Philosophy
As you may have noticed, we are living in an increasingly consumerist world, and while certain quantifiable criteria of economic progress have become more prevalent than in any other time in history, and (as Matthew Taylor recently argued in his talk about 21st century enlightenment), the principles of individualism and novelty have come to take center stage in our lives, even to the paradoxical point of diminishing human flourishing and potential (by making us forget other important principles, such as those of social cohesion).
In the following important presentation, Tim Jackson demonstrates that the economic principles responsible for delivering the kind of world to which we have become accustomed are not indefinitely sustainable. In the process, he provides some examples of the kinds of incremental changes we might want to adopt in order to finally stop feeding the problem and start investing in our collective future.
And if you want to get an idea of how unsustainable materialist consumerism is, check out The Story of Stuff.
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- Bullshit Or Not: Hitler Edition
There's an old sketch film called Amazon Women on the Moon and one of the bits is a parody of the old Leonard Nimoy show, "In Search Of..." called, "Bullshit or Not?" with the tagline "Bullshit or not? You decide." It's a line I like so much that...
- Is America The Greatest Nation In The World? Nope
I think maybe it's time we change our name from The United States of America to The United States of Cognitive Dissonance. On the one hand, either when we visit other countries or, weirdly enough, during sports events in-house, we can't shut up...
- David Brooks - The Social Animal
Our mastery over the physical world over the past few centuries has been based on our newly acquired ability to understand the structural intricacies of that world. Understanding that world has required that we make certain reductive assumptions about...
- Sir Ken Robinson - Changing Education Paradigms
After delivering two of the most popular TEDTalk presentations to date (here and here), the always-engaging Sir Ken Robinson is back to provide a fascinating analysis of the roots of the current educational crisis. The educational system of the 21st century,...
- The Hayek Vs. Keynes Rap: Fear The Boom And Bust
Before we get into the complexity of two of the most influential schools of economic thought of the previous century, you might want to take a look at this hilarious explanation of the basic principles of economics first (if nothing else, it's worth...
Philosophy
Tim Jackson - An Economic Reality Check
As you may have noticed, we are living in an increasingly consumerist world, and while certain quantifiable criteria of economic progress have become more prevalent than in any other time in history, and (as Matthew Taylor recently argued in his talk about 21st century enlightenment), the principles of individualism and novelty have come to take center stage in our lives, even to the paradoxical point of diminishing human flourishing and potential (by making us forget other important principles, such as those of social cohesion).In the following important presentation, Tim Jackson demonstrates that the economic principles responsible for delivering the kind of world to which we have become accustomed are not indefinitely sustainable. In the process, he provides some examples of the kinds of incremental changes we might want to adopt in order to finally stop feeding the problem and start investing in our collective future.
And if you want to get an idea of how unsustainable materialist consumerism is, check out The Story of Stuff.
.
- Bullshit Or Not: Hitler Edition
There's an old sketch film called Amazon Women on the Moon and one of the bits is a parody of the old Leonard Nimoy show, "In Search Of..." called, "Bullshit or Not?" with the tagline "Bullshit or not? You decide." It's a line I like so much that...
- Is America The Greatest Nation In The World? Nope
I think maybe it's time we change our name from The United States of America to The United States of Cognitive Dissonance. On the one hand, either when we visit other countries or, weirdly enough, during sports events in-house, we can't shut up...
- David Brooks - The Social Animal
Our mastery over the physical world over the past few centuries has been based on our newly acquired ability to understand the structural intricacies of that world. Understanding that world has required that we make certain reductive assumptions about...
- Sir Ken Robinson - Changing Education Paradigms
After delivering two of the most popular TEDTalk presentations to date (here and here), the always-engaging Sir Ken Robinson is back to provide a fascinating analysis of the roots of the current educational crisis. The educational system of the 21st century,...
- The Hayek Vs. Keynes Rap: Fear The Boom And Bust
Before we get into the complexity of two of the most influential schools of economic thought of the previous century, you might want to take a look at this hilarious explanation of the basic principles of economics first (if nothing else, it's worth...