], although some people may believe that they did or still do." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Quaker_businesses,_organizations_and_charities Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 09 Oct 2021 | Check 23 - Companies - The Circularity | 00:24:22 | |
End-to-end producer responsibility: Producers are responsible for all impacts of their activities and products, from raw material extraction to product recycling/disposal. There's no doubt that a single company can create and inspire change. But if all producers up and down the supply chain, and indeed across the economy, are holding each other accountable for all impacts by virtue of this principle, then we really do have the potential see the kinds of changes we need on a grand - global - scale. Effectively, a feedback loop. And let's not forget what Einstein had to say about about another feedback loop, compound income: it's "the most powerful force in the universe". In this episode we see in Fast Fashion Brand Boohoo a case in point of many of the things we have been talking about: the Global Monetary System at work, almost blindly driving profit, with scant regard for its vast impacts in human and ecological terms. And failure of consumer power, and tension between activist censure and investor appetite. In contrast we also consider Renault, a company that is embracing complete re-use and recycling. What would complete circularity look like? Talking points: The limits of limited liability Out of sight, out of mind - we don't want to know Fast fashion, Boohoo - and the Global Monetary System Contributory factors in the development of fast fashion Extended Producer Responsibility Plotting the chain - gouging and dumping vs circular process iPhones and the truth of supply chains Is this a basis on which the world wants to work? Renault transitioning to the new economy - PACE Respect and the biosphere Nature vs consumer culture Ethos and company culture as something accessible Community as a part of good business and good branding Neo-liberalism means - take and don't care Links Business of Fashion Podcast: https://www.businessoffashion.com/podcasts Greta Thunberg BBC series: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p099f58d/episodes/player PACE - Platform forAccelerating the Circular Economy Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extended_producer_responsibility UK Govt/ recent DEFRA EPR Consultation: ...+ consultation document pdf (06.2021/ 213 pages): Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 16 Oct 2021 | Check 24 - Companies - Information | 00:26:06 | |
24. Company duty to inform: For each product or service, consumers shall be informed of the biosphere and human impact of its sourcing, manufacture, distribution, and post-use treatment. As consumers, we have more power than we might think. We not only vote with our wallets, but our consumption is conspicuous, and contributes to setting a tone across society - and this is a secondary and perhaps more powerful effect. And change is possible - look at how perception of veganism has shifted, in a relatively short amount of time, from being seen as a fringe activity paraded by the pious few, to a reasonable and accepted option for the main stream, who are now interested in personal and planet health. In thinking about this episode, three things struck me. Firstly - out of sight, out of mind. Beautiful products mask less beautiful realities involved in their creation. To make choices, we need to know about them. Secondly, the scale of the challenge. The vastness of it. When you research and think about the some industrial activities, the sheer scale of it is staggering. And thirdly - it's the job of the system to shove the big picture right in people's faces: if information is clear and present at the point of decision - which, for products means the point of purchase - then consumer choices are not only more straight-forward, but there is potential for a major shift in standards, both for us, and for our world. Talking points: This is not a guilt trip: it's about free choice Neo-freudian advertising and marketing Oil fields the size of France, undersea mining the size of Europe This principle is very simple: it's about attention It's not just the system, there's also just bad practice The world can't run on company lies Labelling can make the difference: it tells you what you are doing Carbon trading, bio-fuels and true effects Styles of labelling: medicine info, tobacco images, energy ratings Fourth separation of powers: holding large companies to account Gaming in the system - civil society, the media and change The other 25 principles will provide a strong context The Freedom Pollute in context: as a last freedom Systems thinking meets governance Links: Earthtime story on undersea mining (2019). View on a desktop, requires patience and engagement - but will be rewarded in spades: https://earthtime.org/stories/ocean_mining Other Earthtime stories: https://earthtime.org/#stories Economist podcast on the environment: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 23 Oct 2021 | Check 25 - Companies - Systems Thinking | 00:31:16 | |
