TheoGeoPolis

Future Capital

2011-11-29T08:57:00.000-08:00

London cannot afford to rest on its laurels if it wants to maintain its global status.

‎"Quality of life matters too, not just for the young and affluent, but also for the less well-off and those with families. Inequality and the need for calmer, more cohesive communities across London requires better access to jobs for young people, more effective policing and large numbers of new homes. To tackle these challenges the city needs more investment, more power to solve its own problems, and leaders effective at wielding it."

'via Blog this'

Open the Future: "To Prevail"

2011-11-29T08:54:00.000-08:00

"To Prevail is to accept that our technological tools are changing how our humanity expresses itself, but not changing who we are. It is to know that such changes are choices we make, not destinies we submit to. It is to recognize that our technologies are manifestations of our culture and our politics, and embed the unconscious biases, hopes, and fears we all carry — and that this is something to make transparent and self-evident, not kept hidden. We can make far better choices about our futures when we have a clearer view of our present.

To Prevail is to see something subtle and important that both critics and cheerleaders of technological evolution often miss: our technologies will, as they always have, make us who we are.

Human plus a Computer equals a Human."

'via Blog this'

More than bricks and mortar

2011-10-30T13:02:00.000-07:00

‘We knew not if we were in heaven or on earth. For on earth there is no such splendour orsuch beauty and we are at a loss how to describe it. We know only that God dwells among men… forwe cannot forget that beauty.’

Thus marvelled an awestruck Ukrainian envoy on experiencingthe untold candles, soaring architecture, lavish iconography and clouds ofincense of the Hagia Sophia in 987AD. This was exactly the response that thebuilding was designed to evoke. Here was a liminal place, a meeting point whereHeaven touched Earth and humans could glimpse something of the divine. Whilefew churches are as breath-taking as the Hagia Sofia, the idea that churchbuildings should radiate a sense of power, authority and other worldliness hasremained the dominant blueprint for the last 1500 years.

This week the news has been full of discussion about anotherglorious cathedral - St Paul’s in the City of London, which was closed as a resultof the Occupy London Stock Exchange (OLSX) protest camp. St Paul’s is an impressivebuilding, a survivor of the Blitz and symbol of national hope. Many who visitwill have the same sense of awe as that expressed by the Ukrainian envoy at HagiaSofia. However, the St Paul’s decision not to embrace the OLSX protesters’ radicalcries for justice been a great disappointment to many.

Most of us can have no idea of the complexities of runningan institution like St Paul’s with its thousands of tourists and significant dailyturnover. Few can claim to be privy to the conversations which led to thecathedral’s decision to close its doors. For these reasons, we must not judge theDean’s decision too harshly, but I am not alone in feeling a deep sadness atthe course of action that was taken.

Certainly, the protestors’ message is unclear and includesextreme views. It seems unlikely that their protest will achieve anything moretangible than it already has through manifesting a popular dissatisfaction withthe status quo. An early snow and all but the most hardcore campers are likelyto pack up and head home. In short, the protest is far from perfect. However, herewas an opportunity for the Christian Church to throw off the shackles of its perceivedapathy (a perception especially applicable to the Anglican community), to speaktruth to power and challenge the deep inequalities in our society. Christiansacross the country where praying that this would happen, exhorting theleadership of St Paul’s to remember the radical heart of our faith and take abold stance, but we were to bedisappointed; the clergy lived up to popular expectations and sided with the establishment,citing of all things, health and safety concerns.

The issue, I suspect, is not one of financial greed or shadyintrigue, but practical priorities. St Paul’s is a building. It is a glorious,impressive, towering building, a tourist attraction, a landmark. The cost andenergy required to maintain such a vast machine is significant and in this casewould seem to have inhibited the leadership of St Paul’s from choosing the paththat so many of us hoped they would take. In in other words, the burden of maintenancetransformed them from clergy into caretakers.

The Christian Church however is not a building. It is apeople, a kingdom, a new reality. Buildings like Hagia Sofia, St Paul’s andothers are undeniably impressive and may serve to give visitors a glimpse ofsomething beyond the ordinary, but they are simply constructions of bricks andmortar. As St Paul himself wrote in Acts 17.24:

‘The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lordof heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.’

To be blunt, buildings – even beautiful ones – are millstones.They tie congregations down and instil a cautiousness that undermines theradical heart of Christianity. Clearly, the Church needs places to meet and ina country like Britain (and especially a city like London), space is at apremium. I have been involved with various churches over my life, some of whom ownedbuildings and others who rented space from schools, theatres or other churches.It is my experience that often those congregations without buildings aredesperate to buy a permanent home, whilst those with properties are engaged inan ongoing struggle to make their building meet changing needs. There aremerits to both options – renting allows greater agility and reduces theoverheads, having your own property provides stability and means that activitiescan take place seven days a week. It is my feeling however that those churcheswith buildings (or at least those with traditional buildings) are at the disadvantage.With stability comes comfort, with comfort complacency, and complacency, irrelevance.When the greatest part of your budget is spent maintaining your property,serious questions need to be asked.

I’m not suggesting that the Church of England should demolishSt Paul’s or abandon it to English Heritage. However, I feel that this week’sevents have emphasised the extent to which we have let our buildings define us,not the other way around. Not only have the grand, imposing edifices known as churchestwisted the public conception of Christianity itself, leading to a widespread imageof the Church as remote, conservative and self-interested, they have trapped theliving Church, whose treasure lies in Heaven and which knows no place of rest, withinfour stone walls. It’s time to remember what our buildings are for, admit whenthey have become more important to us than the poor, the broken and thesuffering and take steps to reverse that reality.

Some cathedrals, notably Trinity Wall Street in New York, havesuccessfully balanced tourist-pleasing grandeur with a vibrant worshipping communitythat engages with the daily needs of the world around them. Unlike the casewith many other cathedrals, the visitor gets the clear message that this buildingis not simply an interesting architectural specimen or a historical artefactbut is home to a living breathing community of believers. Trinity’s church plant,also named after St Paul, is equally well balanced in this way. It stands defiantat the edge of Ground Zero, a firm item on the tourist trail not just because itsurvived the fall of the Twin Towers but because it tangibly represents whatthe Church stands for. Throughout the rescue operation, the little chapel thatstood demonstrated God’s sacrificial love in action through its service to thoseworking in the ruins of the World Trade Centre.

Can St Paul’s reassert its dominance over its own building andrediscover the radical heart of Christianity or will it continue to be ruled bythe burden of maintenance? Time will tell, but the risk is clear. Hagia Sofia, withits emphasis on grandeur rather than grace, majestic construction rather than meaningful community, is no longer a place of worship but a museum.

Blessed are the peace makers

2011-08-19T14:19:00.000-07:00

Captain Kirk and the cult of just warfare

The thing about the original series of Star Trek is that, regardless which sector of the galaxy they were exploring, or which homogeneous planet they landed upon, it always ended in a scrap - usually between Captain Kirk and a bloke in fairly unconvincing make-up on an equally unconvincing set. Looking around at the current crop of summer blockbusters, its clear to see that this model - the good guy overcoming evil by force of arms - remains a central theme in our culture. From Bond to Batman, Iron Man to Avatar, the forces of good invariably prevail through a combination of righteous valour, luck and vastly superior weaponry.

Let’s face it: in our culture, good guys with guns are cool. Under fire and outgunned, they always prevail and the forces of evil - whether alien robots, international criminals or rogue scientists - are brought low.

This idea of heroic combat is not limited to the silver screen - in Afghanistan, Libya, Iraq and elsewhere we can see real men and women taking up arms to fight injustice. Just like in the movies, our media has painted a black and white world full of good guys and villains for us to cheer for and jeer at in turn. As a consequence of this narrative, in recent months we have seen Americans gleefully celebrating the assassination of Osama Bin Laden while NATO forces are bombing Libya for the protection of civilians. Indeed, we even find ourselves pondering whether assassinating Gaddafi isn’t perhaps the best way to end the stalemate and suffering in Libya?

Wrestling with pacifism

As a man, I have to admit that military hardware and martial heroes like Bond are strangely alluring. As a student of history, I am aware of many occasions when not standing up in the face of injustice would seem not to be not only counter-intuitive but unforgivably negligent. We need only think of the Second World War, or the Rwandan Genocide. However, the problem with this whole narrative of Just Warfare and martial heroism is that it lies in direct contradiction to Jesus’ teaching on peace and justice. As such I find myself wrestling with pacifism and increasingly identifying myself within that school.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus proclaims: “Blessed are the peace makers, for they shall be called Children of God.” (Matthew 5:9) It’s just one sentence among many now familiar and powerful phrases. Its quickly read and passed over, but it’s worth spending some time considering more closely.

Sermon on the Mount in context

The Sermon on the Mount was delivered in a context of imperial subjugation by Rome and domestic political unrest. There is some disagreement about how significant the Roman presence was in first century Palestine, but it is clear that Jerusalem - once a great centre of influence - was now little more than a backwater town on the fringes of civilisation. While some Jews were happy to keep their heads down and make do, others were less than satisfied with the status quo.

Banditry was common in hinterlands and border regions where government authority was ambiguous, where peasant gangs reacted to their lack of opportunities and influence by ransacking the homes of the wealthy out of spite. Often the leaders of these bandit gangs would portray themselves as a kind of royalty, wearing purple robes and stolen crowns - the Godfathers of Galilee.

Another group responded to Roman rule with more organised insurrections. The most famous of these movements was the Zealots. The Zealots staged several violent revolts including one around 4 B.C. in Sepphoris, the Capital of the Galilee and home of the wealthy elite, only four kilometres from Nazareth. The revolt was crushed by the Romans; hundreds of people were crucified or sold into slavery. Since Nazareth was a thoroughly peasant village, it is likely that at least some Nazarenes were sympathetic to the revolt and perhaps even participants with the Zealots. This event would certainly have been a traumatic part of the collective memory of those listening to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.

A third brand of resistance was apocalyptic prophesy. Charismatic, prophetic individuals attracted followers by using symbolism from Jewish liberation history to preach the imminence of the restoration of Israel by divine action. One such prophet lead his followers from the wilderness to Jerusalem where he promised that by marching around the city, God would act on their behalf and overthrow the Roman occupation of Jerusalem. The prophet sought to re-enact the people of Israel's journey from slavery to freedom and Joshua's triumph over Jericho to provoke similar divine action on behalf of first-century Jews living under occupation.

Among the crowd it is possible that each of these types of people were represented and indeed most will have expected Jesus himself to fall into the final category - the apocalyptic prophet preaching doom to the Romans and puppet regime. However, the message that Jesus brought - blessed be the peacemakers - rejects violent action (whether by man or God) and challenges his listeners to embrace a different path.

In this teaching and others, Jesus challenges us all to adopt a response to conflict that is more constructive and ultimately more difficult than taking up arms. In his own life, he responded to persecution and violence with love and self-sacrifice that perplexed, frustrated and transformed the lives of his enemies (as well as costing him his own). We have convinced ourselves that fighting evil with force is a righteous response to injustice - that we are the good guys standing against the evils of the world, but we should remember that Jesus never said "Greater love has no man than this: to kill those who oppress others”.

A creative response to conflict

Responding to aggression with peace sounds mad, especially in light of the injustice we see on the news every day, but it is perhaps not as foolhardy as it first seems. The illusionist Derren Brown - a man with a particular insight into the human character - tells an interesting story in which he confounded a violent aggressor.

"A couple of years ago I was walking back from a hotel at three in the morning. A guy came up to me looking for a fight. Rather than playing the authority game he was trying to set up, I said to him 'the wall outside my house is four foot high' to confuse him. His eyes glazed over and all the adrenaline left him. He was still on the verge of hitting me but then I said 'but when I was in Spain, the walls were really, really low.'

"What I did induced a state of complete confusion and in that state you're desperate for something to make sense so that you come out of it. He burst into tears and I ended up giving him advice on how to cope with his girlfriend - they'd had a fight."

Now I’m not arguing that Derren Brown is a perfect role model, but this story illustrates that when Jesus promotes a non-violent path, it doesn’t mean we have to tolerate violence or to ignore it, but rather we should find ways to respond to it creatively.

Peace

Whatever our intention, however well meaning we may be, we cannot make peace through conflict. At best, tensions are suppressed, but they remain unresolved, waiting. Ultimately, even the best intentioned violence only ever leads to more violence.

However, not doing anything is no a response either. Well meaning words and platitudes are equally unhelpful - especially to those suffering. As the Derren Brown story illustrates, to be true peace makers is to embrace our creativity and confound evil with love.

The United Nations

Last summer, Victoria and I visited the UN in New York. Throughout the building are provocative quotes and statistics about the state of the world and the work of the UN. One of the quotes that stood out was from Eleanor Roosevelt, who said: “It isn’t enough to talk about peace. One must believe it. And it isn’t enough to believe in it. One must work at it.” Another observed that “Like war, peace must be waged.”

In light of these rousing statements, it was distressing to learn that the total annual UN peace keeping budget is less than 0.5% of all global military expenditure.

It was former American President and General Dwight D Eisenhower who lamented the rise of military spending at the expense of tackling injustice in more creative ways. In his final speech as president he reminded the world that: “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in a final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed – those who are cold and not clothed.”

Eisenhower was right that there are better things to spend our resources on that weapons or war, better ways to bring justice than with the sword and semi-automatic. Spending more on peace keeping isn’t the answer however, since it still conforms to the idea of meeting violence with violence, or at least the threat of violence.

No, the role Jesus challenges us to embrace is not that of peace keepers, but peace makers - an active, creative posture. But what on earth does that mean? How do we rise to this challenge? Must we wander into conflict zones with face paints and footballs?

