I have been warming up to this post for a few weeks, even if what’s being said mostly isn’t me saying it. As I have argued on previous occasions, it has become customary to claim that the world is going to hell in a hurry, and that the only solution to this problem is to tear civilisation down, and start anew. I am on record for rejecting both these hypotheses, though for the sake of argument, let’s say that I concede the former. Let’s say that I accept the premise that the way we’re doing things—capitalism, globalisation etc—is in need of fundamental re-design. What would be the most important prerequisite for such a project to succeed?
I’d argue that at whatever level of society such an endeavour is made, it can only prevail if everyone shares an objective method for sorting fact from fiction, truth from false, and sense from nonsense. Without such tools, any such project, at any degree of ambition, would fail. Luckily, humanity has powerful tools at its disposal for such inquiries in the form of science, technology and epistemology. Coupled with good faith, tolerance, compassion and mutual respect, I think that we could achieve just about anything that we set out to achieve. So, what are our chances? Based on the recent evidence, I’d say; slim to none.
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