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:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Localism_(politics)#:~:text=Localism%20can%20also%20refer%20to,power%20becoming%20centralized%20over%20time.From the time of the Scottish referendum on independence:https://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/sep/17/scotland-independence-referendum-england-counties-devolutionWidely respected community action group Locality:https://locality.org.uk/Some links from Malcolm:Has Devolution Worked - a 2019 Institute for Government report reflecting on the first Twenty years:https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/sites/default/files/publications/has-devolution-worked-essay-collection-FINAL.pdfSome 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 Researchhttps://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/how-tackle-uks-regional-economic-inequality-focus-stem-transport-and-innovationFrom Ed:Northern Independence Party:https://www.freethenorth.co.uk/ourfutureCharter to End Westminster Rule:https://citizen-network.org/library/charter-to-end-westminster-rule.htmlA Nation Trapped Inside England (YouTube):https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=C2DFTj0Ot2o Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 isThe challenge - Biodiversity RevisitedUrgency 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: shortsightedness2 - The Global Addiction System: The monetary system, and the Technosphere3 - Avoidance: The doom bar, the scale of the challenge, the vast constituency of the very rich, the fantasiesLinks:Biodiversity Revisited:https://luchoffmanninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/biodiversity-revisited-research-agenda-2020.pdfIPCC Summary - (MIT Technology Review)https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/04/04/1048832/un-climate-report-carbon-removal-is-now-essential/?truid=&utm_source=the_download&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=the_download.unpaid.engagement&utm_term=&utm_content=04-05-2022&mc_cid=1ab39c4971&mc_eid=24fa1486a0Original 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.pdfEpic sweep of monetary system (book review):https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/the-financial-system-is-supposed-to-serve-the-economy--not-harm-it/2019/12/26/59c26028-1d0c-11ea-8d58-5ac3600967a1_story.html Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 etcWe are an emergent property: nature is an absolute, there's no escapeBut the relationship has broken down. How can we restore it?Lynne White and Environmental Ethics, Human Ecology and BeliefsWhat is religion?Was there a good idea behind Christianity?Earth Mother as a mind-setPurpose and fly-fishing on the DanubeNature as a hedonistic giverBiophilic designWhat should we give to nature? The two way relationshipBiomesPurpose and change in organisationsLinksArticle on Lynne White in Nature:https://ecoevocommunity.nature.com/posts/14041-the-long-reach-of-lynn-white-jr-s-the-historical-roots-of-our-ecologic-crisisOriginal (pdf):https://www.cmu.ca/faculty/gmatties/lynnwhiterootsofcrisis.pdfJesus - a Buddhist Monk - YouTube/ BBC https://youtu.be/FsN4zE2yiloKindness 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_designVideo 8 mins- sound cuts out between 0:45 and 2:05, but still interesting:https://youtu.be/MJ6fbYz-x04Fly-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.

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 aspectWhat are we talking about when we talk about GodSome theologies - Scott Littleton, Monotheism, Carl JungWorship is for the WorshipperGods as forces of nature, as the highest thingExplanation - God vs ScienceGod as unifying moral compassThe symbol of human valueSpirit - team spiritFaith - God as purpose, God as loveAccountability - God, PeopleCommunication - the golden rule and the biosphereGod the fixer and the prime minister of AustraliaDeism vs PantheismWhat is God? Why can't He be the biosphere?LinksErasmushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erasmus#The_first_translationScott Littleton on Godhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeityCarl Jung https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Jung- read by Alan Watts, shortly after Jung's passing in 1961 (YouTube)https://youtu.be/15pjQRA80bsAccountability buddies (NY Times)https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/08/well/live/habits-health.htmlA workable version of pantheism (podcast):https://open.spotify.com/episode/7w2IJE332ztKAnglGjxohf?si=iFn5qW9eQO68jr-IC150VA&context=spotify%3Ashow%3A6NOJ6IkTb2GWMj1RpmtnxPWater and God (The Compass - podcast)https://www.airr.io/episode/605aae14439f559d6a5c52f0 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 possibleRituals. What are they?Ablutions, Jewish weddings, Christian signs of peaceConscious and unconscious rituals in daily life: focus and distractionPositioning the biosphere and political willRituals of nurturing and kindnessWaste is an affront to nature, not wasting feels goodGods - conscious and unconsciousAddiction and deificationHuman power - like a bull in a china shopPossible futuresPossible rituals - the 12 step recovery process as a route out of the addiction systemWhen things change, we'll be happier!Habits as the b-side of ritual - and their powerGetting past the Doom Bar - learning to love stressLinks:Peter Oborne - the Triumph of the Political Class (review/Guardian)https://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/sep/30/politicsWater and religion ( incl Ablutions) - BBC podcast "How Water Shaped Us" -https://open.spotify.com/episode/5NURa5GgoD7PxTzJQNrjzG?si=0hgb5f6hQkuo4Oc_XbleqAThe 12 Step Program (Wikipedia) - main points:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve-step_programDr Alia Crum on mindsets Excellent paper on the subject:https://mbl.stanford.edu/sites/g/files/sbiybj9941/f/2014_mindful_stress_chpt_crumlyddy_handbook_of_mindfulness.pdfAnd podcast on mindsets in general,( 1:04:50 - The three step process: 1 Acknowledge; 2 Welcome; 3 Utilise):https://open.spotify.com/episode/3ELdxrMTQum8E4ulpMSb2J?si=HGPXTCRiR9ykMy-UOdn2qw&context=spotify%3Ashow%3A79CkJF3UJTHFV8Dse3Oy0PThe 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.