Life as it should be

The truth is that we can be peace makers wherever we are. Although so far we have been considering peace in terms of the absence of armed conflict, the Hebrew word for peace - SHALOM - is not limited in this way, but rather refers to things being ‘as they should be’. As Radiohead might put it, peace, shalom, means everything in its right place.

This is not a new commission that Jesus presents to his audience. Being peace makers - shalom makers - was a role that God entrusted to Adam when he charged him to tend the Garden of Eden in Genesis. Being a good steward of creation is to cultivate Shalom - to bring harmony, balance. Later in Genesis, Abraham and his family were charged with modelling Shalom - life as it should be - to the nations.

In light of this legacy, Jesus’ encouragement to be peace makers becomes more accessible - if still challenging. To be a peace maker is to bring shalom, which means to bring healing and wholeness, to lives, people, the world. To bring shalom means deliberately looking for the shattered, the hungry, the lost, the down-trodden, and to act in such a way as to bring change.... to feed, to liberate, to raise up. Therefore, when Jesus calls us to be "peacemakers," He is calling us to be the ones to bring healing and wholeness to a broken world.

Justice Matters

Being a peace maker therefore is to do more than talk the talk. But where to start?

Since January this year a small group of friends have been gathering in coffee shops and homes around Finchley to wrestle with this very question. Out of this small gathering of activists, optimists and ordinary radicals has grown Justice Matters - a new community for people seeking to make a difference, an effort to start doing something - however small our individual contributions may be.

Justice Matters held its first public gathering before the summer. We had 25 people join us to

discuss the social justice issues close to their heart - from poverty to sexual violence against women, water and sanitation to political oppression. The theme of the evening - aside from being an opportunity to meet some like-minded people - was to encourage one another that our individual efforts to be peace makers are not lone acts of delusional hope in an ocean of darkness, but rather form vibrant sparks in an incandescent network of shalom bringers. Together we can - together we are - making a difference.

Making even the slightest dent into these global problems may seem impossible, but the worst thing we can do is not act because the task seems too great. Even one step for the better is worth taking: Every hungry person fed and watered, every woman rescued from sex trafficking, every older person granted dignity, every tribesman given economic independence, every child immunised against a preventable disease - each of these is a victory for shalom.

When he calls us to be peace makers, Jesus reminds us that the Kingdom of God is more than well-meant words and a warm glow inside. Rather it is a call to action. In the Church we can be guilty of thinking that praying against injustice is enough. Certainly, prayer is vital - we cannot achieve real change in our own strength, but as Shane Claiborne writes in the book Follow Me to Freedom:

“When we pray for the hungry, let’s remember to feed them. When we pray for the unborn, let’s welcome single mothers and adopt abandoned children. When we give thanks for creation, let’s plant a garden and buy locally grown fruit and vegetables. When we remember the poor, let’s reinvest our money in micro-lending programs. When we pray for peace, let’s beat our swords into ploughshares and turn military budgets into programs of social uplift. When we pray for an end to crime, let’s visit those in prison. When we pray for lost souls, let’s be gracious to the souls who’ve done us wrong.”

Don't worry if you feel small and that you have only a little to give. As the environmental activist Julia Butterfly Hill says: “The question is not, ‘Can you make a difference?’ You already do make a difference. It’s just a question of what kind of difference you want to make.”

The smell of success

2011-08-11T05:01:00.001-07:00

Hello Rioters. Look at your friend, now back to me; now at your friend, now back to me! Sadly, he isn't me; but if he stopped using antisocial behaviour and started using job centre he could be like me. Look down, back up. Where are we? You're at an interview, with the man your friend could work for! What's in his hand? It's an application form to that job he needs. Look again.. the form is now money! Anything is possible when you get a job and stop looting. I'm at a desk.

Courtesy of the excellent Stuart Smith

In praise of slow

2011-07-02T08:37:00.000-07:00

Here’s a blog I found languishing in development that I thought worth tidying up and publishing...

A couple of years ago I attended a conference where Mark Driscoll was the guest speaker. Driscoll is a neo-Calvinist Christian church leader from Seattle, so not everything he said resonated with my view of the world (his attitude to women for a start), but one point he made recently resurfaced in my mind. Driscoll described how he regularly makes a point of driving the long way to wherever he’s going, taking time to explore and observe his community, to notice the issues and opportunities locally. For those of us living in a city like London, often commuting long-distances (or at least long hours) to and from our places of employment, slowing down or taking the scenic route is rarely an option we consider. Its all very well for professional clergy like Driscoll to spend time getting from A to B, but for most of us we don’t have the luxury of lingering. However, as I have begun to realise recently (and no doubt others have discovered before me), living at speed is a dangerous habit to get into.

Since late 2009, I have I lived on the western edge of Watford. Almost every day since we moved here I have driven into North London for work, church or other social engagements. While the journey is perfectly straightforward and rarely congested, I am aware that I have become increasingly impatient to arrive at my destination. In practise this means that I find myself getting irate at slower drivers, sauntering pedestrians and cavalier cyclists. As a result I arrive at my destination (whether work or home) wound up and weary - not a good frame of mind for a manager or a husband to be in.

We live in a world where speed has become an addiction - faster journeys, faster downloads, faster mobile devices. As the interviewee in this video observes, we are constantly raising our expectations to match cutting edge developments in speed. Mobile phone to slow in sending a message or accessing the internet? 'Give it a second', he says, 'its going to space!' (On a technical point, this is probably factually inaccurate but that doesn't mean its not true.)

Huge swathes of the population are caught up in this kind of breathless commuter lifestyle; so busy getting from A to B and back in time for T that there’s no time to take a breath and enjoy life. Following this minor epiphany, I have sought to slow the pace of my own existence, tried not to get so wound up at slow drivers and begun to enjoy the journey more. I have come to think of this as a kind of intentional living - choosing not to get swept up in the rate race and deciding instead to invest my energies in those activities that I value most. After all, as the great prophet Ferris Bueller told us in the 80s, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t slow down once in a while, you might miss it.”

Live Below the Line - Update

2011-05-10T11:08:00.000-07:00

Today is Day Two of my Live Below the Line challenge and its going pretty well so far.

Over the weekend, my lovely wife and I worked out a menu for the week - three square meals a day and even deserts, all for just £1 each a day. Keeping it below £10 and healthy was hard, with plenty of items coming on and off the shopping list as we honed our menu to be as lean and efficient as possible. Even as a couple who are used to planning a week's food at a time, working with such a small budget meant it took much longer than normal.

The shop itself was equally time consuming, with lots of selecting and weighing veg to make sure we found the cheapest choice. Although we are doing this to raise awareness of people in extreme poverty overseas, the experience of working with such a small budget raised my empathy for those struggling on low incomes in this country.

The week before last I was queuing at the tills behind a lady for whom our challenge this week was clearly her everyday experience. Repeatedly asking the cashier to run a sub-total on her shopping, she kept having to remove items from the belt to keep below her budget. I hope I exuded quiet compassion as I waited behind her, but I fear that my mere presence, witnessing her struggle to make ends meet, may have heightened the humiliation for her. As someone who has never had to face that kind of hardship, this week of self-imposed struggle is teaching me as much about loving my neighbour across the street as my neighbours beyond the sea.

Live Below the Line

2011-04-30T14:13:00.000-07:00

For five days in May some friends and I are going to try living on just £1 of food a day. We're doing this to raise awareness of global poverty and the 1.4 billion people on the planet today who have to exist on the equivalent of £1 a day for everything they need. In addition to making lots of noise about what we are doing and why, we're going to be giving all the money we would usually have spent on food to support Salvation Army International Development, who resource, empower and support developing communities to defeat poverty and injustice and enable them to build a better life and future.

If you've been reading this blog before, you'll know that I am involved in establishing a community of restless idealists and faithful activists, each passionate about bringing social justice to our hurting world. We've been meeting in locations around Finchley every fortnight since the start of the year and we're using this week of self-enforced poverty to live out the words we say. Even Boris thinks its a good idea (and he's not even been coming along to our gatherings).

I'll be posting updates on my Twitter feed and Facebook status, as will others, so watch this space. Maybe you'd like to join us in this experiment? If so, drop me a note or comment below.

We can't end poverty overnight, but we can't stand by and ignore it either.

The counterfeit bailout

2011-04-20T05:19:00.001-07:00

"We spent hundreds of billions of dollars to save the richest companies and people in America, offering them a safety net that we had long since decided not to grant the poorest Americans - lest they 'take advantage' of it... What the banks were supposed to do with our money was to start lending again - which they had stopped doing - to credit-worthy businesses and homeowners for whom critical capital had dried up.

The American people were asked to trust the smart people who knew best and to count on the banks to restore the credit flow to individuals and small businesses that needed it. But some banks bought up (with our money) stocks, bonds, and other assets at rock-bottom prices and then made a killing in profits as the stock market stabilised and began to rise again. Then, to congratulate themselves for seizing this opportunity for making a profit, they gave out record compensation bonuses to themselves whilst wages for the rest of the country continued to fall and more and more people found themselves without a job at all.

It was amorality play almost too unbelievably bad to be true ; yet that is exactly what happened."

From Rediscovering Values by Jim Wallis, 2010 (Hardcover, p220)

You're not a Jedi

2011-03-27T11:14:00.001-07:00

As you will hopefully know, today is Census Day. This snapshot of the England in 2011 will be used by central government to allocate billions of pounds of funding. It will be used by public services to inform the depth and character of local needs and commission services accordingly. It will be used by the private sector to decide what kind of products to stock where and whether or not there will be enough demand to open a new store in your neighbourhood. It will be used by academics, statisticians and journalists to discuss current trends and developments. And in 100 years, it will be used by family historians, heir hunters and producers of Who Do You Think You Are 2111 to look back at what life was like for us in 2011.

Personally, I'm particularly interested to see what the census tells us about faith in 2011. This year is only the third time that the religion question has been included and it is the only optional question. When asked in 2001, a significant minority took this opportunity to declare themselves as Jedi.

My co-labourer on the census in Barnet is a proud pagan and has been actively involved in encouraging members of his community to nail their colours to the mast in this year's questionnaire. Likewise, the British Humanist Association have been running a campaign which says "If you're not religious, for God's sake, say so!" Their aim is to encourage the generally happily agnostic masses not to tick the Christian box out of habit, thereby revealing the 'true' state of religious belief in this country. On Twitter, they seeded the effective #yourenotajedi hashtag.

My sense is that since 2001 we have undergone a fairly significant shift as a country and far more people are comfortable defining themselves as atheist or agnostic today than in times gone by. Certainly, there are still those who shriek about this being a Christian country and the loss of traditional values, but it has become very normal for people to denounce or at least reject traditional religious beliefs. Britain's cohort of militant atheists - Dawkins, Tonybee, Cox, Pullman - have done a great deal to facilitate this move away from popular 'default Christianity' and I am confident that the 2011 Census will reflect that changed paradigm through reporting a smaller proportion of believers today than in previous decades.

And I'm OK with that.

Ever since Constantine merged Church and State, Christianity has been tarred with the brush of politics, war and imperialism. It has been hijacked and abused to justify all sorts of things which have nothing to do with Christ. People claiming to be Christian have acted in ways which have upset, alienated and injured others - birthing the popular concept that Christians are judgmental, hypocritical, warlike, cruel and superior. Sure, there are Christians who are like that - just as there are atheists who are like that - but they are not an accurate reflection of the true heart of Christianity. If we can get back to a point where people committed and brave enough to call themselves Christians live, speak and act like Christ then society will once again look to the Church and marvel.

The Church is growing in this country - there are congregations, events, communities and projects across the land that are evidence to this fact. I was at a conference in London just yesterday where 800 Christians were learning and grappling with the challenge of creating communities that help British society flourish. Contrary to what the BHA believe, Christianity is not dying out. Perhaps I will be proved wrong, but I predict that a smaller proportion of the population will define themselves as Christian on this year's census. The BHA and others will declare this a victory of enlightenment and a sign that 'irrational' faith is fading away in light of scientific fact. However, I suspect that this snapshot will not mark the demise of the Church, but rather a distillation of true belief from belief by default; a transitional moment whereafter Christianity will be more commonly represented by committed ambassadors, disciples and prophets, not those lip-service adherents who give the faith a bad name.

Universal services?

2011-03-21T15:04:00.000-07:00

A popular discourse has emerged since May last year which argues that universal services, while a very nice idea, are simply unaffordable. Certainly this has been the dominant theme in my own workplace and I have to say that it had come to influence my thinking on the matter. However, I recently came across this provocative quote by Clement Attlee, debating the cost of the National Insurance Bill in Parliament in 1950 and it challenged me to reconsider the discourse.

“The question is asked: can we afford it? Supposing the answer is no, what does that really mean? It means that the sum total of the goods produced and the services rendered by the people of this country is not sufficient to provide for all our peoples at all times, the very modest standard of life that is represented by the sums of money set out in the Second Schedule to this Bill. I cannot believe that our national productivity is so low, that our willingness to work is so feeble, or that we can submit to the world that the masses of our people must be condemned to poverty.”

Its fair to say that I don’t think that the opposition has sufficiently outlined an alternative to the prevailing mood of deficit reduction, but this fighting talk from Attlee reminds me that we choose to afford the Welfare State, because the alternative - a return to the crushing poverty, illiteracy and disease of pre-war Britain - is unacceptable.

The social cost of fiscal profit

2011-03-18T06:59:00.001-07:00

"In 1720, the Grande-Saint-Antoine, a merchant ship, was placed under quarantine by officials in the French city of Marseilles. Several crew members had become sick and died from the plague. But this effort to stop the spread of the plague from the ship to city was soon ended by the city's merchants, who pushed for the authorities to release the ship from quarantine so they could bring its valuable cargo to market.

