Demos Greenhouse
- Caring for the Material World Simon Jenkins wrote an article in Good Friday's Guardian in which he made the case that 'the dazzling walls of medieval England deserve a bold restorer'. It's good to see conservation getting coverage. As discussion of identity intensifies, culture and heritage are increasingly being looked to as sources for that identity, and points around which we can commune. However, what is often forgotten in this debate is that much of that culture and heritage exists only because it is cared... continue reading on 25th March 2008 in Saved for the Nation
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Time for some big ideas
According to Time Magazine:
More than money, more than politics, ideas are the secret power that this planet runs on. So what are their ten big ideas... continue reading on 17th March 2008 in Demos 2050 - Equality of what? John Hutton’s speech to Progress today is causing a stir. (Here’s Polly Toynbee). Hutton argues that: "Rather than questioning whether huge salaries are morally justified, we should celebrate the fact that people can be enormously successful in this country. Rather than placing a cap on that success, we should be questioning why it is not available to more people." I wonder if he actually means different people, rather than more people. There are, after all, always going... continue reading on 11th March 2008 Comments (2)
- Who's who? It’s a well kept secret, but apparently Britons know exactly what it means to be British. They don’t need to be taught, they don’t need to be told,they, in fact, don’t even need to think about it. Or so the Today programme’s take on Lord Golsmith’s Citizenship report would have led you to believe... continue reading on 11th March 2008 Comments (2)
- What interviews should be like If you have five minutes to spare have a listen to John Humphrey's interview this morning on the right to choose whether to have a deaf child or not. (It's the 8:10). It struck me for a number of reasons. First, because Humphrey's wasn't completely sure of his ground, he had first to listen without interrupting to his interviewee and address the points put to him on their merits. Second, there was long enough for a decent exploration of the issues. And third, probably as a result, i am personally now much more aware of the politics of deafness than i was when i woke up this morning. Isn't this what public service broadcasting is supposed to be like? continue reading on 10th March 2008
- Trust me, I'm the head of immunisation at the Department of Health Vaccines are an interesting condensation point for debates about science, the public good, personal freedom and choice. As the UK government found a few years back with the MMR vaccine, you get in trouble if you are on the one hand telling people to choose everything to do with their healthcare and on the other coercing them into vaccination for the public good. The evidence, as we found out, won't win arguments that messy. There's a nice book co-authored by Demos friend Melissa Leach that... continue reading on 10th March 2008
- Wicked Jihad? I have written a short think piece which questions some of the assumptions about our understanding of "Islamic" violent extremism. Counter terrorism policy in Western Europe is increasinly about preventing violent extremism before it arises, by lessening the appeal of groups like al-Qaeda. But we are still a long way from understanding what that appeal is. Most work written on the subject attributes the rise of violent extremism to broad sructural factors... continue reading on 5th March 2008 Comments (5)
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A Brazillion and one things still to learn
Just over half way through our Atlas of Ideas fieldwork in Brazil, we’ve been to six cities and interviewed around 70 scientists, policymakers and business people about the future of science and innovation in Brazil. We’re working in partnership with Brazilian strategy and innovation think tank, CGEE. And it still feels like we are barely scratching the surface...
continue reading on 4th March 2008 in Atlas of Ideas 2.0 - Helsinki workshop video When Celia and I were in Helsinki we made a video of some of our initial thoughts on the process and research, and of our conversations with to two of the young filmmakers and one of the facilitators. Here's the short piece of film from our trip. continue reading on 29th February 2008 in Children of Europa
- Dealer not Healer? Trevor Phillips has once again demonstrated his unwavering ability to make a statement and cause a media flurry. In the latest edition of Prospect, he discusses conservative academic Shelby Steele’s thesis on why Barack cannot win the presidential election. Essentially Trevor/Shelby’s argument is that Barack can’t win because he represents the false promise that America has reconciled its’ racial divides. By positing himself as a unifier, he papers over the real... continue reading on 28th February 2008