...new economic thinking?

( institute for new economic thinking )

...washington for sale?

democracy v. capitalism...

personally, i'm in favor of democracy, which means that the central institutions of society have to be under popular control. now, under capitalism, we can't have democracy by definition. capitalism is a system in which the central institutions of society are in principle under autocratic control. thus, a corporation or an industry is, if we were to think of it in political terms, fascist; that is, it has tight control at the top and strict obedience has to be established at every level--there's little bargaining, a little give and take, but the line of authority is perfectly straightforward. just as i'm opposed to political fascism, i'm opposed to economic fascism. i think that until the major institutions of society are under the popular control of participants and communities, it's pointless to talk about democracy// noam chomsky

with most men, unbelief in one thing springs from blind belief in another// georg christoph lichtenberg

putting the science of happiness into practice...

the study of happiness is experiencing a boom. its practitioners include economists who believe that gross domestic product (GDP) is too limited a tool to measure the success of societies, psychologists and sociologists who feel that their disciplines have focused too much on neuroses and social problems and not enough on determining what kind of activities and policies actually contribute to happier societies, and political leaders who want to know how to make use of their findings. during the 5th international gross national happiness conference, held last week in brazil, happiness proponents from around the world were able to come together and compare notes about the practical application of happiness science// john de graaf, 12.06.09, yes!

...why do so many students hate school?

...it seems an obvious, but ignored question. john dewey said that an educator must take into account the unique differences between each student. each person is different genetically and in terms of past experiences. even when a standard curricula is presented using established pedagogical methods, each students will have a different quality of experience. thus, teaching and curriculum must be designed in ways that allow for such individual differences. for dewey, education also served a broader social purpose, which was to help people become more effective members of democratic society. dewey argued that the one-way delivery style of authoritarian schooling does not provide a good model for life in democratic society. instead, students need educational experiences which enable them to become valued, equal, and responsible members of society. the most common misunderstanding about dewey is that he was simply supporting progressive education. progressive education, according to dewey, was a wild swing in the philosophical pendulum, against traditional education methods. in progressive education, freedom was the rule, with students being relatively unconstrained by the educator. the problem with progressive education, said dewey, is that freedom alone is no solution. learning needs a structure and order, and must be based on a clear theory of experience, not simply the whim of teachers or students//

the big lunch...

the idea was a simple one. what would happen if everyone in the country stopped what they were doing for one moment and sat down and had lunch with their neighbours? the likelihood is that it would at the very least put a smile back on britain’s face – and that importantly, in time, a whole host of good things would flow from the strengthening of communities. sunday 19th july 2009 was the first big lunch and now the seed has been sown we look forward to the event growing year after year. the day saw up to a million people around the UK stop traffic for a few happy hours as neighbours sat down to share a big lunch. thousands of neighbourhoods broke out the bunting for this glorious celebration of community spirit in the biggest collection of open-air parties since the golden jubilee. and they loved it//

information is beautiful...

david mccandless, a london-based designer, has been thinking in technicolor. the billion dollar gram helps you to quickly make sense of the big numbers behind government budgets.

if you’re blown away by these visualization tools, then take a look at this online art exhibition of works created using a programming code called processing—which provides an amazing platform for artists to explore public issues//

demos: everyday democracy...

democracy is facing a crisis, but simply reforming the structures of governance will not lead to democratic renewal. the public needs to take an active part in the renewal process.

everyday democracy means increasing public participation in the formal and informal institutions that shape our daily lives. people should be able to make individual choices in ways that contribute to the common good.

renewing democracy through public participation increases our collective capacity to tackle major problems facing society, such as the pensions shortfall and climate change. many of these problems can be addressed only by changing the way we live our daily lives.

demos is committed to building everyday democracy.

...how do we make the institutions of day-to-day life more democratic?

democratising engagement...

governments around the world are starting to realise that engaging their citizens more in shaping the decisions that affect their everyday lives improves both legitimacy and the quality of public services. in the UK, addressing the democratic deficit is high on the political agenda. but the current model of consultation does not bring in the diversity of voices and perspectives that would make citizen engagement genuinely democratic. this pamphlet draws on the institute for development studies research project spaces for change, examining international attempts to democratise citizen engagement. the case studies show that genuine, inclusive engagement requires investment to create an enabling environment and to support society’s least vocal and least powerful people to find and use their voices. as other countries lead the effort to involve the public in meaningful conversations about policy, the pamphlet argues that the UK has much to learn from their experience// democratising engagement, 04.29.08, demos

the large private corporation fits oddly into democratic theory and vision. indeed, it does not fit// charles lindblom

from participation to power...

participation is the essence of web 2.0, but it is not true power. however, it can lead to power if we understand its role in the ecosystem of social change and it's used accordingly... connecting and conversing is necessary, but the danger is that we get stuck in conversation. there is such a thing as being too connected. we have cognitive and time limits. web 2.0 can overload us with messages, shrink attention spans, absorb our time, erode focus, and thus disrupt our ability as citizens to find common ground and take action together. it's possible that through web 2.0 we may be, as in the title of cultural critic neil postman’s influential book, amusing ourselves to death. after all, web 2.0 goes by another name - social media. how can this pitfall be avoided? quantitative sociologist harald katzmair believes we must structure our conversations so that they lead to shared perspectives, agendas, and actions. conversations must be transformed into ideas, ideas into prototype solutions, and successful solutions scaled. harald is helping his clients transform conversations in exactly this way. he has designed a stakeholder engagement process in jordan to help farmers share water... one key element is the impact analysis. in one day, an impact analysis workshop transforms the distributed knowledge of diverse stakeholders into a common understanding of the system on which they depend through a structured conversation. importantly, this conversation separates causes from symptoms so that stakeholders have a shared view of where to focus resources to have maximum impact. this becomes the basis for a shared action plan// neal gorenflo, 11.20.09, shareable