Uncontained, the disease proceeded to kill fifty thousand people in the city, about half its population, and an additional fifty thousand in the surrounding area. These one hundred thousand needless deaths ensued from [the mercantile pursuit of profit and the belief that the market is god]."

From Rediscovering Values, by Jim Wallis, 2010 (hardcover, p71)

Hyp3rlocal: Discerning the signal from the noise

2011-03-17T09:40:00.000-07:00

The web is a big place and growing rapidly, both in terms of sheer physical size and complexity. Against that backdrop, tools for communicating have never been more ubiquitous or simple to use. The democratisation of content and the explosion of mobile computing has led us to a point where we are always connected and ready with something to say. For organisations, being able to 'listen in' and influence that conversation can be invaluable, allowing you to monitor your community and shape the discussion. However, discerning the signal amongst all the background noise can be difficult.

An agile solution

Sam and Ben created Hyp3rLocal to help capture and make sense of the vast amounts of web communication going on across Barnet. The content is drawn from a variety of sources, tagged with keywords, plotted on a map for visual clarity and keywords are tracked over time. Everything is captured – the good, the bad and the ugly. Too often the loudest few get all the attention. One of the key ambitions of Hyp3rlocal is to source a balanced landscape of opinion, giving equal space to the evangelists, moderates and critics on any given subject.

Every five minutes Hyp3rLocal will check the feeds it knows about for new content and pull in up to five new items. The system and the items it tracks need to stay relatively light in order to keep the load on the infrastructure (and costs) down. However by aggregating from well-known sources like Google for news and YouTube for video, we can have created a reasonable view of Barnet and the scale of communication about the area on the web. Feed items are kept for two weeks to allow for tracking conversations over time.

As feeds are brought in, Hyp3rLocal looks for keywords and associates each item with a category and location. Items are then presented back as either a list or mapped on Open Street Map. Keywords can be searched and are also graphed to show the frequency of their appearance – a simple but effective snapshot of community sentiment.

A big (society) ambition

Currently the site is being used by consultation, customer services and communications officers at Barnet Council to monitor the public conversation about Barnet the place, local public services and general community sentiment on a range of issues. Our hope is that over time the wider community will find value in the site, especially community organisers and local developers. With any luck, a number of new community websites will emerge, forming new online hubs with ongoing conversations and an active membership. If this happens – as it has in Haringey – these hubs will allow citizens to connect with and support others in their local area without the need for third party involvement – a key idea in the much discussed Big Society agenda. Moreover, vibrant online hubs can replace public meetings as the primary way for councils and communities to interact – let public services come to residents on their home turf, not the other way around.

To support this ambition, we have made it easy for developers to take a snippet from Hyp3rlocal and embed the content on their own site, or to take RSS of any feed or channel. Likewise, anything found on Hyp3rlocal can easily be shared with other social media sites. We have also visualised localfixmystreet reports and news from TheyWorkForYou and WhatDoTheyKnowon Hyp3rlocal – again with a view to making it easy for start-up websites to find content that is useful and relevant to their community.

Nuts and bolts

We are using a lightly customised version of Managing News by Development Seed for the job of aggregating and analysing the content. It is a very agile framework with lots of opportunity to use the flexible open source content management system Drupal to extend the site by building new features.

Since the platform lacks a semantic filter, sometimes the site finds items that have been pulled in which have no relation to Barnet (or at least, not the one on North London). All that is required is for a system admin or custodian to check in and delete any irrelevant feeds every few days.

Managing News itself is a highly extensible framework that can be used to build entire platforms. It has been used variously by the World Bank and the United Nations to track various subjects, like the Afghan elections or the spread of the H1N1 virus.

The entire project took approximately seven days to complete and cost nothing but the server space it sits on (and Ben’s valuable time).

If you are interested in finding out more about the project, contact us on Twitter, @BenGoodson and @SamMarkey.

Local Councils, Local Councillors, Local Society

2011-02-11T09:41:00.000-08:00

On Friday 4 February I took part in a fascinating day of discussions about the role of councillors and councils in strong local communities. The event was hosted by Involve, Urban Forum and LG Leadership and was attended by a variety of influential names and faces.

The day was split into three lengthy discussions sparked by brief introductory statements from provocateurs, with delegates capturing their thoughts on paper table cloths and flip charts, complemented by an active stream of comments and contributions via twitter.

For me, the big themes of the day were risk and innovation, transparency and participation. Nick Seddon, Deputy Director of Reform encouraged delegates to ‘seek solutions not permission’. This struck a chord with me following recent internal discussions about the relative perks and pitfalls of due process (responsible but achingly protracted) versus cheeky workarounds (agile but unaccountable). Clearly the latter gets things done but if local government is to exploit its democratic mandate to support its leadership role, then surely we need to fix the broken systems that hold up progress rather than ignore them altogether?

(That being said, I have recently sparked a guerrilla campaign to help fellow officers escape the joyless prison that is Internet Explorer 6 by installing Google Chrome. Sometimes it is better to seek forgiveness than permission.)

Risk and reward

Of course, the sluggishness of the official process is largely a product of that greatest barrier to innovation in local government – institutional inertia and fear of change. Not without good reason, many officers and members are anxious about the possible consequences of embracing innovation – from public criticism of failed efforts to public criticism of ambitious successes.

Fear of failure is a major issue for organisations, particularly political ones. Culturally, it has become unacceptable to concede that something hasn’t worked. To engender a culture of innovation in the public sector, we need to combat this weakness, be bold about where things haven’t gone so well and find confidence to learn from our mistakes.

On the issue of trial and error, one delegate on my table raised the example of pharmaceutical companies who allocate small sums of cash to research and development on the clear assumption that, while some investments will result in lucrative successes, some will be unsuccessful. There is a parallel in local government (and in Barnet particularly) in the form of prototyping new services. This approach can be used to test out innovative solutions through the iterative development of an idea in a controlled environment. As Samuel Beckett wisely put it, “Try again. Fail again. Fail better”.

The central government approach to risk doesn’t help local decision makers take bold steps. Despite the rhetoric of localism from the Coalition, the ongoing stream of diktats and demands from Eland House was a concern to various delegates. Rather than empowering councils and councillors to be innovative and to rise to the challenge, we have ‘lip-service localism’. This led onto a discussion of local government financing and the argument that democratic localism must be complimented by economic localism. As one delegate observed, money is power – if we hope to have any chance of delivering real innovation in services we need to have greater control of our funding.

One solution might be Social Impact Bonds, wherein capital for innovative preventative projects can be raised through external investment (as exemplified by the Peterborough Prison scheme). Barnet undertook something similar (albeit without the social impact element) to source assets for local development – the Barnet Bond. Could we achieve a stage where enterprising local authorities were essentially self-financed and thus liberated from the (occasionally) overbearing hand of central government? Combined with elected mayors, this really would be a radical step.

The Big Society bit

After lunch the conversation turned to the issue of participation. As the provocateur for this session observed, the internet has cultivated an expectation in residents of greater involvement (whilst mirroring a decline in traditional civic and democratic engagement). Evidently, the existing menu of engagement opportunities is failing to excite citizens but their desire to be involved has not waned. If local government cannot successfully develop (or more accurately adopt) new channels, the local conversation will simply take place without us. In an era of hyperlocal and community websites like HarringayOnline or MumsNet, Councils should be tapping into existing conversations rather than expecting residents to come along to speak to us in cold village halls.

What we need is to move away from a culture of ‘them’ and ‘us’, ‘the residents’ and ‘the Council’, and move towards a dialogue between human beings. Transparency of process tears down the curtain that keeps residents in the dark about – and frustrated by – council decisions. Transparency allows citizens and services users to understand why things happen and see the ordinary, hardworking officers currently hidden behind the institutional monolith. Transparency invites contribution and generates participation – just look at the responses to the latest release of spend over £500 data. Of course, as this last example illustrates, transparency shines light on both the good and the bad. This can be scary, but if local government can find the kind of the humility discussed above and admit its failings, then we can develop a more adult relationship with our constituents. Not all failures are as easily forgiven, but in such instances, transparency gives the people power to demand better. Call me an idealist, but an informed and engaged community is no bad thing.

Inevitably, the Big Society was discussed, not least because Lord Wei – the Coalitions’ Big Society Champion – was present. While there remained a lack of clarity around what exactly the Big Society was or what it could offer, there were some useful comments about how local government should seek to mobilise the local community. For one, councils need to be realistic about the residents’ capacity, motivation and willingness to be involved – someone may be interested in keeping their local park clean on an ad hoc basis, but won’t necessarily be up for taking over the running of an adult day centre. We need to provide a suite of opportunities that meet a range of interest levels and skills. That isn’t to say that a select but valuable few can’t be encouraged to undertake larger commitments, but most will not. However, a little bit from a lot of contributors can still make a big difference.

There was discussion of behaviour change and incentives for good behaviour, such as the Brixton Pound, though there was doubt that such schemes would survive the current fiscal belt-tightening. Another popular solution was for councillors and mayors to exploit their public role to model good behaviour to the community – for example mucking into sweep snow from neighbourhood drives.

In fact, there were several senior councillors present at the workshop who clearly had embraced a proactive, visible community leadership role and had found public favour as a result. Several were happily tweeting along to the #locsoc hashtag during the day. Oh, to see the same level of transparency and pro-activity surging forth from every Town Hall.

Another analogy

Both easyCouncil and Lambeth Coop were mentioned, but one new analogy caught my attention – the Apple iPhone council. In this analogy, the local authority becomes an enabling environment – a platform for hosting apps (services) that are created, run and rated by others. It’s essentially a commissioning role, except that Council simply defines the problem not the solution. Clearly, this model assumes a belief in the market, but it neatly illustrates the gross distance between Apple’s streamlined model and the current experience of most local authorities where providers, stakeholders, users and partners are all using different ‘operating systems’.

The greatest barrier

I’m sure more complete and insightful official papers will emerge before long to complement these ramblings. However, in the meantime let me sum up with what I think was the most important lesson (and greatest challenge) from the day.

When it comes down to it, it’s all about courage.

Courage to embrace change.

Courage to open ourselves up to closer scrutiny and challenge.

Courage to our admit mistakes and move on.

Courage to listen to residents and act on what we hear.

Courage to keep going (even when it all seems uphill).

Courage to remember that we are only human.

A Community for Social Justice?

2011-01-20T13:59:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday 5 January 2011 Victoria and I met with a group of friends and fellow rabble-rousers at the Elephant pub in North Finchley to discuss the possibility of forming a new Missional Community around the theme of social justice. After introductions, we used variously shaped post-it notes to capture our passions, skills and initial ideas. A survey of these post-its revealed a range of passions, including:

Inspiring action – challenging apathy, raising awareness, envisioning and empowering
Meeting practical needs – water and sanitation, housing
Championing equality – including wealth, opportunity, rights of children and women
Fighting poverty – at home and abroad, Fairtrade and economic development
Sustainability
Building community and relationships
Theology.

In terms of the talent, those present were well equipped to support the running of a new Community, with project management / administration, publicity / social networking, event management and listening / mentoring / enabling all mentioned on the post-its.

In discussing ideas for what sort of things such a Community might do, there was a clear agreement that our meetings shouldn’t simply be about listening to speakers (though this will no doubt form part of our activities), but should balance hearing and doing. Suggestions included:

Hosting public events with guest speakers (eg. Tearfund, WaterAid, Burma etc)
Getting involved with wider campaigning opportunities, such as World Walk for Water
Holding prayer meetings for global issues – might be directed at rallying church(es) or perhaps something accessible to outsiders
Hosting film nights to show thought-provoking movies or documentaries (perhaps in association with Co-op and the Phoenix Cinema) with post-screening discussion (and prayer?)
Running / joining a reading group (perhaps with similar aims to the above)
Running a regular Justice Café with proceeds going to fight poverty
Hosting an Unfair Games event in partnership with Active Barnet or Barnet FC / Saracens / London 2012
Assorted practical activities such as litter picking, adopt-a-nursing home, English lessons for refugees
Short-term mission to international development-related partners (such as Helping Hands, Compassion, Feed the Hungry, Habitat for Humanity).

Having read and discussed our passions, skills and ideas, we moved on to explore some of the finer details of how such a Community would function, what it would do and how it would meet the framework set out by Henry, Colin and David.

A clear voice for justice
One of the key questions was about the balance between seeking social justice locally and campaigning for it internationally. The majority opinion in the group was that international campaigning was a must, predominantly because of the great need beyond our own borders and also because international issues are perhaps more accessible, making it easier to attract new members to the Community. Whether the group adopts one cause at a time or several remains the topic of further discussion.

Some voiced concern that setting up a Community centred on social justice absolves the remainder of St Bs from engaging with such issues. To avoid this, we propose to model ourselves as an ‘MTF’ for social justice - that is to say, a community of passionate individuals and friends who will provide leadership and structure on the matter of social justice within St Bs, raising awareness of the issues and creating opportunities which will enable others within the congregation (and beyond) to play their own role.

In addition, there was agreement that while the local Church does need to be corralled into a more visible position on social justice, this Community was primarily about connecting with the wider community of Finchley, not just the church goers, enabling everyone to get involved in making a difference to social justices. Given Finchley’s population it is reasonable to believe that there will be folk out there who are interested in getting involved with a group like this. Moreover, with influential, educated professionals living locally there is a real opportunity to shape culture and policy not just locally but across the capitol region. For some, this Community may provide focus and structure for their existing campaigning activities; for others it will provide the tools needed to help them turn goodwill into practical action. This will be a core purpose of the Community - to help local people who want to do good but aren’t sure where to start.

