I wish I could take credit for a lot of the things written here, but I can’t. Almost every view I hold is the result of asking a question and then doing some research. The funny thing about a lot of it is how as soon as I turned to look I stubbed my toe on the answer and had to hop around for a while swearing under my breath.
When I was thinking about the analogy of growth as a hamster wheel spinning us around in an eternity of unthinking drudgery I came across Clive Hamilton’s Growth Fetish in a bookshop in Australia. The book basically threw itself off the shelf as I walked past. A very thoughtful book it asks questions like what does the left do now in the midst of affluence? It questions Blair’s Third Way. It asks questions about societies goals and objectives.
When I was thinking about realigning our methods of production I came across Natural Capitalism, The Natural Advantage of Nations and The Toyota Production System, all of which are about doing things better and harnessing the vitality of business to get it done. Lately I’ve added The Natural Step from Sweden. I also read The End of Poverty but was less impressed. The ideals are creditworthy, but their basis in economics rather than in methods which are tailor made for poor countries left me doubting whether it was sustainable.
Books on Society at large included the Death of Responsibility and the Unconscious Civilization, both of which made me think and hone my own ideas. Both are questioning books and the questions they ask are the questions we all need to think on, even if our answers are different.
That being said the thing that interests me most is bouncing ideas around. Brainstorming is apparently improved if everyone has a piece of paper, writes their idea on it and then pushes it into the middle of the table. Like a baton exchange in a relay race, someone picks up on your idea and maybe takes it in an unexpected direction, to the benefit of all.
We are all of us seeking answers to the important questions of destiny, function and purpose, something which I like to call our own personal legacy. It is very difficult to find these things while walking alone. So, please if there’s anything you like, don’t like, needs whittled, then please add a comment. I will respond.
