Jonathan Coe - Sinking Giggling into the Sea
Satire of the ones in power is important. It can act as a conduit for clear though and action. But too often it merely replaces thought/action. "A snigger here, a snigger there – it all adds up". Also, it is often misunderstood! We often take from it what we want to hear. The Colbert Report and Loadsamoney were popular both on the left and right wing.
National Geographic - Before the Flood
Great documentaire produced by Leonardo DiCaprio and given to the world. It doesn't say anything that wasn't already known. It doesn't give any new solutions. But man does it powerfully lay bare how serious the problem is. It absolutely grips for the full 90 minutes and motivates you to take action!
Simon Sinek: Understanding the Game we’re Playing
Simon Sinek at his best. In a passionate address, Simon Sinek talks about the millennial generation. How what can be perceived as entitlement is really a nurtured belief that they(/we) can have it all and a trained impatience. And that the game of life/work should really be seen like a journey and progress instead of like a scavenger hunt to find quick success.
Vox - Pokémon Go is everything that is wrong with late capitalism
Ok, this article is little to nothing about the game of Pokémon. But it uses it as an example of the centralisation of economic activity. Like Amazon and Uber, it centralises most of the money that flows through it. they might make things cheaper along the way, but it comes at a price. The article doesn’t really offer solutions, but it got me thinking!
Matthew Stewart - The Management Myth
A rant of a trained philosopher and former consultant on MBA’s and Management ‘Science’. In a somewhat bitter way philosophers can, he lays bare the flaws in the science. I think the lesson is to check what the models or conclusions are based on. And to use it for what it’s worth
Seth Godin - Stop Stealing Dreams
Schools teach obedience. Learning becomes work. And when it’s work, it's natural to try to figure out how to do less of it. “Will this be on the test?“ When it's art, you don't. Great look ahead of how education will change the coming years.
William Deresiewicz (The Atlantic) - The Death of the Artist and the birth of the Creative Entrepreneur
Very interesting read about the changing role of an artist these the past centuries. From the low-class artisan to the artist as a solitary genius. And what are the implications of the current form of creative and diversified entrepreneurs? Where 10,000 contacts are more important than the 10,000 hours. Where it is every man for himself and art becomes a commodity. Becomes entertainment.
Otto Scharmer - As systems collapse, citizens rise
A great articulation on the reaction of a system (regression or muddling through) to a crisis and the alternative response from the citizens (empathic-human response)
Margaret Atwood (for Matter) - It’s not climate change, it’s everything change
The second THE article of the year about climate change. It dives into the two extreme pictures on how our transition to new energy resources can go. And goes into how it will go down depending on where we are in transitioning. About how the conversation has shifted the last few years. But what struck me most is that this transition is about the human psyche. How when you just think about it as climate change, you miss the psychological change that is needed for this transition. How our values and the way we view ourselves are dependent on how we create energy. From "I am what I make", to "I am what I buy”, to “I am what I save and protect”.
Eric Roston (Bloomberg) - What’s Really Warming the World
Or course, we know there is no debate on climate change among people who know about it. There is an orchestrated perception of a debate. This infographic/article by Bloomberg puts all the potential causes (sun, volcanoes, deforestation, you name it) and their effects on the average temperature in one graph (last 125 years). Very insightful.
Interview with David Graeber - “Bullshit jobs & how bizarrely skewed our economy is”
Iemand die de term “bullshit jobs” verzint mag ik natuurlijk wel. Daarnaast legt hij wel mooi de vinger op de zere plekken. Hoe komt het dat hoe meer je werk mensen helpt hoe minder het betaalt ("als het werk al intrinsieke waarde heeft, waarom moet je er dan voor betaald worden?”). En werk is op zichzelf toch iets heel waardevols? Dus doe dan maar druk! En waarom zijn we eigenlijk meer gaan werken in plaats van minder? En waarom is het meeste van al dat extra werk eigenlijk niet echt iets dat waarde toevoegt?
C.J. Drew - Post-Capitalism: Rise of the Collaborative Commons
Dit is een deksels lang artikel. Maar oh zo goed. C.J. Dew pakt alle innovaties die eraan komen en extrapoleert stap voor stap hoe een samenleving er daarmee uit kan komen te zien. Internet of Things, decentrale energie-opwekking, peer-te-peer finance, 3d printing, etc.
Naomi Klein - This Changes Everything
The Guardian zet Climate Change de laatste tijd (eindelijk) flink in het daglicht. Hier een essay nav Klein’s boek “This changes everything”. Ze zet heel mooi uiteen hoe de mindset van het economische systeem haaks staat op hoe we moeten handelen om climate change tegen te gaan. “Our economy is at war with many forms of life on earth, including human life"
Charles Eisenstein - Sacred Economics
Een filosofische hippie met financieel begrip! Legt de vinger precies op de zere plekken en laat zien dat geld en waarde niet aan elkaar gelijk staan. En geeft concrete antwoorden over wat een beter systeem zou moeten bevatten: Negative interest, Internalization of costs, Social Dividend, Relocalisation of economic functions, p2p financing. Zijn eBook is gratis te downloaden!
Ray Dalio - How The Economic Machine Works
Om er even in te komen. Deze briljant vormgegeven animatie legt heel helder uit hoe het geldsysteem werkt. Transacties en schulden; groei en cycli. Even achterover zitten, kijken en je snapt hoe dingen aan elkaar relateren en hoe een crisis ontstaat.