A role in sowing social justice locally
Although many felt that the Community’s primary focus should be speaking up for international, there was a clear sense that some local action was required. However, what form that local action would take was less clear. On one thing we were agreed – we (and presumably many others in the church) didn’t understand enough about local needs to decide a local cause. It was suggested that it would be valuable for those present to spend some time investigating local needs and perhaps use this learning to highlight needs to others in the church. In this way our Community could serve a practical role in raising awareness and supporting the development of other St Bs Communities centred on the needs we identify.

Thinking about taking action locally, there was uncertainty as to how much could reasonably be achieved in one night a week (assuming that the Community was to meet fortnightly and only half the sessions would be dedicated to local issues). Likewise, there was concern that most causes would be disinterested in ‘hit-and-run’ help.

Some possible options options discussed to address the local element of the Community were:

Research and gather information about local charities and ask members of the community to commit to volunteering at one or more in their own time. Give frequent opportunities for people to feedback and share what they are doing and to provide accountability.
Advertise ourselves to local charities and organisations as an available resource when they need extra help for extraordinary occasions such as larger campaigns or events. Engage with CommUNITY Barnet and Barnet Pledgebank to identify one off volunteering opportunities that would benefit from our manpower.
Give members ‘homework’, challenging them to carry out ‘tiny acts of good’ that sow genuine community during their everyday lives (for example introduce yourself to your neighbour, plant bulbs in the garden of your block of flats, befriend your supermarket till clerk etc).

For some of those present, there was clearly a desire to dedicate more time to local issues than international campaigning. It was suggested that these individuals might like to get together to pray about the possibility of forming a Community that centres more directly on a local need into which they might pour their energies.

A Community with soft edges
We did begin tentative discussions about the rhythm or structure of the Community’s gatherings, voicing a desire to be radically inclusive of all members (Christian or otherwise). While we understand that the leadership have proposed a model wherein the Community meets twice a month - once for a public event and once for a more traditional celebration - we were concerned about drawing such a stark division between the Christian and non-Christian members.

While no clear alternative model has yet been defined, it is our hope that the each of the Community’s gatherings would faithfully and unashamedly reflect the faith which has inspired its existence without creating a boundary between the Christian and non-Christians members. In this way, we hope to live out our faith openly and develop genuine, inclusive relationships with all those in the Community, allowing them ownership of the group's activities and development. In this way we hope to avoid a sense of those who are ‘in’ and those who are ‘outside’ and instead generate a culture where we welcome people wherever they are at and draw them along on our journey.

The Quantum City

2010-11-19T07:40:00.000-08:00

"Against the dark screen of night, Vimes had a vision of Ankh-Morpork. It wasn't a city, it was a process, a weight on the world that distorted the land for hundreds of miles around. People who'd never see it in their whole life nevertheless spent their life working for it. Thousands and thousands of green acres were part of it. In drew in and consumed...

... and gave back the dung from its pens and the soot from its chimneys, and streel, and saucepans, and all the tools by which its food was made. And also clothes, and fashions and ideas and interesting vices, songs and knowledge and something which, if looked at in the right light, was called civilisation. That's what civilisation meant. It meant the city."

From Night Watch by Terry Pratchett, 2002 (Hardcover, p299)

Where next for Communities?

2010-11-09T11:03:00.000-08:00

At my church, St Barnabas in Woodside Park, we’ve embarked on a programme to remodel the organisation of the church, away from small Barnabas Groups to larger Communities (as discussed in this previous blog). This post is an effort to outline three possible ways to achieve this aspiration – from the conservative to the unreservedly ambitious.

The community rhythm model
One way to transition to the Communities structure would be the adoption of a community rhythm. This is perhaps the most accessible model for more conservative BGs to transition gently towards a different model.

If a number of groups implemented a common or pattern to their gatherings, individuals BGs could continue to meet in their traditional format for several weeks a month but join with another group on a regular basis to engage in an activity that perhaps one group along could not. As the rhythm played out across the month and relationships developed across the groups involved, the comings together would cease to be an imposition (or ‘week off’) and become instead a valued element in the diary. Once in full flow, the rhythm might look something like this: Meeting as individual groups for prayer breakfasts in week one, pairing up with another group to undertake charitable or voluntary action in week two, engaging in a more traditional bible studies in week three and gather several pairs of groups together to hold a worship celebration in week four. Rinse and repeat. With any luck, employing this model should help transform even the most conservative groups into a more active, outward-looking network.

The Christians with a common passion model
Another model for Communities would be one based on 20-40 people who are already Christians joining together around a common passion or theme (such as the homeless or the public sector). Being centred on a passion would make such a Community more tightly focused than traditional BGs or the community rhythm model described above. In this model, the Community either exists to support members in bespoke expressions of mission (eg. holding dinner parties where non-Christian work colleagues come into contact with a selection of Christians from the Community) or to deliver event-based mission / action (eg. running a soup kitchen).

This model is excellent for delivering ministries and building community amongst those Christians involved in that ministry, but not so effective at drawing non-Christians into the fold. The leadership might meet regularly to pray for those coming into contact with the Community and there may be some opportunities to welcome new or non-Christians into the Community as ‘core’ members (as exemplified by attending the monthly ‘micro-Church’ gathering). However, in reality the Community’s membership and those at the receiving end of its good works are likely to remain largely distinct in this model.

The Community with soft edges model
The third model is one characterised by a core leadership and/or scaffolding team and a radically inclusive approach to not-yet-Christian members. Like the common passion model above, this group may well find a common cause to champion, but would explicitly include non-believers in the shaping and pursuit of that passion. In other words, rather than having ‘go’ weeks (which are public events and deliberately accessible to non-Christians) and ‘churchy’ weeks (which are essentially traditional celebrations, and are less so), Communities pursuing this model would seek to develop gatherings and spaces which are accessible and welcoming to non-Christians whilst at the same time unashamedly reflective of the Community’s Christian inspiration. Clearly this is a challenge but it should not be beyond our collective power of imagination.

Examples of this model might include a Community designed to enable networking and relationship building among new arrivals to the area, or one that seeks to attract individuals (Christian and otherwise) around the issue of social justice. To encourage genuine relationships and ownership, all members would be encouraged to play an active role in the Community. It is even conceivable that non-Christian members might eventually be invited to join the core leadership, although only with the express understanding that the Community’s Christian foundation must be respected in any decisions.

Reflection
Personally, it is this final model which is most exciting. Clearly there are several issues that remain to be ironed out. If you have any ideas, do get in touch. I hope that the discussion of each of the three models is useful to other leaders grappling with this transition. If you’d like to discuss anything I raised here, drop me a note…

Don't just pray about it, do something

2010-11-07T11:25:00.000-08:00

The City and the City: Thoughts on selective blindness and radical community

2010-10-28T10:00:00.000-07:00

In a city as full of life and activity as London it is all too easy to turn a blind eye to those individuals, places and realities that threaten our comfortable, middle-class experience. China Mieville’s recent book, The City & The City deals with this very issue – the human tendency to train oneself to ignore the Other; to edit the poor, needy and undesirable out of our daily narrative.

In Mieville’s book, two strikingly different cities co-exist in the same space, interwoven in a complex tapestry where citizens of each city studiously do not perceive the people and places which belong in the other place. Consequently, residents of Beszel walking through the streets of their faded industrial metropolis must unseeingly navigate their way among citizens of Ul Qoma – the thrusting new technopolis which is geographically (or ‘grosstopically’) present among them and yet politically alien and therefore distant.

In each city, citizens are trained to identify the cultural idiosyncrasies of their countrymen – the fashions, styles, and gait – enabling them to discern who in the crowd is part of their own society (and should be seen) and who is from the other place (and therefore should not). Some streets and spaces are duplicated in both cities (so-called ‘cross-hatched areas’), but other places are exclusively in one city or the other – entirely invisible and off-limits to residents of the other city.

Mieville’s novel is a gripping and creative thriller which tells a story unlike any other I have read. Moreover, it makes a provocative argument about the extent to which city-dwellers (and indeed all societies) turn a blind eye to those people and places which disturb their world-view; those people who don’t fit neatly into our preferred experience. How easy it is to ignore the beggar, the rough sleeper, the drunk, the person in need. Like the citizens of Beszel and Ul Qoma, we are well trained by society to read the habits, behaviours and attire of others and therefore engage or erase them as appropriate.

As followers of Jesus, we develop spiritual eyes that help us see through our culturally-imposed blindness. Rather than confining the poor to another place beyond our sight and responsibility, we seek freedom from that unconscious training which renders the deprived and unwelcome invisible and, in seeing them, we allow ourselves to be impacted by their suffering. For only when we see and understand those in need can we love and serve them.

The selective blindness described in Mieville’s parable is not limited to our relationship with the poor. It also challenges us about our interactions with those who are different from us in other ways – the veiled Muslim, the city banker, the conservative evangelical, the elderly, the struggling single mother. As city-dwellers it is easy to retreat into tribal cliques which exclude and deride non-members of our own homogenous club; groupings which define themselves as much by who they are not as by who they are. For Christians, the risk is that we too find ourselves living in exclusive communities – holy huddles – that seek to advance the interests of our own tribe (the Church, or worse, our own church) at the expense of other groups. This is not the way it should be. As William Temple said, “the Church is the only organisation on earth that exists for the benefit of those who are not its members”.

At my church in Finchley we are actively grappling what it means to exist for our non-members – to serve the whole community and create spaces that are welcoming to all. This is an exciting and uncomfortable journey as we seek to transform our current models and structures to reflect the needs of the thousands of C21st Londoners who live around us.

In The City & The City, citizens seeking to bring down the invisible walls between Beszel and ul Qoma are deemed to be in Breach. As we seek to pierce the veil that condemns the capital's poor to another place, and also bridge the divisions between London's various tribes, we consciously step into that dangerous space which straddles cities – a foot in each camp, drawing the two together. After all, Christians are used to living with dual citizenship - resident here and now, but citizens of another Kingdom and another City that is now but not yet.

Faith in the government?

2010-08-30T03:00:00.000-07:00

This is an article I wrote for the latest edition of B Magazine, a quarterly publication that reflects the life and activities of my spiritual home, St Barnabas Church in Woodside Park (N12).

Did you know that Barnet is the most populous borough in London? Or that our collective household income is around £5.7 billion? How about the fact that over nine thousand Barnet residents live in neighbourhoods that are considered to be within the ten percent most deprived in England and Wales?

As Head of Insight for Barnet Council, it’s my job to provide public sector decision-makers with valuable and provocative information like this, so that they can make the best choices for the community. As a Christian in this influential role, my hope is that I can provide Godly wisdom alongside the cold statistics, and therefore shape secular decisions in line with God’s heart for this corner of North London.

Some Christians question whether believers should be entangled with government and politics, but there are plenty of Biblical examples of men and women of faith who served God faithfully through roles in public administration: Joseph, Daniel and Esther were all entrusted with positions of authority through which the Lord blessed believers and unbelievers alike. While I don’t claim to be in their league, I look to these heroes of the faith as I seek to live and work as a Christian in a secular government environment and take courage from the fact that it is God who has placed me where I am for His purposes.

For Christians, the world beyond our doorstep may seem increasingly alien, even hostile. In many ways, we find ourselves back in the world of Daniel and Esther – exiles in a ‘strange and distant land’. In Jeremiah 29, God encouraged those original exiles not to hide themselves away but to get involved with the society around them and to “seek the peace and prosperity” of their adopted country. As modern exiles – living in this world but citizens of another Kingdom – we share that commission to seek peace and prosperity in this city. I am finding that there is always more to learn in rising to this challenge – particularly in relation to being a Christian leader within a secular office – but I am enjoying the journey and I trust that God will continue to grace me with the wisdom I need as we walk this road together.

Empire Avenue

2010-08-13T01:04:00.000-07:00

"EAVB_EGSIWTVNTL"

Watching the Beeb with an eye to the New Politics

2010-07-12T10:29:00.000-07:00

Last night I caught two interesting BBC documentaries, both of which had interesting implications for the 'New Politics'.

One programme was the final episode in the three-part engineering series How to Build..., looking at the secret research and development work at QinetiQ. As well as looking at bomb detecting robots and stealth techology for wind turbines, the programme followed the team working on six chinook helicopters bound for Afghanistan. The remarkable thing about these chinooks was that they had been bought by the UK some time ago but were as yet unavailable for service because of some complex procurement error. The practical upshot of this error was that the engineers at QinetiQ had to strip every electrical system and six miles worth of wiring from each of the aircraft and then re-build their electrics from scratch! The documentary didn't dwell on this incredible failing by the MoD, but did note that getting each chinook airworthy would take approximately 60,000 man hours. I wonder how many additional chinooks could have been purchased for the equivalent of that spend? Let's hope this is the kind of bureaucratic waste that the Coalition intends to cut.

While How to Build flagged some of the key challenges facing the government, the second programme raised questions about the efficacy of one of their key policy solutions. BBC 4's Inside John Lewis is a fly on the wall documentary looking at how John Lewis is coping with the impact of the recession. Given the Coalition's emphasis on cooperatives and virtuous economics (not to mention Lambeth's decision to brand itself the John Lewis Council), it was fascinating to hear leaders within John Lewis voicing anxiety about the inherently conservative character of the Partnership's business model and the risk that the company might not be sufficiently agile to ride out the storm. More interesting still was the implication from the trail for next week's episode that perhaps the caring cooperative spirit of John Lewis may have suffered in the interests of ongoing profitability - a change that may raise alarms among some interested in the long-term viability of the cooperative model in service provision.

easyCouncil or Amazon.gov.uk?

2010-06-29T14:33:00.000-07:00

The first in any field often find branding a problem.

To be a pioneer means putting one's head above the parapet, defying the status quo and trying something bold. Successful pioneers attract significant attention for their endeavours (as do some unsuccessful ones). They stand ahead of the game when it comes to exploiting the new territory (be it geography, market or thinking), but their successes and mistakes are soon exploited by the competition; where the pioneer must navigate the new territory by trial and error, those who follow are able to advance more quickly by building on the pioneer's lessons.

