Politics, law & governance

2050 Vision of a New Legal System by J. Kim Wright

18 June 2019 Leave a Comment

A few years ago, at Findhorn, Scotland [for the New Story Summit], I was asked to write my Vision for 2050. The person who asked said I had one minute to talk and the talk was due in 20 minutes. Three-hundred people were waiting to hear it. I scribbled some words on a scrap of paper. With very few refinements, this is what I read to the group that day.... The seeds of the late 1990s and early 2000s have flourished. We are grateful to our pioneers and trailblazers who held this vision and … Continue reading

New Story Politics: ‘the Politics of Belonging’ by George Monbiot

25 September 2017 1 Comment

"We need a wholly new story and it sounds like a tall order, but I believe there's one just waiting to be told - a restoration story that I call the politics of belonging." In this 2-minute clip, George Monbiot argues that the "spirit-crushing, society-crushing system of neoliberalism has destroyed our natural capacity for altruism", and that we must fight against it to create "a politics of belonging that revives community and returns land to the people as a source of common wealth". We need … Watch video

Out of the Wreckage: A New Politics for an Age of Crisis by George Monbiot

8 August 2017 Leave a Comment

"What does the good life — and the good society — look like in the twenty-first century? "A toxic ideology rules the world – of extreme competition and individualism. It misrepresents human nature, destroying hope and common purpose. Only a positive vision can replace it, a new story that re-engages people in politics and lights a path to a better world. "George Monbiot shows how new findings in psychology, neuroscience and evolutionary biology cast human nature in a radically different light: … Continue reading

BBC’s Good Morning Scotland interviews Findhorn Foundation in run up to UK General Election

8 June 2017 Leave a Comment

"Can the adversarial world of politics learn from the collegiate approach of the Findhorn Foundation? Robin, Mark & Yvonne think so..." Gary Robertson interviews community members Robin Alfred, Mark Anderson and Yvonne Cuneo in the run up to the UK General Election. Listen to the radio segment here.... Continue reading

The Election: Of Hate, Grief, and a New Story by Charles Eisenstein

11 November 2016 Leave a Comment

"Anything becomes possible with the collapse of dominant institutions. When the animating force behind these new ideas is hate or fear, all manner of fascistic and totalitarian nightmares can ensue, whether enacted by existing powers or those that arise in revolution against them. "That is why, as we enter a period of intensifying disorder, it is important to introduce a different kind of force to animate the structures that might appear after the old ones crumble. I would call it love if it … Continue reading

Meet Birgitta Jónsdóttir: the Ex-Wikileaks Volunteer Who Has Helped the Pirate Party Reshape Iceland

2 November 2016 Leave a Comment

"In Iceland, the direct democracy Pirate Party made big gains in Sunday’s national elections, raising the prospect it will form a coalition government with other left-wing parties. The Pirates won 10 seats in Iceland’s 63-member Parliament, up from three in the last election. The Pirate Party hopes to pass the world’s first crowdsourced constitution. Its core platform calls for direct democracy, freedom of expression, civil rights, net neutrality and transparency. "Women also won big in this … Watch video

Political Revolution is About Waking Up | Joe Brewer

14 October 2016 Leave a Comment

"Real political revolutions are an evolution of social consciousness. They transpire when it is no longer acceptable to perpetuate the social norms that maintain status quo institutions of power. They are about recognizing that the way we show up in conversations has influence on our peers. And together we can change things within our selves, together in groups, and ultimately by replacing organizations-of-old with better alternatives. "I invite you to think more deeply, question reality, and … Continue reading

Wild Democracy: A Biodiversity of Resistance and Renewal

24 August 2016 Leave a Comment

Long read, but a good read... "With characteristic insight, the great American philosopher, John Dewey, once wrote: ‘Every generation has to accomplish democracy over again for itself.’ His point was that, at each moment in history, citizens and nations inevitably face unique challenges and problems, so we should not assume the democratic institutions and practices inherited from the past will be adequate for the conditions of today. Our ongoing political challenge, therefore, is to ‘accomplish’ … Continue reading

The Fertile Ground of Bewilderment | Charles Eisenstein

13 July 2016 Leave a Comment

"The Brexit vote marks a rare moment of discontinuity, when the usual normalizing narratives falter and a society experiences a fertile and frightening moment of bewilderment. Brexit, though, is a mere foreshadowing of the vertigo that will ensue with the next economic crisis, which will dwarf that of 2008. To prepare for it, we have to operate on a level much deeper than current politics offers. It is the tacitly assumed narratives lurking beneath conventional political discourse that need our … Continue reading

This #ProgrExit starts with your longing | Transition Culture

11 July 2016 Leave a Comment

Inspired by the notion of 'ProgrExit', Rob Hopkins, Findhorn Fellow and co-founder of Transition Town Totnes and the Transition Network, presents his vision of a progressive exit: "...it opens up the space for an inclusive, bottom-up decentralised response, one built on foundations of compassion, a global empathy, an intentional localisation built on equity and kindness. If we can participate, and inspire, there's a huge opportunity here...a useful place to start is to ask what is it that the … Continue reading