In this short RSA Animate, radical sociologist David Harvey asks if it is time to look beyond capitalism, towards a new social order that would allow us to live within a system that could be responsible, just and humane. View his full lecture at the RSA. Download a transcript of this video (pdf).
Archive for June, 2010
The limits of authenticity
Human beings keep searching throughout their lives for greater certainty and solace – from place to place, or from one illusion to another, or from one depiction of reality to another, but never arrive at the whole truth. We strive for authenticity in social interactions and various forms of expression. But is human or personal authenticity possible, valuable or even desirable?
Definition of authenticity is as elusive as that of happiness or freedom. It is invariably defined as being true and honest with oneself and others, an undeniable credibility, and absence of pretence. The term, used in a wide range of contexts, is more an indicator of what it represents rather than what it is.
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Edging towards enlightenment
We have recently seen some vivid illustrations of how small groups can struggle or succeed to achieve great things. On the one hand the anniversary of the Dunkirk evacuation reminded us of the power of the “small platoons” in times time of crisis. On the other, people in pubs and living rooms around the country have groaned and gurned at the England team’s early struggles to remain in the World Cup.
Such things naturally prompt reflection about what makes for human efficacy in the face of adversity, and the kinds of conditions we need to foster to help people make the most of themselves both individually and collectively.
Such reflections depend in part on our beliefs about the prospects for human progress. Should we boldly encourage people to feel that the world to which they aspire is within their grasp – to “dream big” and act accordingly – or counsel humility and pragmatism in the face of seemingly daunting challenges?
These questions, so central to our current political and socio-economic (as well as sporting) predicament, were explored last week by the RSA’s Chief Executive Matthew Taylor. At the heart of RSA’s argument for a 21st century enlightenment is the belief that we might realise a better world by harnessing the better part of ourselves. The model he outlined for an enlightened approach to our collective future rests on three propositions. (more…)
Beyond the Budget headlines
The internet is awash with commentary on the Coalition’s first budget. Most commentators focus, understandably, on the headline measures: VAT increased to 20 per cent, a £1,000 increase in the income tax personal allowance, and prospective reductions of 25 per cent in most departmental spending budgets as the government aims to eliminate its fiscal deficit over the course of the parliament. My aim here is to look beyond the headlines, highlighting some important budget-related issues, which are unlikely to get much airtime in the next couple of days of post-budget discussion. Instead, they are ‘slow-burners’ which may assume increasing importance in the years ahead as their implications become clearer.
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Cultural policy and the ‘consensus of bulls**t’
In his petite volume On Bullshit, American professor of moral philosophy Harry G. Frankfurt makes the point that public life is rife with ‘bullshit’, that is, a lack of concern with the truth and an ‘indifference to how things really are’. This notion of bullshit seems useful to describe the status of contemporary public debates around cultural policy in Britain, especially where the search for justifications for the cultural sector’s claims on the public purse are concerned.
Arguably, a lot of Frankfurt’s ‘indifference’ has gone into the policy arguments for the arts. Art can be seen as a reliable tool for engineering social inclusion; for the resolution of a host of social and psychological problems among the disaffected and excluded (however one might decide to identify them); and for the economic development of urban and rural localities. Statistical data and ‘evidence’ of the alleged powers of the arts to bring about both personal and social transformation have been dubiously collected, presented (and more often than that, misrepresented). They supported a line of argument seen as popular with the powers that be, which those looking for funding expediently followed. The sector has done very well out of this rhetorical bullshit in the age of New Labour. (more…)
Steering, nudging and thinking
Matt Grist reviews some models of behaviour change and outlines the findings of new research published by the RSA
Before the financial crisis the last government was already enamoured with the behaviour change agenda. While the crisis intensified interest, being seen as an opportunity to rethink how behaviour is shaped, it also sounded the death knell of a misguided view of human beings as wholly rational and self-interested economic actors. The order of the day was the idea of ‘nudge,’ made popular through the publication of Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein’s book of the same name.
To ‘nudge’ is to shape people’s choices by making changes in the context within which they are made. For example, presenting a piece of information as a loss rather than a gain, may frighten people into not to making a particular choice, as losses loom larger than gains for our long-evolved brains. So ‘nudging’ shapes our behaviour by guiding the automatic brain system that governs much of our behaviour and whirs away below the surface of consciousness. The fear you might feel at the prospect of incurring a loss is an automatic response that is pre-programmed by nature. ‘Nudging’ uses these ancient emotional responses so that politicians can get you to behave in certain ways. For example, shifting from opt-in to opt-out policies, on, for example, pension contributions and organ donation.
But isn’t this all a bit spooky? Have we decided to give up on good old-fashioned rational argument to persuade people to change their ways? Should the illusionist Derren Brown expect a call from the Coalition Government asking him to become its ‘persuasion czar’? Probably not. Nudging turned out to be a bit of a damp squib, or at least an over-egged pudding. There are only very few behaviours that are simple enough to be nudged. Most of what we do is too complex for a simple change in context to guide behaviour.
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Elder care needs to be the ‘new health’
In 2009, the UK population numbered 62 million: 38 million of working age, 9.2 million between 50 and 65 years, and 11.3 million over current state pension age. The forecast for 2031 is a 58 per cent increase in the number of people aged over 65, but just a 16 per cent increase in those at working age. This creates a huge imbalance between those who are earning and those likely to need care. However, the funding available for elderly care has been shrinking for some time and many local authorities have slashed budgets up to 400 per cent, with some regions reducing sheltered housing provision from £40 to just £11.75 per week.
This has been matched with a failure to ring-fence local authorities’ care budgets. The new coalition government has indicated its intention to protect health funding, but it is not anticipated that this extends to care, which is a matter of great concern. (more…)
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