Anyone who has siblings will be familiar with this truth - the eldest child invariably has to work hardest to break through the parental rules and limitations, while younger siblings encounter significantly less resistance when they reach those same hurdles.

easyCouncil
Part of my work at Barnet Council has included involvement with the FutureShape programme - a radical transformation agenda that has attracted much media attention. The reason for this attention was not primarily the programme itself (the early stages of which received little press coverage), but rather its popular branding: easyCouncil. This controversial name, more than the content of the programme or any other like it, has sparked a national debate that has resulted in a range of similar programmes emerging from Councils around the country.

Like the exploitation of any new territory, this renaissance in local government innovation required something audacious to kick start the process. The challenge for Barnet is that the audacious branding required to pioneer the new dialogue is not necessarily helpful to Barnet itself.

John Lewis Lambeth
It must have been nice for Lambeth to have had the luxury of Barnet's experience when branding themselves the John Lewis Council. Within the context of the debate started by easyCouncil, John Lewis is an obvious and easy choice for any organisation seeking to communicate both premium quality and civic partnership. In fact, the content of the two programmes underway in Barnet and Lambeth is almost identical, but the latter - in joining the conversation later - was able to emphasise different aspects of their plan thanks to a less controversial branding. Certainly John Lewis Lambeth is an easier sell to residents, but would it have been radical enough (as a brand / concept) to spark the kind of debate that easyCouncil did? Perhaps not.

In many ways, easyCouncil has taken on a life of its own beyond Barnet. Examples of easyCouncil thinking are still cited in the media that bear little or no relation to the current shape of the programme. In some ways it would be foolish of Barnet to shrug off the brand that has delivered it so much attention (not just from the media but also from central government and those of other countries). However, the easyCouncil brand has arguably become so detached from the reality of what Barnet is trying to achieve that perhaps the time has come to retire the name that pioneered the new territory and adopt something more suited to the land which has been opened for more civilised settlers?

Amazon.gov.uk
What alternative branding might Barnet adopt were it to move beyond easyCouncil? As someone involved with the ideology (if not the implementation) behind the programme, the best branding alternative I have heard (I cannot claim credit for this idea) is Amazon.gov.

Amazon remembers who I am and makes recommendations to me based on shopping history and the habits of other shoppers like me. It offers me the opportunity to comment and rate items, even sell some of my own. It allows me to receive my items for less money if I can wait a few days for them to arrive, or pay extra and have them here this afternoon. There was a time when Amazon only sold books; these days more or less all my online shopping can be done through a single site.

Through the FutureShape programme, Barnet – Amazon.gov.uk – aspires to deliver services tailored to the individual needs and demands of its residents, organising services into clusters that people are likely to use together and highlighting related services that might be of interest to users. For example, if I search for information about my local Children's Centre, the Council might also draw my attention to the library card application form, information about third sector toddler groups in my area and an infant health workshop being offered by NHS Barnet. Like the recommendations made on Amazon, I may not be interested in all of these, but it may spark me to access something helpful that I didn't know existed, or at least save me some time searching for information elsewhere. Of course, organisation guided by this calibre of customer insight also means that the Council can achieve efficiencies - a key plank of the FutureShape programme (and all the more important in light of recent budget cuts).

The diversity of service promoted by the Council in that example highlights another key FutureShape ambition - the drive towards one public sector working. Just as Amazon has consolidated online shopping into one easy interface (though in fact there are many sub-contractors), so Barnet aspires to make contact with the public sector simpler by developing a customer service front end that stretches across the sector, allowing for easy access to any (and indeed multiple) bodies from the same front end without the hassle of calling different numbers, trawling different websites or traipsing across the borough to different locations. Likewise, Barnet is working on improving the interconnectivity of information within the public sector to allow for more efficient activity and smoother decisions, meaning better outcomes for residents.

Finally, FutureShape is about developing a New Relationship with Citizens - what the Coalition Government calls Big Society. This is about treating citizens as adults, sharing both the burden of responsibility and also the opportunities that change brings. In the context of Amazon.gov.uk, this means radical transparency - allowing residents much greater access to information and empowering them to use that information to comment and hold organisation to account. It also means residents taking a much greater part in shaping services (such as by rating providers or offering alternative solutions) and even by providing some services themselves (such as volunteer park wardens or day centres).

Of course, the other key thing about Amazon is that it is web-centric. This is not to say that Barnet should or would move all activities online (how could it?) but Amazon.gov.uk would seek to harness the power of the web to provide as much as possible to those residents willing to use (even with a preference for) the internet, saving significant sums and improving the flexibility of service at the same time. Moreover, moving the majority of users to self-service would free up the customer service staff, meaning that those few who most needed help would receive traditional (perhaps better) face-to-face services.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the short term, I doubt that Barnet will seek to replace easyCouncil - if it did, the media and blogosphere would be unlikely to permit a quiet transition. However, if the organisation was to go for something new, something that better reflects the true shape of its aspirations, I think that Amazon.gov.uk would be a fine, sophisticated replacement for the brash pioneering rhetoric of easyCouncil.

Unfinished business

2010-06-23T09:48:00.001-07:00

Over the last few months I have begun and given up on a number of posts that just didn't seem to be coming together (more often than not because what I was writing started getting verbose and, frankly, a bit pretentious). For your interest, I provide a glimpse of some of those musings that never made it out of the drafts folder.

A crisp new decade
Like many people in December/ January I started writing something about the turn of the decade, reflecting on the changes that the last ten years has wrought (in many ways my formative years - from Sixth Form to graduate career, wife etc) and making some wild predictions about the forthcoming decade. These included increased political devolution - something that the New Politics has at once encouraged (Localism Bill, Big Society, Boris staking a claim to new powers for London) and quashed (Academies Bill) - and heads up displays, that is, the increasing role of augmented reality in everyday life. The iPad is a fascinating development in this regard, with the same geo-spatial functionality as an iPhone, but on a screen that is more easily readable. I can see surveyors using an iPad-alike device to see plans of underground pipework in situ, 'through' the pavement as it were...

Inter-generational dialogue (or the lost art of learning from one's elders)
Last night I watched a fascinating and slightly disturbing BBC3 documentary. Called Pregancy: My Big Decision, the programme centred on two teenage girls (aged 14 and 16) who both - remarkably - aspired to become teenage mothers.

In an effort to help them understand the full realities of their aspiration, the two girls and their mothers (plus the grandmother of one girl and family friend of the other) took a five day road trip to meet real teenage mothers, experience the physical strain of carrying a full-term baby (thanks to a tabbard with a practise 'bump') and spend a night looking after a realistic baby doll. In addition, they were each given a glimspe of what their lives might be like if they stayed in education (by spending a day work shadowing in their ideal jobs), and a pretty high-impact (but much needed) mother-daughter councelling session...

A trip to the theatre
We finally got around to using some of Victoria's theatre vouchers this week by going to see The Lion King in the West End. Having heard many rave reviews of the production, I had high expectations and we splashed out on some choice seats.

The auditorium swiftly filled up with eager punters, a remarkable portion of whom insisted on taking endless photos of themselves and their friends sat in the theatre. Incredibly, the incessant bursts of red-eye reduction and fill-in flash did not stop with curtain up, rather spoiling the opening song as ushers ran up and down the rows shouting at camera-touting tour groups.

This initial furore made it hard to get into the swing of the show, but things improved once the audience had got the message that photography was not permitted (a message that could easily have been communicated more clearly by the pre-show announcer and/or the door-staff who watched a couple of hundred tourists walk in with their over-sized cameras in hand)...

Wordle

2010-03-11T23:33:00.000-08:00

Just discovered www.worlde.com and I love it.
Here's what this blog looks like as a word cloud (click for larger image):

Behaviour change: Regulation or relationship?

2010-03-10T09:22:00.001-08:00

I was recently lucky enough to blag a free seat at the Guardian Public Sector Conference 2010, held at the very impressive Grove Hotel in Hertfordshire (scene of the recent bugging debacle - it wasn't me, honest).

There were a number of fascinating presentations, including former Canadian PM Paul Martin on how he got Canada out of debt (cut everything that doesn't reflect your priorities, do it hard and fast and ensure that the burden is shared equally across society) and hillarious after-dinner comments from Senior Guardian Political Editor and general legend, Michael White.

However, the most thought-provoking and challenging talk was given by traffic engineer and anthropologist Ben Hamilton-Baillie on the subject of behaviour change.

Hamilton-Baillie observed that there is a marked difference between assumptions about human activity and observations of reality, noting that an ice-rink would surely be banned as a chaotic hazard to health were it to be assessed by modern health and safety regulations.

The prevailing wisdom would have us believe that people are incapable of making sensible choices (when in traffic and other spheres), meaning that the State is required to intervene and regulate behaviour for the common good. Citing Seven Dials in Covent Garden and other projects across the country, Hamilton-Baillie argues that, in the absence of rules, people actually act more intelligently.

Without strict rules to define their behaviours, individuals are forced to negotiate a new, more mature relationships towards others and their surroundings. This is readily demonstrated by the issue of speed limits in town centres: if as a driver your focus is on a regulation that says you should drive at a specific speed, you seek to maintain that speed and perceive any limiting factors on that goal (such as pedestrians) as a pest infringing on your right of way. However, if there are no rules, you don't assume that the road is yours to own, so you drive more carefully, sensitive to the needs of other road users (drivers, cyclists and pedestrians alike). By overwhelming people with regulations that govern all aspects of our daily lives, we have accidentally institutionalised the population and engineered out the space for people to make sensible choices for themselves.

In other words, if we treat people like idiots, they’ll act like idiots.

Contrary to widespread assumptions, peer pressure and social norms are sufficiently effective at enforcing order and appropriate behaviours without the need for expensive and excessive regulation. Research shows that if we develop higher expectations of people, they tend to meet those expectations.

The implications for this simple realisation are profound and have flavoured my conversations ever since the conference. Whether by nudge or nannying, behaviour change has been a hugely important ambition for the State in recent years. From promoting sustainable lifestyle choices to conversations about public sector spending, we need to understand how to move beyond blunt regulation and towards relationship. Perhaps the time is right for us to tear off the bubble wrap and enter into a more sophisticated relationship with citizens that allows them to make adult decisions about their lives.

PostScript
As a Christian, I can't help but observe that this idea of moving from regulation to relationship is exactly the sort of revolutionary message that Jesus brought - freedom from the old Jewish law in exchange for a new relationship with God and each other. In other words, don't get so caught up going through the motions that you forget why you're doing them in the first place. Rather, let your faith guide your behaviours and decisions:

"Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: "Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!"? These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value...

... Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."

(Colossians 2v20-23 & 3v12-14)

When did the poppy become political?

2009-11-06T10:23:00.000-08:00

It worries me that this year, for perhaps the first time, publicity for Remembrance Day poppies seems to be more about honouring contemporary soldiers from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, and not the fallen of the First and Second World Wars.

Perhaps this is an inevitable transition as we move further from 1914 and the last of those men and women who lived and fought in the wars is promoted to glory. Indeed, there is a striking symbolism (and irony) to the reality that today's soldiers are still fighting in poppy fields, although this time in Afghanistan rather than northern Europe.

However, I feel a deep unease about this move to honour (celebrate?) the more recent fallen. There is a sense that wearing a poppy is now akin to wearing a badge that says Support Our Troops, or at least it as at risk of becoming a symbol of tacit support for the current conflicts in which our forces are engaged around the world.

After reading much on the subject of conflict and faith, I am edging towards identifying myself as a pacifist. This is a pretty hard decision to reach, given that a) military hardware is strangely alluring to the male psyche and b) as an historian, I am aware of many occasions when not standing up and acting would seem not just counterintuitive but unforgivably negligent. However, history also reveals that redemptive violence is a myth; even the best intentioned violence only ever leads to more violence.

The Bible challenges us to adopt a path that is more constructive and ultimately more difficult than taking up arms; Jesus responded to persecution and violence with love and self-sacrifice that perplexed, frustrated and transformed the lives of his enemies (as well as costing him his own). It is often argued that the ‘righteous’ course of action is to fight evil with force, but we should remember that Jesus never said "Greater love has no man than this: to kill those who oppress others”.

Coming back to the immediate issue of poppies, I should clarify that its not that I don't believe those that have lost their lives in more recent conflicts shouldn't be treated with respect, but rather that wearing a poppy should not be a political (or indeed martial) statement.

Wearing a poppy is about recognising and remembering the tragic losses of the Great War. It’s about remembering the self-sacrificing and humbling bravery of ordinary people in both the First and Second World Wars. It’s about remembering that I am not a soldier, but were I to have been born in another era, I would undoubtedly have been. It’s about a point of universal agreement – on whichever side one's forebears fought, we all acknowledge the tragedy, the stupidity and the terrible loss of the wars of the early C20th.

We should be very careful not to allow vested interest groups to exploit the poppy (and the power of that fleeting moment of unity that it encompasses) to promote public endorsement of modern conflicts for which there has been less than universal support. I fear that doing so threatens to politicise and therefore undermine this unique and potent symbol of our mutual remorse, humility, pride and regret.

Twitter: A pointless exercise?

2009-08-14T02:01:00.001-07:00

The bizarre and wonderful thing about twitter is that it allows communication between individuals who would never have met in the real world - whether that be a brief conversation with a celebrity or a the discovery of a new intellectual ally.

I don't care that 80% of my followers are US marketing bots or porn sites.

If even a handful of people outside of my pre-twitter sphere read and are inspired / intruiged / amused by my tweets, then my broadcasts are not pointless.

Anything that helps us connect to each other in this age of isolation is valid.

