A few examples spring to mind. In 2007, while my eyes were opening wider and wider to the reality of Climate Camp, I was at an event in Manchester aimed at getting university students involved in the "non-hierarchical" organisation. And two self-described "non-hierarchical leaders designed the meeting that involved rather a lot of talking... by... Continue Reading →
“Nuclear electricity” – 1978 booklet by Australian Mining Industry Council
So, the Australian government has torn up a contract it made with the French for some submarines and is now going to buy some nuclear ones. Smarter people than me (Laura Tingle, Guy Rundle etc etc) have written about the geopolitics of all this. One point, made by various commentators, is that building/operating nuclear subs... Continue Reading →
Podcasts schmodcasts – the good, bad and indifferent
Am late to this party, since I didn't get a smart phone until 18 months ago, and even then just didn't bother. But, thanks to, well, Dr Termagant, I finally started listening them, usually on long yomps up hills and around cities. I listened to a bunch of politics ones, Meh. I listened to a... Continue Reading →
Incumbency own goals – accidents will happen…
Proportional representation is not the global panacea that some of its more excitable proponents would have you believe. It's not the "one weird trick" that will usher in a golden age of reasonable and reasoned governance. But the current system - a cartel of major parties guarding the mechanisms by which they keep their position... Continue Reading →
On invitations to reflect, and how we de-rail ourselves…
The Buddhists are right, I think, about the ways in which longing and desire prevent us from learning, from seeing the world more as it is than as we would wish it to be. This is coming from a very revealing interaction this morning online, on a Twitter account I share the running of. The... Continue Reading →
#Community and 3 unspoken theories of change – Our mental models are Jeff Winger wrong…
““There's no such thing as "Single Malt Platinum Boobs and Billiards Club"? Aw, I guess I never said it out loud.”Jeff Winger in the Community episode “Remedial Chaos Theory” (1) We bumble through life like a blind drunk bull in a china shop. We have un-examined and under-examined assumptions about how the world actually is... Continue Reading →
Incumbency tactics – build a “common sense” (a la Gramsci)/capture the policy networks and possibilities
One of my favourite quotes about politics, policy etc is this "The definition of alternatives is the supreme instrument of power." It's by a basically forgotten American political scientist called E.E. Schattschneider. It kinda gels with a bunch of other stuff about institutional guard-rails, and Gramsci's notion of hegemony and common sense (as opposed to... Continue Reading →
Standard Public Meeting Syndrome and what to do about it.
Public Meetings are disastrously bad at achieving their goals. They are not the only reason that social movement organisations struggle to recruit or retain people, but they are a significant barrier to a Better World (tm). I have been writing and video-making about this forever (well, it feels like that). See here and here. To... Continue Reading →
Gestural politics, security and movements. So much for the climate emergency
The short version: I went to a small-ish rally on the steps of parliament house, then navigated intimidatory security to watch… school boys and school girls ignoring the climate emergency. The longer version: Around sixty people, many aged sixty or more, gathered on the steps of the State Parliament of South Australia at 1.30 today.... Continue Reading →
“Welcome to the Smugosphere” – a two page bluffer’s guide/warning
What would you want to tell a new member of a social movement (organisation)? My two pager below - comments in the comments pls. A couple of years ago (god, it feels like a million years) I wrote a piece called "Dear New Climate Activist", which largely stands up, I think (genuinely interested in folks'... Continue Reading →