25. Systemic inquiry shall accompany investment commitments in the technosphere; thereafter, end-to-end producer responsibility applies. Throughout Preflight Checklist, and our previous series Proof of Concept we have placed great hope on Systems Thinking. What is that, again? Yes, trying to see systems in their totality - but also: humility with regards to knowledge. In this case, rather than assuming you know enough (Facebook: "move fast and break things") to chuck out products and see how they boom, bust or blow up; instead, armed with this humility, and with eyes and ears open to the variety of impacted perspectives, companies can move more deftly and discretely to create sustainable, durable designs. Disruption, moving fast and breaking things, asking for forgiveness and not for permission, creating minimum viable products and trying them out on The Market - these things are fetishised in our intensely consumerist and wealth-focussed version of capitalism. And because importance is mainly attached to economies, economics and money, we are acculturated to the restrictive dimensions of this perspective. But such reductionism has landed us with outcomes we know well: the climate and biodiversity crisis, massive inequality, and more besides. It's not enough to wring our hands and look to the market in hope that an answer will appear - it hasn't so far. So we're back to the rails - constitutional change - and with this principle, a principle both of humility and an approach to reality, we have an important pre-flight check, as it were, for any durable, sustainable, economic activity. Talking Points: Technosphere, Investment Commitments, Systems Thinking Increased urbanisation as symbolic The internet creates monopolies Systems Thinking Design Principles, Dieter Rams Good intentions vs. Accountability Uber and The London Assembly: City pushes Back The casualisation of labour Airbnb and communities Links: On the Technosphere, Jan Zalaceiwicz (Guardian, 2015) references Peter Haff, who coined the term for his 2013 paper - well worth a click, if only to read the abstract. McKinsey on The Business Value of Design (2018) Dieter Rams' - 10 Principles of Good Design (Wikipedia) On the casualisation of labour - "I could have been a somebody... instead of a bum, which is what I am." Marlon Brando On The Waterfront (1954 - IMDB trailer, 01:35): Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 30 Oct 2021 | Check 26 - Companies - The Transition | 00:40:25 | |
26. In transitioning from polluting to non-polluting activities, communities and companies shall be supported fairly. We have finally arrived to this episode, and this crucial check in our pre-flight checklist, as if through layers of an onion to its core, and yet - its as though we have arrived back where we started. It’s about the people. A good example of what not to do, in transitioning communities to the new economy, is simply shutting coal mines. This is what happened under Margaret Thatcher in Britain in the 1980’s, and many communities have never recovered. Glasgow, one-time ship-builder to the empire, lost ground to more dynamic economies around the world and for many years languished in economic depression - but in recent years has experienced a cultural renaissance. Could this have been brought about without the years of pain? Of course it could, and in this episode we rehearse these and other examples to see what is possible, and take a deep dive into the question of mind-set. Talking Points: Shipping as a case study People, feelings, abandoned communities Proportions and emotional impact of climate crisis Technosphere: human context Five stages of grief, communities and politics Individual acts, collective acts The need for political leadership Transition in Glasgow Coal miners eg. in Poland Change in organisations Links: Timothy Morton extracts, and wikipedia - Five stages of Grief (Kubler Ross Model) - look out for the visualisations Peter Haff - full paper on the Technosphere: Technology as a geological phenomenon: implications for human well-being David Pocock, rugby player and activist George Monbiot on mobilisation Zapatista Principles Clips: Gordon Brown saves the world financial system (48:00) Greta Thunberg goes to Poland to talk coal (15:10) Simon Sinek on the Law of Diffusion of Innovation (10:56) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 09 Apr 2022 | Is God the Biosphere? - 1 - Avoidance And The Addiction System | 00:37:00 | |