Somali Pirates: An alternative perspective

2009-08-12T06:38:00.000-07:00

Over recent months, much attention has been given to the almost surreal resurgence of piracy on the high seas, particularly off the coast of Somalia. Most articles have roundly condemned these pirates, but some have taken an alternative view of their actions - condemning the act of hostage-taking, but recognising the validity of the pirates' motivations and local popularity.

Johann Hari from the Centre for Research on Globalization sums up this alternative perspective in this article, in which he argues that Somalis have resorted to piracy in response to international exploitation and extreme domestic need:

In 1991, the government of Somalia collapsed. Its nine million people have been teetering on starvation ever since - and many of the ugliest forces in the Western world have seen this as a great opportunity to steal the country's food supply and dump our nuclear waste in their seas.
Everyone agrees they were ordinary Somalian fishermen who at first took speedboats to try to dissuade the dumpers and trawlers, or at least wage a 'tax' on them. They call themselves the Volunteer Coastguard of Somalia - and it's not hard to see why. In a surreal telephone interview, one of the pirate leaders, Sugule Ali, said their motive was "to stop illegal fishing and dumping in our waters... We don't consider ourselves sea bandits. We consider sea bandits [to be] those who illegally fish and dump in our seas and dump waste in our seas and carry weapons in our seas."

Its the classic 'one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter' senario, but certainly the evidence does seem to suggest that the developed world has been taking advantage of the instability in Somalia to further its own interests.

One possible solution to the ongoing problem of piracy, poverty and exploitation in the Horn of Africa would be to establish one of Paul Romer's Charter Cities in Somalia. If we assume that piracy is partly an expression of misappropriated capitalist ambition (as this satirical game from Wired.com argues), then we know that Somalis have the necessary drive to make a go of the more constructive opportunities for change that a Charter City offers. After all, many successful modern cities have their origins in illegal activities and investments, including London and Las Vegas.

One primary goal of Charter Cities is to alleviate poverty through creating opportunities for native innovation and organic development. Surely, few countries need to reduce poverty and instability more than Somalia. An additional ramification of such a development would be the reduction in the flow of Somali migrants and asylum seekers into Western states, thereby lightening the burden placed on Western welfare systems.

Finally, a Somali Charter City (in partnership with whichever developed nation) would likely have greater potential to stop foreign nations from exploiting Somali waters and therefore correct the fundamental complaint of the pirates.

Sounds like a no-brainer to me. Clearly, the issue of political instability elsewhere in the country would be a problem, but if we think of the charter city like the Foundation from the Asimov series of the same name - an isolated bastion of stability and innovation created to develop and share life-changing alternatives with its underdeveloped neighbours - then the potential for positive change must surely outweigh the threat of instability.

The goal of modern medicine?

2009-07-17T09:05:00.000-07:00

I came across this interesting comment in the book I'm reading at the minute (Island, by Aldous Huxley - of Brave New World fame). In it, Will, a cynical journalist and part-time oil prospector has been shipwrecked on an idyllic (and unexploited) southeast Asian island. While convalescing from his injures from the wreck, he learns about the unique way of life on the island, including these thoughts by his nurse on the problems with western medicine. Although perhaps, the nurse's verdict is too harsh, it raises interesting questions about what the health system is there for:

------------------------------------------------------

"So you think our medicine is pretty primitive?"

"That's the wrong word. It isn't primitive. Its fifty per cent terrific and fifty per cent non-existent. Marvellous antibiotics - but absolutely no methods for increasing resistance, so that antibiotics wont be necessary. Fantastic operations - but when it comes to teaching people a way of going through life without having to be chopped up, absolutely nothing. Its the same all along the line. A plus for patching you up when you've started to fall apart, but D minus for keeping you healthy. Apart from sewage systems and synthetic vitamins you don't seem to do anything at all about prevention. And yet you have a proverb: prevention is better than cure."

"But cure," said Will "is so much more dramatic than prevention. And for the doctors its a lot more profitable..."

Sunday joke

2009-06-28T09:47:00.000-07:00

A zookeeper walks past the ape house and sees a large male ape sat on rock in the cage with a book in each hand. In his left, the ape has Darwin's Origin of the Species, and in his right he holds a copy of the Bible.

Confused, the zookeeper asks the ape what he's doing. The ape looks up and replies, "I am trying to decifer whether I am my brother's keeper, or my keeper's brother..."

Boom, boom

Book review: The Drowned World

2009-06-24T06:40:00.000-07:00

Like the swamps and prehistoric jungles which form the landscape of much of The Drowned World, this book took some wading through in places. That being said, it was an immersive and beguiling read.

The plot is typical of my tastes (as my wife will tell you, I only ever seem to read post-apocalyptic dystopian novels): Fluctuations in solar radiation have caused the polar ice-caps to melt and the seas to rise. Global temperatures have climbed, and civilization has retreated to the Arctic and Antarctic circles. London is a city now inundated by a primeval swamp, to which an expedition travels to record the flora and fauna of this new Triassic Age...

Were this book written by Michael Crichton, this would be an action-packed romp through primordial jungles with a gung-ho cast of all-American heroes. As it is, Ballard's debut (published) novel is relatively light on plot. It is less an exploration of the new physical landscape as the landscape of the mind; a psychotropic(al) adventure into the psyches of those coming to terms with their new environment.

Ballard's prose is not always digested at first glance and his vivid descriptions frequently overwhelm comprehension. Nonetheless, his imagery seeps into your conciousness like the terrible throbbing sun of the protagonist's dreams to create a compelling and immersive vision.

[SPOILER WARNING]

I found myself unexpectedly allured by the strange beauty of the lagoons and shared the protagnost's distress when the waters were drained to reveal the lost streets and buildings beneath; like corpses raised to await Judgement. The horror and chaos of this hellish graveyard - complete with troupes of dancing devils - was evocative of the nightmarish events of Chesterton's 'The Man Who Was Thursday'. Like the protagonist, I too longed for the familiar, purifying waters to return and bury the decaying ghosts of London under the waves once again...

[END SPOILER]

Like other books by Ballard, this is not exactly an easy read, but it was certainly worthwhile. Even as I think back over the book to write this review, fresh details and significances float to the surface of my mind that will keep me pondering for some time to come.

Horizon Scanning with the MOD

2009-06-16T01:36:00.000-07:00

I've been skim reading a strategic trends report from the MOD (2006). Its projections for political instability in Iran are remarkably prescient, but this projection on the risk of global economic instability seems to have rather overstepped the mark (emphasis added):

"Globalization will result in critical interdependencies that will link members of a globalized society that includes a small super-rich elite and a substantial underclass of slum andsubsistence dwellers, who will make up 20% of the world population in 2020. A severe pricing shock, possibly caused by an energy spike or a series of harvest failures, could trigger a domino effect involving the collapse of key international markets across a range of sectors. The impacts of this collapse could be transmitted throughout the globalized economy, possibly resulting in a breakdown of the international political system, as states attempt to respond to domestic crises and the local effects of wider economic collapse. Sophisticated societies that depend on complex, transnational networks for the supply of basic human needs, such as food that cannot be provided indigenously, are likely to face severe infrastructure failure, collapse of public services and societal conflict." (Pg 79)

There's also an interesting projection regarding the rise of (quasi-)independent city-states, as forecast by the Quantum Manifesto:

"Successful, internationally networked cities, as engines of economic development and opportunity, could increasingly assert their independence and new found status in contrast to their backward, less developed and burdensome hinterlands. The formation of new city-states would challenge the major assumption that underpins the current international system - the sovereignty and integrity of the nation-state. Recognition of city-states’sovereignty could cause wider secession and new alignments, leading to uncertain diplomacy and a heightening of international instability." (Pg 82)

Kudos to Justin Pickard for flagging up this report.

Up through the cracks in the concrete

2009-06-15T23:17:00.000-07:00

The revolution rises.

Hordes of soundbite politicians roam Westminster professing progress with their words but denying it with their lives. Media jackals haunt the streets, rooting through the recycling to feed their voracious appetites for suffering. They devour their own young on a capricious whim; the dark lords of celebrity fate. High above, in the glassy towers and gilded boardrooms, oil barons and money men plunder the planet's pockets, turning its own riches against itself.

And all the while, weary and disenchanted, the world yearns for something different.

Rumours of revolution abound.

Quietly but irrepressibly, revolutionary souls subvert the status quo, reclaiming and recruiting communities into their revolutionary fold. The tendrils of this revolution spread far and wide, bringing the hum of new life to the ruins and rubble. Green shoots of change break through the concrete jungle, creeping up through the cracks in the pavement, disrupting the carefully maintained constraints of the prevailing system.

The revolution rises.

Its faithful followers don't just sell light at the end of the tunnel, but see the diamonds sparkling in the grimy walls along the way. They collaborate, co-exist and conspire to create lasting change. They have a vision for the future, not just more of the same. Their lives are lived in community; not just knowing their neighbours' faces but their names and their stories as well. They are a new humanity; humankind 2.0.

The revolution rises.

These revolutionaries embrace technology, adopting and adapting rapidly to integrate new tools and toys just as their prehistoric forebears once did. They live on the wire, as comfortable navigating the twitterverse as the tube map. However, they are not consumed by consumerism, nor deafened by digital broadcasts. Their lives are more than the sum of their playlists and podcasts. They delight in discovering the wild heartbeat that sounds in untamed open spaces; they marvel at the stars that exist beyond the mask of city smog.

Such individuals celebrate their membership of the global village, but lament the exploitative implications of globalisation, the systematic corruptions that make our lives better at the expense of others. But they don't just lament: they act, they speak, they go and stand alongside the poor and the broken. There are no boundaries or borders that can stop the revolution; it is inexorably laying claim to the whole world.

The revolution rises.

Nations fall, politicians falter, but the revolution will continue. It is a perpetual rediscovery. A society turned inside out and outside in at the same time. It is radical yet non-violent, unheralded yet long-awaited.

It is Quantum and it has arrived.

The future of UK population statistics

2009-06-15T05:41:00.000-07:00

There is a general concensus among population statisticians and demographers that the 2011 will be the last decennial census in Britain. Here are my thoughts from a recent Beyond 2011 meeting at the Royal Statistical Society, London discussing the short-comings of the coming system and hopes for its replacement.

Why do we need a new system?

The many and rapid changes in the UK population (mobility, migration) mean that decennial counts such as taken place for the last 150 years are swiftly rendered obsolete; even by the time the 2011 findings are released in 2013, the human landscape of Britain will be significantly different.

Another reason for introducing a new system is that fact that the current arrangement is insufficient to meet the ever-greater expectations of users in terms of accuracy and frequency of data. Other countries (such as Australia) conduct a census every five years, but the decennial model is logistically and financially burdensome enough, doubling the frequency would only exacerbate matters.

The solution to this dilemna is already partially in place. There are plentiful administrative data sources which can be used to inform population statistics (indeed, official mid-year estimates and projections are already influenced by these sources).

What is needed is a coherent, long term strategy for capturing population statistics that will meet the needs of C21st users.

Issues

There are a number of key challenges facing the Beyond 2011 project. These are how to integrate multiple data sources which were never intended to be compiled, how to handle the delicare issue of public acceptability (especially amid parallel talk of identify registers), and how to retain the richness and detail that the full census survey currently offers, but vanilla admin data cannot provide in its current state.

Testing the new system

The plan is to test the accuracy of the new system's output (drawn from combined administrative and alternative sources) to the 'true' results revealed by the 2011 census itself. If the alternative data is sufficiently comparable to the census outputs, the utility of the new system will be validated and the decennial survey may well be retired.

Implications for local government and other users

Not everything the census provides can currently be sourced from administrative sources. There is a need to identify innovative indicators to measure some trends when traditional sources are insufficient. This may require the creation of new limited surveys, as well as creative thinking from demographers (eg. using sewerage data to analyse whether admin-based estimates are truly reflective of the population).

Since adminstrative sources are already (and increasingly) forming the basis of central government population estimates (which in turn inform funding allocations), local authorities need to work closely with partners on improving the coverage and accuracy of existing administrative sources (eg. GP lists, Electoral Roll, School Census etc) so that these provide the best possible representation of their local communities and therefore funds are allocated accordingly. This will be especisially important in a context of shrinking funding.

Suggestions were made that there should be a separate online census for under 25s (the Facebook / 'Netizen' generation) which could capture information more readily (and regularly?) from this demographic, as well as establishing the grounds for a possible population register in the future. With a recent study showing that 98% of parents in Hackney (a London borough with significant socio-economic and ethnic diversity) successfully completed school applications online last September and the Government planning to invest heavily in Digital Britain, surely its time to move away from the paper survey and towards a more distributed, electronic arrangement?

A collaborative effort

Whatever happens after 2011, the need to collaborate actively in shaping something which will meet the needs of all census users (including the general population, who benefit from the strategic planning and funding shaped by data from the census) was both pressing and essential.

An alternative reading of first contact

2009-05-28T08:56:00.000-07:00

If you haven't seen the new Star Trek yet, then I urge you to stop reading this right now and get down your local cinema.

Done that? Good.

In short, it's awesome. Great cast and visuals, full of loving nods to the classic series for fans without too much geek to alienate newcomers. Like the moment in The Clone Wars when there's a fleeting glimpse of plans for a Death Star, or when Wolverine and Cyclops banter about yellow lycra. Add to this a pacy plot and witty script and you've got a winner. I quite fancy going to see it again...

In the week since seeing the film, I read a classic Russian sci-fi short entitled Roadside Picnic. In Roadside Picnic, aliens make a fleeting visit to Earth, leaving behind strange Zones where the rules of Nature are strangley corrupted. The consequences of this contact are equally as revolutionary to life on Earth as the meeting between Zephram Cochrane and the Vulcans (Star Trek: First Contact), but the context is quite different to that of other first contact stories.

