Participation Without Worship
Political conversation often demands a choice between believing in an institution and rejecting it entirely. But a system can be used, criticised and changed without turning either participation or cynicism…
A system is not a person
Public problems are conveniently explained by defective people: the poor are lazy, officials are corrupt, the boss is bad, voters are stupid. Personal qualities matter, but the system determines which…
Fear, Risk and the Exit
The popular image of courage requires you not to be afraid. But fear is a threat-detection system, not a moral defect; the trouble starts when it is given an unconditional…
The Next Step Knows About the Last
Care does not start with moving slowly. It starts with understanding the chain. Before acting it helps to picture: what will happen immediately afterwards; which options it will close off;…
The Idea and the Reality
A cynical culture declares every big idea a cover for interests; an ideological one demands that the idea be preferred to its living consequences. Both approaches exempt a favourite picture…
Death That Is Never Lived Through
Your own death can’t be lived through as a completed state. As long as the experience exists, so does the one having it. This old philosophical observation sometimes reduces the…