When we finished series 2 - Preflight Checklist - one thing was clear, any governance for Spaceship Earth going forward must put the Biosphere at the centre. Governance models from households, up through companies and countries, to international bodies must include the Biosphere as their central partner. So far, perhaps, so obvious. We know we need to act, and in many cases, we know what we need to do. But it's not happening. We just can't seem to muster sufficient focus. In Series 3 - Is God the Biosphere? - we interrogate this state of play. In this episode we introduce the background and take a look a the systemic straight-jackets that contain us - politically, economically, psychologically - in a kind of trap that makes it almost impossible to avoid feeding the beast. But this is not doom and gloom, not at all. As we constantly reiterate, Change Is Possible - this is our purpose. And there can be no effective change without a frank assessment of reality, so this is where we start. And then. As the series progresses, we will explore the tranquil jungles of possibility, armed with the question: What, exactly, would make the Biosphere a compelling object for our attention? Talking Points: The attractions of Systems Thinking, and what it is The challenge - Biodiversity Revisited Urgency of IPCC report: what does Systems Thinking have to contribute? Why has the biosphere not proved a compelling object for our attention? 1 - The Tragedy of The Commons: shortsightedness 2 - The Global Addiction System: The monetary system, and the Technosphere 3 - Avoidance: The doom bar, the scale of the challenge, the vast constituency of the very rich, the fantasies Links: Biodiversity Revisited: IPCC Summary - (MIT Technology Review) Original Peter Haff article describing the Technosphere - Technology as a Geological Phenomenon: Implications for Human Well-Being: https://pne.people.si.umich.edu/PDF/Haff%202013%20Technology%20as%20a%20Geological%20Phenomenon.pdf Epic sweep of monetary system (book review): Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 30 Apr 2022 | Is God the Biosphere? - 2 - The Power of Nature | 00:30:42 | |
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. | |||
| 07 May 2022 | Is God the Biosphere? - 3 - The Nature and Meaning of God | 00:25:02 | |
What are we talking about, when we talk about God? There's no doubt that something has been lost with the pervasive decline of religion in the modern world. Society is fractured. We lack a shared framework. We're tired of trying to work everything out. It's easier just to avoid thinking at all. Which is in some ways the point of religion - to avoid having to reinvent the wheel when it comes to purpose and morality. In its absence, we are adrift. Here at the Hidden Power Podcast one thing has been clear all along: we need to put the Biosphere at the centre of our governance models, and as Lynne White proposed over Fifty years ago - religion may be the key. What is a governance model, if not the prioritising of what is important? In this episode, Ed sets out various ideas about God, laying them against the Biosphere like a series of well-formed suits. Talking points: Context of this episode: nature in its maternal aspect What are we talking about when we talk about God Some theologies - Scott Littleton, Monotheism, Carl Jung Worship is for the Worshipper Gods as forces of nature, as the highest thing Explanation - God vs Science God as unifying moral compass The symbol of human value Spirit - team spirit Faith - God as purpose, God as love Accountability - God, People Communication - the golden rule and the biosphere God the fixer and the prime minister of Australia Deism vs Pantheism What is God? Why can't He be the biosphere? Links Erasmus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erasmus#The_first_translation Scott Littleton on God https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deity Carl Jung https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Jung - read by Alan Watts, shortly after Jung's passing in 1961 (YouTube) Accountability buddies (NY Times) https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/08/well/live/habits-health.html A workable version of pantheism (podcast): Water and God (The Compass - podcast) https://www.airr.io/episode/605aae14439f559d6a5c52f0 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 14 May 2022 | Is God the Biosphere? - 4 - Rituals | 00:33:39 | |