Rather than landing to invite humanity to join the galactic community, testing us to measure our value as allies or invading to steal our natural resources, this 'Visitation' is a meaningless and much more mundane reality (and one that deals much more with the practical - and terrible - implications of such an event for humanity). The pivotal discussion takes place between two characters - both scientists - in the local pub towards the end of the text as they struggle to understand the meaning of the Visitation:

"Listen, since we're talking, are there any answers to these questions? Who are they, what did they want, will they return?"

"There are answers," Valentine said, smiling. "Lots of them, take your pick."

"And what do you think yourself?"

"A picnic. Picture a forest, a country road, a meadow. A car drives off the country road into the meadow; a group of young people get out of the car carrying bottles, baskets of food, transistor radios, and cameras. They light fires, pitch tents, turn on the music. In the morning they leave. The animals, birds, and insects that watched in horror through the long night creep out from their hiding places. And what do they see? Gas and oil spilled on the grass. Old spark plugs and old filters strewn around. Rags, burnt-out bulbs, and a monkey wrench left behind. Oil slicks on the pond. And of course, the usual mess –– apple cores, candy wrappers, charred remains of the campfire, cans, bottles, somebody's handkerchief, somebody's penknife, torn newspapers, coins, faded flowers picked in another meadow."

"I see. A roadside picnic."

"Precisely. A roadside picnic, on some road in the cosmos. And you ask if they will come back."

"Let me have a smoke. Goddamn this pseudoscience! Somehow I imagined it all differently."

"That's your right."

"So does that mean they never even noticed us?"

"Why?"

"Well, anyway, didn't pay any attention to us?"

"You know, I wouldn't be upset if I were you."

----------------------------------------------------------------------

For those of you (are there any of you?) tickled by this alternative take on first contact, you'll be interested to know that there's a 1979 Russian art film version of the book (Stalker, highly acclaimed by fans of the genre) and rumours of a Hollywood remake on the production trail (threatened to star John Travolta). Although, its probably fair to say that production teams for any Hollywood reimaging will get as far as 'Aliens land, romantic scallywags get into scrapes with overly beaurocratic police' and cover the rest in explosions, high-speed cuts and machinegun fire. Plus, odds are that Monkey, the protagnist's mutant daughter, will be rewriten as a pretty blond lass...

Where have all the bees gone?

2009-05-19T10:14:00.000-07:00

Saw an interesting programme the other evening on the mysterious disappearance of the world's bees. Totally bizzare that so many colonies are literally vanishing - one American keeper had moved his hives bees to a remote valley in the desert to avoid contamination from 'infected' colonies, but he still woke up one morning to find that all 20 million bees (!) had gone without a trace...

It seems that this phenomenon is present across the world. Autstralia and New Zealand are apparently the only parts of the world where bee colonies are still flourishing (and are making a mint exporting their bees to the rest of us who need them to pollonate our foodcrops). Seriously, can you think of the last time you saw a bee? Thought not...

But don't worry, because I have found where the bees has been hiding: the bushes outside our flat in North London. Am tempted to join the league of urban beekeeepers (the best place for keeping bees these days apparently, given the cocktail of deadly pesticides scattered liberally throughout our countryside) . Not sure I have the vocational conviction to be even a hobbyist bee keeper (I have little desire to be "covered in bees"!), but I do like the idea of local food production and reimagining the boundaries between 'urban' and 'rural' lifestyles. Plus, it would be cool to have a swarm of bees at my command to ward off burglars and the like...

The changing landscape

2009-05-13T04:14:00.000-07:00

An example of how attitudes critical of progress (such as wind farms and tidal barages) can change:

In the 1860s, the Monsal Dale railway was built, running through beautiful countryside between Matlock and Buxton. At the time, the poet John Ruskin raged, "The valley is gone and the Gods with it, and now, every fool in Buxton can be at Bakewell in half-an-hour."

A century and a half later, the railway is now regarded fondly by many people as an integral and beautiful element in the landscape.

Personally, I already find the sight of wind turbines awe-inspiring. How long will it take for the new structures of the green revolution to be seen as complimentary to the landscape as the railways bridges and modernist structures of the first industrial revolution?

Some suggestions for No. 10

2009-05-12T05:21:00.000-07:00

In the wake of Expenses-gate and the general disillusionment with our government officials (on both sides of the table), here are two suggestions that Gordon may want to consider...

Replace London residences for non-London MPs with a Parliamentary Hall of Residence.
By collectivising many of the everyday expenses incurred by MPs (such as cleaning, heating, water, electricity, gym membership), not to mention the extraordinary costs of buying and furnishing entire houses, we could dramatically reduce the financial burden on the public purse while still allowing MPs to maintain a personalised and private base in London (which we accept that hotel accommodation may not provide). Moreover, if such a residence was within walking distance of the Houses of Parliament, it would cut the government's day-to-day travel expenses and carbon footprint.

Introduce a None of the Above option on ballot papers
This idea was suggested on the PM programme yesterday on Radio4 and its a compelling one.

With faith in our mainstream politicians so low, it seems likely that fringe - even extremist -parties will perform disproportionately well in the forthcoming EU elections, with voters casting their votes anywhere but the Big 3 in protest. Protest votes are a legitimate and valuable element of modern democracy, but the risk of 'accidentally' electing alternative parties / MEPs into power is a serious one.

If there was a tick box for None of the above, voters could voice their protest without fear of letting something worse slip in to power by default. Imagine the effect on the government's attitude if None of the above won an election...

Towards a theory of Quantum Governance

2008-11-19T01:24:00.000-08:00

Introduction

"Scientific, spiritual, philosophical, and mythological worldviews, shaped by available technologies, have provided the basic principles and values for the creation of social order. Indeed, at every size and scale, political and social experimentation has been a necessary and persistent human activity. However, with the exception of the relatively short-lived experiment with centralized communist statism, there has been little true innovation in governance since the creation of the U.S. Constitution. If mechanical governance is fatally flawed both technologically and cosmologically, then where else can we look?"

http://www.superstructgame.org/s/post_newtonian_governance

One of the key questions facing us today is how to re-imagine society and government in light of our post-Newtonian, quantum paradigm. The following thesis is an attempt to generate radical, world-changing ideas that will allow us to see beyond our existing structures and glimpse the next stage in human organisation.

The Problem
Political power structures orginating from an alpha-male oriented society have traditionally been defined by top-down, pyramidal organistational hierarchies. While the pendulum-swing of governmental forms has produced differing distribution of executive powers, even in Western democratic systems the locality of participants and the lack of cross-council forums has lumped and locked citizen electors into predefined categories. New user-defined power structures are required to capitalise on the decentralisation of thought made available by emergent social phenomena.

We need to begin creating governance by common interest, not vested-interest. Informing people of the choices available to them and allowing them to choose for themselves whom to elect and why at a community-upward scale is an essential step in breaking through currently enforced, parochial democratic boundaries, and a first step on the road to larger, more adaptable decision-making structures. We're all in this together.

Towards a theory of Quantum Government

Quantum society
According to quantum scientists, the fundamental building blocks of our reality – the basic elements from which everything else is formed – are best described as packets of energy. These packets are by no means uniform in character or form; some are exotic, capable of remarkable feats of teleportation, even bi-presence; others are less spectacular, but no less remarkable. Whether exotic or reserved however, each of these packets of energy plays a vital role in maintaining the fabric of the universe in which we live.

Just like these packets of energy, human society is filled with unique individuals, brimming with creative energy and remarkable talents. In a quantum model of governance, every person would be considered equally vital to the whole, regardless of race, gender, creed or pedigree. The myriad differences in society would be celebrated, but the fact that every single person contains the same creative energy - the same intrinsic significance - would also be acknowledged.

A relational model
Quantum mechanics is an inherently relational science. Relationships between quantum packets are complex and convoluted – some quantum particles have only ever been observed in communities of two of more; others seem to be disengaged with their immediate neighbours, but have an impact on distant packets. Understanding these intricate and often bizarre relationships is one of the key goals of quantum research.

Just like quantum packets, a quantum society would exist in community with itself. As history has shown, humans are an irrepressibly social species – we actively seek out groups and large numbers with whom to share our existence. This is not to say that individuals would be denied the option of self-isolation or solitude in a quantum society, but rather that society would be radically inclusive, placing a high value on meaningful interaction, dialogue and cooperation, rather than self-serving ambition and segregation. Just like the interactions between our infinitesimal counterparts, life in the quantum society would be discrete yet deeply interdependent. This complex duality of valuing both community and individuality in equal measure highlights another important aspect of quantum theory that should inform our model of quantum governance...

Both/And, not Either/Or
In a Newtonian universe, everything is binary: either This, or That. In a quantum universe however, the possibility of a third option emerges alongside – perhaps even surpasses – this binary concept. That concept is Both/And. Both/And is typically explained by the fact that, while energy was previously believed to be divided into particles and waves, light has been proven to exist as both a particle AND a wave. This has complex ramifications for physicists, but also for theories of quantum governance.

We have already discussed that society would simultaneously prize individuality and community. WHAT OTHER EXAMPLES OF DUALITY ARE THERE IN QUANTUM SOCIETY?

Entanglement
We have already seen that relationships are integral to quantum reality. One fascinating element of these relationships is the fact that they are often deeply symbiotic in nature. That is to say that instigating a change in one quantum packet can have direct repercussions for other packets, both near and far. Indeed, some quantum relationships are so intimately related that they demonstrate super-symmetrical qualities. That is to say that some particles directly mirror others; spin one particle backwards and its mirror will naturally echo the reversal of its symmetrical opposite.

Understanding quantum entanglement raises several important issues for quantum political scientists. Perhaps most immediate of these implications relates to how government structures should be regulated in a quantum system.

Just as relationships between quantum packets are symmetrically balanced, so the relationship between individuals and the government should be meticulously balanced, with neither side holding too much power over the other. In other words, quantum politics should be subject to natural (but deliberately implemented) checks and balances that divide power equally between various ‘symmetrical’ institutions. It has even been suggested that there might be more than one PoTUS at a time in the future (although Q Govt officials have already voiced suspicions that the USA as it exists today is unlikely to survive the transition to Quantum Governance, so the concept of multiple presidents is probably moot). Just as redundancy is built into biological eco-systems, its role in quantum governence needs to be careful considered.

Clearly, the danger of spreading executive power across ‘opposing’ groups risks undermining the efficacy of both and therefore the stagnation of the political system. This remains an issue that the Q Govt brain-team are seeking to overcome. Since the majority of day to day decision-making will take place on the local, democratic council level, this kind of stalemate scenario should be uncommon (it has hardly been a problem for the UK or US Government, who both employ a primitive version of this system).

Even if a stalemate situation did arise, the forces at play within quantum society would be quite able to resolve the problem without recourse to external adjudication. Quantum geo-politics will be far more nimble, energetic, dynamic, responsive and protean structures than 'modern' nation states (more on how this geopolitical landscape might look below). If a constellation of city-states loses energy, becomes stuck, static, locked into some state, either the internal dynamics from within individual city states will force a change of conditions which will break the state, or the constellation will decay or break apart to re-constitute itself in new constellations with new members.

Unpredictable?
The other major implication of quantum entanglement for post-Newtonian governance is complexity.

Since discoveries in quantum mechanics have blown predictable, Newtonian theories out of the water, one of the few certainties of quantum mechanics has that it is essentially unpredictable. However, as scientists come to understand more and more about quantum mechanics, it seems increasingly likely that events on a quantum level are not truly unpredictable, but simply infinitely more complex than ever previously imagined.

This complexity is equally true of human society and therefore of quantum government. The actions of an individual in one location can have a remarkable and unexpected impact on another seemingly disconnected individual or group. Because of this, one key facet of quantum government is recognising that every action can have unexpected and exotic consequences. In practise, this means that the outcome of any given policy decision or action is nowhere near as predictable as previously supposed: removing a dictator from power does not necessarily bring democracy or stability, policies intended to combat climate change can created crises in other systems, such as the economy and food markets.

The Way of Complexity
Quantum research has demonstrated that reality is far more complex than we had ever previously imagined. It is essential that Quantum Governance embraces this complexity as it seeks to construct its post-Newtonian socio-political and economic models. Much of our inspiration can be taken from the Natural Kingdom, where remarkable complexity is clearly evident on every level.

Unlike ‘artificial’ human structures, ‘natural’ biological systems are unconsciously self-organised, meticulously self-regulating and mutually beneficial to all parties. Where humanity has over-exploited and acted selfishly, natural ecosystems always strive for balance and sustainability.

Every biological system – from the collaboration of cells that form each of us, to the sprawling array of ecosystems that inhabit our planet – exists in a complex dance of symbiosis; a change in one variable has consequences for a myriad of other elements. A quantum society and its government would bear this reality in mind when planning new organisational structures. This means no more hyper-exploitation of resources and of each other. The way of complexity dictates that while humanity may be pinnacle of evolution, we cannot survive independent of the other elements that comprise creation. In order to guarantee our own survival, we need to understand that the rest of the system needs to survive as well.

The Power of Observation
In a quantum universe, the simple act of observation can radically change the course of events. By observing (or in some cases trying to observe) quantum mechanics in action, we introduce additional variables which distort the pre-existant reality. This concept was expounded by the German scientist, Werner Heisenberg, paraphrased here by the highly respected commentator, Bill Bailey:

“The particle. Very difficult to measure the particle. To measure it you must shine light upon it, but by doing so you distort the image of the particle making it impossible to take an accurate reading. I used smaller and smaller amounts of light, but still to no avail. Eventually I used the smallest amount of light known to man – the glove box light of a 1974 Austin Maxi. Still this was too much light!”