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 readerThe power of belief and ritual in performanceListener comments - a bishop, a yogi, and a reflection on who we areSome superstitions - recognisable, and hiddenLike Science - eg impact of false HRT Study warning cancerTo what extent are your superstitions working for you?Heuristics and humility regarding knowledgeGood and bad fairy-talesWhat you do and what you think about itWhatever gets you through the nightWe all need superstitionsFaith as an alternative to cynicismFaith in your own human systemFaith in our project of a viable habitatThe Good Place - it's impossible to be "Good"The system is fundamentally badThe challenge is bigger than all of usAnd that is why we need faith in a higher power to sustain usLinks:Fundamentalism as a superstition about text:https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/first/a/armstrong-battle.html?_r=1&oref=sloginOn the placebo effect:https://www.health.harvard.edu/mental-health/the-power-of-the-placebo-effectOn a scientific Truth that turned out to be untrue - HRT and cancer - https://www.nursingtimes.net/clinical-archive/cancer-clinical-archive/study-linking-hrt-to-breast-cancer-was-wrong-26-01-2012/William James (Philosopher and psychologist)On pragmatism:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_James#Pragmatism_and_%22cash_value%22On the Variety of Religious Experience (Wikipedia preçis)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_James#Philosophy_of_religionTimothy Morton:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Morton#Ecological_theory Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 -Can you articulate your household constitution?Can you produce a suitable systems map of the flow of goods, services and ideas passing under your roof?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'sConvening as accessible - Systems convening event SCIO - thttps://youtu.be/vdohTndxWSMOur innate Systems Sensibility, governance as adequate development and mental healthReligion, science, commerce, a moral code - and consumer powerThe migration from past state to future state - in increments- awareness beyond the binThe power of collective action - The Preston Modelhttps://www.uclan.ac.uk/articles/research/preston-model-community-wealth-buildinghttps://cles.org.uk/publications/how-we-built-community-wealth-in-preston-achievements-and-lessons/Family constitutions: some relevant points -News media:Preferential Lobbying (articles)votingProportional Representation (podcast)https://theconversation.com/how-to-express-yourself-if-you-want-others-to-cooperate-with-you-new-research-182705thehiddenpowerpodcast@gmail.comEd @EdAStraw Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.

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:industrialisationlimits on human behavioursecondary effects of climate changeour personal relationship to the biosphereself-harm as an image for how we treat our environmentthe future generations act in Walesboundariesconstitutions filter through to all activitiesresponsibility at different levelswhat people with higher incomes can dofocus on where you liveThere 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:https://earthtime.org/#New economic model: https://time.com/5930093/amsterdam-doughnut-economics/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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:The planet is ideally sovereign, but to be practical it's people who are doing the doingWho actually exercises power in the UK?Centralisation leads to bureaucracy leads to powerlessnessThe Welfare System as a case in pointThink Tanks vs. Thinking TanksPeople are perfectly capable, regardless of backgroundSwitzerland's consensual democracy as exemplarFragmentation of the UK as an opportunity for thisHangover of Empire in the current administrationChallenges to active participationLeadership model in AmazonScientific Method, falsification and Karl PopperBonus 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.