The late Ken Robinson, in one of his TED talks, tells the story of a child who was drawing with wild strokes. The teacher asked - What are you drawing? And the child replied "God". The teacher said, "But nobody knows what God looks like." And the child said, "Well. They will in a minute." Badum Tshhhh. Last week we explored what people are talking about when the talk about gods. But for most people, this is a secondary aspect of religion - the primary aspect being the rituals. So what are rituals, and why are they so powerful? In this episode we look at some rituals, religious, secular, useful, destructive, and start to imagine what rituals might help us to place the biosphere at the pinnacle of our aspirations. Talking Points: Listener Email - A moral revolution is possible Rituals. What are they? Ablutions, Jewish weddings, Christian signs of peace Conscious and unconscious rituals in daily life: focus and distraction Positioning the biosphere and political will Rituals of nurturing and kindness Waste is an affront to nature, not wasting feels good Gods - conscious and unconscious Addiction and deification Human power - like a bull in a china shop Possible futures Possible rituals - the 12 step recovery process as a route out of the addiction system When things change, we'll be happier! Habits as the b-side of ritual - and their power Getting past the Doom Bar - learning to love stress Links: Peter Oborne - the Triumph of the Political Class (review/Guardian) https://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/sep/30/politics Water and religion ( incl Ablutions) - BBC podcast "How Water Shaped Us" - https://open.spotify.com/episode/5NURa5GgoD7PxTzJQNrjzG?si=0hgb5f6hQkuo4Oc_XbleqA The 12 Step Program (Wikipedia) - main points: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve-step_program Dr Alia Crum on mindsets Excellent paper on the subject: And podcast on mindsets in general,( 1:04:50 - The three step process: 1 Acknowledge; 2 Welcome; 3 Utilise): The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (Wikipedia summary): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_7_Habits_of_Highly_Effective_People Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 21 May 2022 | Is God the Biosphere? - 5 - Superstition | 00:26:21 | |
It is no secret that the various tribes and bubbles of our world have wildly differing beliefs about things. Why can't people just accept the truth? But the truth is so contentious. And framing is so contentious. And all these people seem to have the most outlandish superstitions. An abiding feature of these podcasts, as we've highlighted many times, is this thing called Systems Thinking, and while this is a broad enough discipline to be fairly tribal in its own right, one key feature of this Systems Thinking is thinking about your thinking. In this episode we review some of the things in normal western life that have the character of superstition, and explore to what extent our innate capacity for gullibility and naïvity might be used to our advantage, in evolving a more constructive mindset; in connecting better with Nature, and specifically in nurturing the health of our habitat. Talking Points: An experience with a palm reader The power of belief and ritual in performance Listener comments - a bishop, a yogi, and a reflection on who we are Some superstitions - recognisable, and hidden Like Science - eg impact of false HRT Study warning cancer To what extent are your superstitions working for you? Heuristics and humility regarding knowledge Good and bad fairy-tales What you do and what you think about it Whatever gets you through the night We all need superstitions Faith as an alternative to cynicism Faith in your own human system Faith in our project of a viable habitat The Good Place - it's impossible to be "Good" The system is fundamentally bad The challenge is bigger than all of us And that is why we need faith in a higher power to sustain us Links: Fundamentalism as a superstition about text: https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/first/a/armstrong-battle.html?_r=1&oref=slogin On the placebo effect: https://www.health.harvard.edu/mental-health/the-power-of-the-placebo-effect On a scientific Truth that turned out to be untrue - HRT and cancer - William James (Philosopher and psychologist) On pragmatism: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_James#Pragmatism_and_%22cash_value%22 On the Variety of Religious Experience (Wikipedia preçis) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_James#Philosophy_of_religion Timothy Morton: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Morton#Ecological_theory Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 11 Jun 2022 | Is God the Biosphere? - 6 - Sense-Making | 00:32:49 | |
Philosophy, famously, will not get the washing up done. And it will not fix the crises of climate and biodiversity. So what can I do? An individual amongst Billions? In economics, a basic unit is - The Household. And while economics tracks the flows of goods and services, it is striking that both goods and services require energy and other resources. Therefore The Household is an important unit to think about in terms of how we metabolise - exhaust and pollute - the planet. Confronted with countries and large companies, we all have recourse to wringing our hands - but the Household is a strikingly accessible unit for pretty much everyone. So - having surveyed, in Series 1, Proof of Concept, just how effective Systems Thinking can be; having rehearsed in Series 2 Preflight Checklist the principles that would see us through the climate and biodiversity crises; having explored in Series 3 - Is God the Biosphere? - how making the Biosphere a central partner in our governance systems requires us to rethink our religious demeanour - what next? Given our relative entrapment in what are in many ways systems of extraction and poisoning, what levers might be available to a Household to minimise harm while maximising the best life has to offer? This episode is a call to action to all our listeners -