In the context of quantum politics, observation can be equally effective at altering the nature of our reality. Intensive public observation discourages corruption at the source and can challenge any existing dishonesty; if individuals know that they could be being watched at any time, they will temper their behaviour accordingly. Of course, there must be careful limits and controls on this system – we do not wish to create a climate of fearful paranoia akin to the police states of East Germany or Pol Pot’s Cambodia, after all. To avoid this fate, it will be essential that observation and the power inherent therein is open to everyone, not just a powerful elite.
By harnessing the power of observation, Quantum Governance would seek to establish a community where anyone who can provide appropriate evidence has the power to challenge perceived corruption at whatever level, where large power-brokers are held under close public scrunity, and genuinely democratic values allow the voice of every individual to be heard equally, regardless of social standing or influence.

To support this new, all-access approach to observation, quantum governments might seek to recruit 'Free Radicals' – roving anti-corruption specialists who will both seek to uncover illicit dealings themselves, but also support local communities in identifying, challenging and preventing corruption for themselves. (Note: to avoid Free Radicals from becoming the Stassi of tomorrow, their powers and influence will be no greater than anyone else in society’s. They will simply foster an environment of scrutiny and an intolerance of corrupt behaviour that will eventually become the norm within Quantum Society).

String Theory
The Holy Grail of Quantum mechanics is the quantum string – an almost mythical entity that weaves every complex and unfathomable element of quantum mechanics together.

Probably.

To ensure success, Quantum Governance must search out its own unifying threads which can connect and unify each element of its manifesto into a common philosophy, a vision that encapsulates, inspires and informs the worldview of its new society.

There is perhaps an element of the spiritual in this search – just as belief in quantum strings requires faith, so too does belief in quantum society. We cannot be certain that we have built the necessary safeguards to protect against the evils of corruption and despotism, but we have faith in the fundamental potential for good within human society. We cannot even be certain that we have understood enough quantum mechanics to build a societal model that reflects it accurately, but we have faith that our revolutionary system will sustain us beyond the current crises and into the next millennia.

Quantum is more than just a political manifesto; it is a way of life, a philosophy, a worldview. It is the tool we need to change the way we live and interact, the way we organise our society and our economy, the way we visualise our place in the universe. If we can unite the world behind this unifying thread – our own quantum string – then we can create a society that will not only outlast the survival horizon, but emerge the other side stronger and better than ever.

[Cue inspiring swell of music!]

Getting practical 01: How would a quantum socio-political system be organised?

The City-state model

Self-sustainable scale with agricultural/commercial/technological capacity to meet is immediate needs, most people happy to stay in local sphere
City-states could specialise in an area relevant to their location (eg. Fishing for coastal collectives, arable/dairy/meat for those inland, depending on habitat). This would allow trade and dialogue between neighbouring communities (and those farther afield). Ref: The Fife Dieters, http://fifediet.wordpress.com/
Communal approach to government / economics / agriculture etc
A democratic system, with city-state reps sent to regional / national / international forums. (Note quantum Both/And: local and (inter)national / decentralised and centralised power).
Formation of larger conglomerations (‘superstructs’?) as and when to meet extraordinary needs; fluidity
A biological model – cells operate independently, but unite to form larger, more complex organisms for mutual benefit

External Feedback on the city-state model
This is an enjoyable idea. For a start it's graspable - which is not usually a strength of quantum anything.

Graspability is valuable because it is what will release energy in the system. If people are particles then they need to be zipping around if quantam governance is going to work (stretching the physics metaphor well beyond what's decent).

It should be fairly easy to generate loyalty to a city-state, and from loyalty comes commitment to make its institutions work. It's also easily contrastable as a unit of organisation with the nation-state, which most people seem to have given up caring about, and least in the sense that they care to participate in politics. And quite rightly too, because politics is done by small groups of well paid lobbyists moving in tiny geographical and social circles of influence. The city-state offers and opportunity to break those circles, if only by balancing them.

There is probably lots of supporting evidence for city-states in economics and human geography. Regions (city states in all but name) are often talked about as units of regeneration, and how different would city states be from federal models of regional government in Germany, the US, or indeed the city states of Italy.

What would be unusual (?) would be for these city-states to be given enough power to form their own supra-national constellations at the expense of their "host" nations.

There is lots of opportunity for unpredictable outcomes. For example London and New York might form an alliance for their own mutual benefit which would certainly be too great forany counterweight from continental europe, while Californian cities are most likely to form alliances around the pacific rim. In truth, most of this probably happens unofficialy already, certainly given the lobbying weight that bankers in London and New York are able to throw around.

The idea of city-states put lots into play, which has a very quantum feel, but study of Machiavelli and the Renaissance might also be a good idea.

Getting Practical 02: Quantum Economics

A new socio-political system requires a new economic model that matches its core vision and values. For Quantum Economists, this means searching for a new, non-exploitative economic system that will transcend and supplant existing capitalism concepts.

The model favoured by this quantum evangelist is 'Competitive Benevolence'. This ground-breaking system aims to strike a dynamic balance between capitalist enterprise and socialist collectivism, thereby achieving the quantum principle of Both/And. Under Competitive Benevolence, just as in capitalist systems, individuals are encouraged to work hard, innovate, and expand their enterprise. These competitive elements are essential to furthering human/technological/scientific development. However, there will also be a strong incentive to invest in the community; not to hang on to wealth, but to share the benefits of success throughout the quantum society.

Tired of the neo-fascist consumerism of the early 21st century, quantum societies will champion socially responsible, post-consumer values that echo our newfound understanding of our place in the wider quantum context. With relationships of trust restored between individuals, quantum societies will seek to support their neighbours and friends generously, sharing resources and finances freely and without expectation of anything in return (though in this quantum universe where consequences are largely unpredictable, a return favour may ultimately be given). In this way, a competitive element will emerge in acts of benevolence – not kindness in exchange for some immediate reward, but based on the knowledge that what is good for society is good for me. If I give this much away, what will be the outcome? We will become competitive with ourselves as we seek to discover just how generous we are willing to be.

To achieve these exciting ambitions, Q Govt are looking at Potlatch ecomonies, which promote and facilitate the free exchange of surplus between neighbours and the needy:

"You give your neighbour some apples from your tree, and they may give you a pie or some cider, or help fix your porch. Each of you may well think they got the better of the deal, and rightly so... We have charities and freecycle, but consider the incredible material wealth, the real surplus that most [of us] now possess: the garages with no space for cars because they are filled with what they ought to consider junk, but which could be a treasure or a needed material for someone else... How many lawnmowers and hedge trimmers are needed on any given block?"

A similar project which echoes this quantum approach to economics in the UK is Besom, whose purpose is to connect those who have with those who need:

"Besom provides a bridge between those people and groups that have resources and skills to share, and those who are in need. Most people don't know how to help those from outside their own immediate social sphere or cultural background - Besom creates those bridges and facilitates deeper and more meaningful connectivity throughout society, alleviating suffering in the process."

Both of these are examples of a radically new way of economic organisation which Quantum theorists should consider further.

Getting Practical 03: The challenges

Harnessing the Power of Observation
There is a serious risk of corruption and despotism within the new system. To safeguard against this, Q Govt will need to consider ways to harness the positive power of public observation.

Restoring Relationships
The success of quantum society relies heavily on developing relational interdependence - a reality that can only be achieved if people's faith in each other can be restored and the gulf of paranoia overcome. If we can restore relationships, we can stem the growth of fear and isolationism that plagues our failing society.

Superman and Jesus: a Comparison

2006-08-18T05:01:00.001-07:00

The release of Superman Returns has revitalised the (largely geek-fuelled) debate over messianic imagery in the Superman franchise. For those of a less obsessive nature, the following is intended as an overview of the manifold similarities between Jesus and Krypton’s favourite son.

Superman’s real name is Kal-El, which is Kryptonian for Star Child (apparently) – reminiscent of the Nativity story – and Hebrew for Voice of God, which isn’t a million miles from calling him The Word (John 1:1-2). In both the original and recent film, Superman’s father is quoted as saying:

Live as one of them, Kal-El, to discover where your strength and your power are needed… They can be a great people, Kal-El, they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you... my only son.

Again, this bears direct parallels to that most famous of verses from John’s Gospel: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life”. (John 3:16)

Superman, like Christ, is both human and divine, since he has both a human family and a heavenly origin; He is Clark Kent/Superman. Moreover, both Jesus and Superman (probably) suffered the loss of their step-father during their youth. While there is no direct mention of the death of Joseph in the Bible, scholars agree that he probably died when Jesus was a youth since he does not appear in later episodes.

In the original 1974 film, before becoming Superman, Kal-El goes ‘into the wilderness’ or, in this case, the Fortress of Solitude, where he consults with his true father, Jor-El and learns about his mission on Earth. Similarly, Jesus spent 40 days and nights in the wilderness in preparation for His great mission. On leaving the wilderness, both Superman and Jesus performed feats of supernatural power. One of which, the flight with Lois Lane, is arguably a parallel of Jesus walking on water (Matthew 14:28-9). Just like Peter, Lois loses faith and begins to fall/sink, but Superman rescues her.

Superman’s arch-nemesis is Lex Luthor. In both films, Luthor lives underground – the traditional location of Jesus’ enemy, Satan. In the 1974 film, just as Satan tempts Jesus with possession of a worldly kingdom (Matthew 4:8-10), so Lex Luthor tries to seduce Superman with the offer of a worldly kingdom. In Superman Returns, Luthor – still obsessed by land ownership – tries to imitate God by creating an island out of the sea. This is similar to the traditional interpretation of Lucifer’s fall from grace – the improper desire to be like God – as well as drawing from the Hebrew tradition, in which the sea commonly represents the dwelling place of Evil.

In the original film, Superman ‘dies’ in a swimming pool but rises through the waters to new life in a manner reminiscent of Christian baptismal symbology (Romans 6:4). As with Jesus, this ‘death’ is accompanied by an earthquake. In another parallel, Superman’s ‘resurrection’ is first witnessed by a woman, Eve Teschmacher. As well as paralleling Mary Magdalene, Miss Teschemcher, with her significant first name, could also be an allusion to Adam and Eve. This is significant, in that the Bible describes the resurrected Jesus as the second Adam who brings hope where before there was despair (1 Corinthians 15:45-49). On his ‘resurrection’, Superman rescues Lois from her car which has become buried in the earthquake. Just as Superman has the power to save Lois from her situation, bringing releasing from the confines of her car-coffin, so too can Jesus free us from spiritual death and lead us to eternal life (Romans 8:1-2).

Superman Returns is equally full of parallels to Jesus’ life, particularly towards the climax, which could be interpreted almost as a passion play. [SPOILER WARNING] Having been made vulnerable by Luthor’s Krytonite-infused island, Superman is beaten and stabbed in the side with a shard of Krytonite, echoing Jesus’ pre-crucifixion torture and subsequent stab from a Roman spear. In a final act of sacrifice, Superman literally takes the weight of the world (or rather island) on his shoulders and carries it away into space, despite the fact that the island is composed of lethal kryptonite, just as Jesus bore the weight of our sin. Having defeated evil, Superman falls back to earth, arms outstretched and cruciform. As with Jesus, Superman’s friends carry their hero away, suddenly uncertain at what will happen next. Later, in hospital, a female nurse comes to look after Superman, only to find that he is missing from his room, just as Mary discovered that Jesus was missing from the tomb.

Finally, perhaps the most obvious element of Christology in the film revolves around the discussion raised by Lois Lane’s Pulitzer Prize winning article, ‘Does the World Need Superman?’ Superman Returns begins with our hero returning to Earth after some years away, searching for the remains of his homeworld. During this time of absence, humanity has learnt to survive without Superman around. As a result, his return is received with mixed feelings; while some celebrate, others argue that they simply don’t need Superman. Again, this situation echoes the passage at the beginning of John, where the gospel writer tells us that Jesus was received with disinterest by many, while Isaiah tells us that still others “despised and rejected” him (Isaiah 53:3).

In the modern world, rejection and scorn of Jesus is commonplace. Society emphasises mankind’s ability to look after itself and dismisses faith as little more than a cosy delusion. Despite this, as both Superman and Jesus know, the need for salvation is greater than ever:

Lois Lane: The world doesn't need a saviour…
Superman: Listen.
Lois Lane: I don't hear anything.
Superman: I do. I hear everything. You wrote that the world doesn't need a saviour, but every day I hear people crying out for one.

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me; I have come that [you] may have life, and have it to the full.

(Revelation 3:20, John 10:10)

Israel in Lebanon

2006-08-09T16:13:00.001-07:00

I found this interesting observation in a book for my thesis. It basically describes how Israel's unrestrained militarism (as we are seeing daily in Southern Lebanon) has overshadowed the nation's awesome spiritual legacy; the very reason for its existence - bringing the light of God to the world - has been forgotten in the clamour to demonstrate the might of the IDF. In the Old Testament, Israel did not need the largest or most sophisticated army to win victories, God fought for them.

It seems that perhaps Israel has become too concerned with having the strength to fight its own battles, rather than relying on the God of Jacob to deliver them from their enemies?

Anyway, interesting quotation:

"Over the centuries of exile and yearning, the ancient academic community of Jabneh, a short way inland from Palestine’s Mediterranean coast, symbolised spiritual and intellectual glory. During the same long years, over-looking the barren Judean cliffs and bleak winters of the Dead Sea, the ruined fortress of Masada embodied the heroism of Jewish patriots who fought to the death against Rome in AD 73. After 1967, when modern Israel astonished the world with its martial prowess, Jabneh was swallowed up in the industrial suburbs of Tel Aviv; Masada became a national shrine".

From Peter Grose, Israel in the Mind of America (Knopf: New York, 1983).