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:the rule of law replaces the rule of violenceis an agreement as to how to liveautocracies emerge where constitutions are inadequateneed for independence in judiciarytension with business - eg with datainternational aspect a necessary elementre. the biosphereIreland, 13th C Wales, South Africaadversarial vs inquisitorial justicetruth as therapeuticlaw as empoweringlaw and normsGreat Wikipedia article on the subject:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_lawStanford SU discussion on rule of law in Hayek:https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/rule-of-law/#HayeThe 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=XlMCCGD2TeMNo busted pluggers - Aussies make it easy to follow:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0R20U9zkMmgFrench TV series, Spiral, on BBC:https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0072wk9 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 - It sits above the system of governmentThe tragedy of Sally Clark, ignorance in powerThe need for people who understand How is law made? vs How does government work?Diversity of perspectiveEg - Germany, data and social mediaWhat emerges when the constitutional court worksEg - South Africa escapes dictatorshipUS Constitution and separation of powersCitizen coalitionGentlemens' agreements and culture of trustNeoliberalism and culture of exploitationLoss of ethics across societyTrapped in absurd global monetary systemDelusions in the arena of powerThe value of rules and referees1 in 73 Million - tragic ignorance and Sally ClarkNot 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 HeadRepublic of South Africa - Court Youtube Channel Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 and truthNeoliberalism and consumerist monoculturesRoots of logic of diversity in need for resilienceTribal societies and settled societiesDiversity of capitalist model - Co-ops and QuakersGlobal monetary system as de facto governorUnity in diversity - not liking someone is less important than burning to deathIt's a value - the richness of pluralist societiesLeadership, certainty and diversity of perspectivesHumility: disconfirmation of beliefs as the root of all wisdomDiversity in forms of feedback (language, media etc - vs truth as such)Monoculture in Chinese politics centred on fear of the leader = pandemic...and culture of target-settingLiberty, Equality, Fraternity - and Swiss National Service...as a way of escaping our media bubbles...and developing network of consensus on eg. climate actionListening to people you don't likePluralism as a political philosophyon wikipediaIbn Khaldun - Berbers and the Maghreb (14th C! Not 10th;)on wikipediaIn Our Time EpisodeSuccessful prison experiment in NorwayBastøy Prison Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

...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 BiosphereEnclosure...and the commodification of the individual...and monopolies...and rent payingTypes of commonsEleanor Ostrom's design principles...examples around the worldOther commons to consider: air, open source software, drugsCommons forms as generating more valuelocal park problem traced to governance and taxation model...and federalism regarding cities etcCommons as a means of citizen engagementLocal action linked to wider system can bring about political progressEvolved definition of Commons: resource + community + set of social protocolsExtra-monetary value derived from commons...vs consumerismCommons thinking and global resource conflictsThinking forward to the next set of episodes: Democracy and SubsidiarityLinks:Commons Wikipedia article:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CommonsEnclosure Wikipedia:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EnclosureTragedy of the Commons on Wikipediahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commonsEleanor Ostrom's design principles - wikipedia:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elinor_Ostrom#Design_principles_for_Common_Pool_Resource_(CPR)_institution...youtube (2 parts) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEcMLEwaltcplus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTQPy9tC5WEGreat David Boiller exploration of commons enhancing city life:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3itmhDuem8 3000 year old Persian Qanats and Kariz on Wikipediahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_water_sources_of_Persian_antiquity#Qanat_and_Kariz Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 podcastThe current set-up in the UK: First Past the Post as a distortion fieldDestructive effects of First Past The PostWho does it serve? Politics is an accumulator: hinterland of previous lawsVulnerability to media manipulation: Rupert MurdochPreferential lobbying: the need for limited and proportional party fundingProportional representationWhy the political extremes should be includedVarieties of proportional representation - Party List, Additional Member, Single Transferable VoteElectoral boundaries, gerrymandering and the need for extra-governmental boundary settingAnalogy with voter registrationBenefits of proportional representation - fairness, diversity, consensusAnalysis of dysfunction in Italian politics as a counter-examplePositive effects of Proportional Representation in SwitzerlandLinks:Why do Italy’s governments keep collapsing? BBC Inquiry Podcast:https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-inquiry/id932499233?i=1000513494631A 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/id1501716010More 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-cummingsElectoral 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-representationGet proportional representation working in the UK:https://www.makevotesmatter.org.uk/join-the-movementEd's recent 4-part series of articles on Preferential Lobbying:1https://johnmenadue.com/preferential-lobbying-the-rich-get-richer-the-poor-get-poorer-part-1-of-4/2https://johnmenadue.com/preferential-lobbying-money-talks-loudly-part-2-of-4/3https://johnmenadue.com/preferential-lobbying-no-explicit-deals-all-unstated-understandings-how-it-works-behind-the-scenes-part-3-of-4/4https://johnmenadue.com/preferential-lobbying-a-scourge-on-our-democracy-part-4-of-4/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 cultureThought - or the lack of it - at the centreContinual reform as an outcome and reality"Democracy" in the UK electoral cycleWho'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 WalesJames Fishkin: better outcomes of deliberative democracySocial 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 Billhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police,_CrimeJames Fishkin, Godfather of Deliberative Democracy (Wikipedia):https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_S._FishkinFintan O'Toole on the successes of the Irish Abortion Referendum (The Guardian):https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/may/29/brexit-ireland-referendum-experiment-trusting-peopleProfessor Julia Lynch at the LSE (Facebook video):https://www.facebook.com/lseps/videos/1008977266175627Stein 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_zqAOverview 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.