Send your household constitutions and household systems maps to thehiddenpowerpodcast@gmail.com or tweet a link to Ed @EdAStraw - we are v excited to see what people have to show, and will set up a Google Doc to exhibit any responses. Talking points: Model of change in the 1850's Convening as accessible - Systems convening event SCIO - t Our innate Systems Sensibility, governance as adequate development and mental health Religion, science, commerce, a moral code - and consumer power The migration from past state to future state - in increments - awareness beyond the bin The power of collective action - The Preston Model https://www.uclan.ac.uk/articles/research/preston-model-community-wealth-building https://cles.org.uk/publications/how-we-built-community-wealth-in-preston-achievements-and-lessons/ Family constitutions: some relevant points - News media: Preferential Lobbying (articles) voting Proportional Representation (podcast) thehiddenpowerpodcast@gmail.com Ed @EdAStraw Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 25 Nov 2023 | Special Episode: Democratic Yorkshire | 00:52:33 | |
In this special edition of The Hidden Power podcast for Democratic Yorkshire, Philip Tottenham talks with Ed Straw, and Professor Malcolm Prowle on the subject of the day and panacea England's ills - Regionalisation. Talking Points: - The experience of government: consultancy, Thatcher, Blair, powerlessness at the centre of power - Problems with centralisation. How we experience it. - Devolved parliaments and regions. Wales, Switzerland, Germany - How this might look for Yorkshire. Some of the challenges and pitfalls. - What’s the next step? Talking about it. Taking an interest. The long road ahead. Links: Wikipedia on Regionalism: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regionalism_(politics) Localism - a tangible route to Regionalisation: From the time of the Scottish referendum on independence: Widely respected community action group Locality: Some links from Malcolm: Has Devolution Worked - a 2019 Institute for Government report reflecting on the first Twenty years: Some reflections on Government dysfunction (Malcolm Prowle, LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7130931236369231874/ Ed Balls and others on regional inequality in the UK for the Centre for Economic Policy Research From Ed: Northern Independence Party: https://www.freethenorth.co.uk/ourfuture Charter to End Westminster Rule: https://citizen-network.org/library/charter-to-end-westminster-rule.html A Nation Trapped Inside England (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=C2DFTj0Ot2o Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| 29 Jun 2024 | Special Episode - Old Tory | 00:36:08 | |
"There's a class war alright," chirruped Investor Warren Buffet recently, "But it's our class making war on yours. And we're winning." It reminded me of the Lao Tsu, where he says that the Way of Heaven is to take from those with excess, and give to those who do not have enough. "The way of man is different," the sage quips. "He takes from those who have nothing, in order to give to those who already have too much." When did the worm turn? When did the liberal centrist consensus become this nightmare of neo-feudalism? How did the Tories, in particular, drift from their one-nation, Compassionate Conservatism to the libertarian bandits who rarely miss an opportunity to darken our media with stirring xenophobia, and hallucinations of Getting Things Done? Was this written into economic neoliberalism from the outset? In this episode we rehearse the history and make some observations, not least the upcoming opportunity to vote. Talking Points: Some context of the Centrist Consensus How the worm turned: Brexit Empire and Old Tory Feudalism in Britain and Russia The Thermocline of Truth: erosion of the middle class The Irish answer to Neoliberalism and inequality Will they ever learn? Links: Ed's Cris de Couer - Old Tory Start the Week - Left Behind But Not Forgotten Ireland and Neoliberalism - David Mc Williams Podcast John Pilger - Governments and Media roles in War Propaganda | The War You Don't See - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mDuxFnn2RY Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||