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 SubsidiarityWe need to reinvent local democracyExecutive mayor in Tubingen and the pandemicHow that looks in other countriesTrust in government and optimal population (+/- 5 Million)Advantages of principle of subsidiarityHazards of disempowermentUniform regulation and local implementation in GermanyAshby's Law of Requisite Variety and subsidiarity...and child protectionRegional power, policy experimentation and learningLinks:Good 2 min overview of Subsidiarity (youtube):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GD0moAiq22kTroves 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_annoGreat conversation on Local Government in the UK (youtube, 10 min):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RO8c1Iy1VWESuccesses 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.ukIn 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.

"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 MontesquieuThe centralised nature of these powers and opportunities to respondSystems Thinking, Cybernetics: responding to realityThe political class - unaccountable and uninformedWastageBusiness as a model for government and its limitsFeedback on Social PurposeMyths and perceived credibility about the centreBroadband now and the 1984 privatisation of BTCybernetic feedback as non-political: Something just happens.Law-making - spectacle vs valueMessianic transformation vs gradual improvementDiversity of perspective, Design Authorities and purpose - safety, reliability and performanceFailure enquiries - no politics, no blaming and the origins in the Victorian rail system...and the Global Financial CrisisA mechanism to take feedback decisions out of politicsThe contradiction at the heart of politicsExisting feedback institutions, their limits and potentialAbandonment powers for laws that don't workThe cost would be a fraction of the benefitThe building of a body of knowledge about specific circumstancesLinks: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/xv1j0nMathematics, complex systems and small changes (5 minute clip from above):https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0060b2cOn the separation of powers: origins in Montesquieu and Aristotle:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_of_powersIn Our Time - Montesquieu (podcast - 50 mins)https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b5qnfxList of supreme audit institutions :https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_audit_institutionUK’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 UnwinDrucker, Peter (Number 14, Winter 1969) The Sickness of Government, The Public InterestFriedman, Mark (2005) Trying Hard Is Not Good Enough: How to Produce Measurable Improvements for Customers and Communities, Fiscal Policy Studies InstituteStraw, 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 BooksForss 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.

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 depressionCorruption as waste - Ceaucescu and the orphanages, China and the pandemicCultures of lying - in corporations and politicsSources of lying - politicians are required to make promises and defend performanceBlame vs. improvement (design authorities)From failure - we learnWhat have we elected people for?Trust and learning - getting away from "good" and "bad"Governing is a team sport - it's about teams, not gloryHywell Williams and Boris JohnsonDavid Cameron's lobbying woesStatutory duties would also protect government actors from riskDecay of culture of trust within governmentRehearsal of some essential statutory dutiesHow would they be enforced?...through intention, and through institutional enquiry - ultimately through judiciary and constitutional courtNeed for clarity and strictness in correctiveRelating this and trust in government in countries with Proportional RepresentationAnalogy with company principles - eg AmazonLinks:Great explication of Greensill affair with reference to inadequate rules (FT podcast, 30 mins)https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/paynes-politics/id975569919#episodeGuid=d040d631-8d89-4cbf-8b2a-17836e29ce2eHywell 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%2CDavid Cameron and Greensill:https://www.ft.com/content/ade87a61-b1e1-433a-a79f-25fc6b9a0aafAmazon's much-vaunted leadership principles:https://www.aboutamazon.com/about-us/leadership-principles Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 predicamentNews as entertainmentTruth and "balance"The Fourth Estate mythNews ownership and political powerThe friend-enemy distinctionDiversity of media, ownership and corporate governanceConstitutional court as arbiterNoble role of journalismCitizen scrutiny in East Lancing, MichigenLinks: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=13747225Former US intelligence director backs Turnbull and Rudd’s call for Murdoch media inquiry (Guardian)https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/apr/21/former-us-intelligence-director-backs-turnbull-and-rudds-call-for-murdoch-media-inquiry?CMP=Share_iOSApp_OtherWho owns the British media? (Wikipedia):https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_media_in_the_United_KingdomBook 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.