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Welcome!

We want to make the world a better place: by talking with, listening to - and potentially working with - people who see the world differently.

We - the people on this site (and, we trust, you) - want to make the world a better place. The question is: how?  An important part of the answer is: with help from one another - we can't do this on our own.  If we want to make this happen, we will need to learn how to cooperate, really cooperate, with one another.

Right now, the challenges the world faces, but also the possibilities for real change, are greater than they have been in our lifetime.  So we want to do everything we can to understand the challenges and come up with the best possible responses, to enable us to work together and make the best changes happen.

What the human race does today, and in the next few years - how we live, the choices we make - will shape the world, and decide our future.

We need to understand the practical challenges we face.  But we also need to explore ideas and beliefs, hopes and fears, because these are the things which drive our choices and affect the way we live.  And we need to explore them with people who do not already agree with us, because we will need to cooperate with as many people as possible if we are going to beat these challenges.

We will not learn enough if we only talk to those who agree with us, and we will not be strong enough if we only cooperate with those we like.

So we want to attract a wide range of people with different ideas and opinions.  With a range of differing perspectives, we can test the evidence for our ideas and explore the alternatives, so that we have good reason to believe the actions we take are the best we are capable of.  And we always need to be open to the possibility of understanding more, and changing our strategy.

Alongside the challenges, we also want to share some good news about things which give us hope end encouragement: if we are to overcome these challenges, we will need joy and strength just as much as we need clear thinking and accurate information.

We need to act, and interact, as people, with all the benefits and struggles this brings; we cannot pretend to be impersonal dispensors of objective truth.

The problems of this world are caused by people, and they must be solved by people.  Facts really matter, but they rarely persuade people to make the changes which are needed: alongside the facts, we need the personal stories.  Issues need to be grounded in human experience, so we can relate to the story and be moved emotionally as well as intellectually.

We will aim to be as truthful and honest as possible, but nobody is entirely objective.  The best we can do is be open and honest about our preferences and prejudices, do our best to make allowances for them, and be open to other people questioning and challenging our assumptions.

What Next?

Fee free to browse.  All the content on the site is available for anyone to read.  If you wish to contribute in some way, or simply support our vision of people cooperating despite disagreement, you are very welcome to join us, but please read the material in the Introduction first, to understand how we try to do things and why we have a small monthly membership fee.

This site is currently under development - we are still copying content across from the original site.  But there is enough to give you an idea of what we are aiming to build.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.

 

Activity

Paul Hazelden commented on Paul Hazelden's blog post Assisted Dying
"Adrian,
Many thanks for this response - sorry my reply has been so long coming.
I have had numerous encounters with suicide and attempted suicide over the years, both in my work and private life.  I do agree that judging a person for that decision is not helpful - but I can't just stand back and accept suicide as a valid lifestyle choice, either.
I have responsed to several of your points in a new section, 'Comment'.  There were several other points it was tempting to reply to, but those seemed…"
13 hours ago
Paul Hazelden published an article
[Back to Social Challenges]
Introduction
This is just a placeholder: a proper article is required here.
But one quick point about the UK National Health Service (NHS): almost everybody agrees that it is in need of radical reform, so let's start to spell out what that reform might look like.
For a start, we need to change the primary aim.  The NHS currently aims to deliver cost-effective treatment, but it should aim to deliver prompt and effective treatment.
The current system seeks to maximise…
Saturday
Paul Hazelden posted an event

Oct 17, 2024 from 8:00pm to 9:30pm

Online

Sep 21
Paul Hazelden posted an event

Sep 19, 2024 from 8:00pm to 9:30pm

Online

Sep 15
Paul Hazelden published an article
[Back to Improving Ourselves]
Introduction
Even more than most pages on this site, this is not intended as the 'last word' on the subject.  But we do need somewhere to record the most important principles we have learned, to help people make better choices in their lives.
Enjoy, Don't Postpone
Enjoy the ride: take joy in the here and now, don't wait until you have achieved your goal before you allow yourself joy.
Cultivate happiness.  This is hard advice, and it can sound cruel: people the…
Sep 2
Paul Hazelden commented on Brian Monahan's article Money, The Financial System and Human Welfare
"Here is a short (7 minutes) and clear video: Governments don’t borrow from financial markets, by Richard J Murphy."
Aug 26
Paul Hazelden published an article
[Back to Improving Ourselves]
Introduction
This is just a stub, a short placeholder piece as a reminder that something more detailed is needed.
Most people recognize honesty as a virtue, but there are several different forms of honesty, each with their own challenges.  Most obviously, there is honesty about the external world - "I stole the tarts."  But there is also honesty about yourself, and honesty with yourself.  Of these, being honest with yourself is perhaps the most fundamental, and the…
Aug 15
Paul Hazelden posted an event

Aug 15, 2024 from 8:00pm to 9:30pm

Online

Aug 13
Brian Monahan commented on Brian Monahan's article Money, The Financial System and Human Welfare
"Here is the outcome of Sam Altman's (boss of OpenAI) 3 year study of a "UBI" framework. https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/sam-altman-s-basic-income...
Sam Altman is interested in this because he is very aware that his core product, Ai, is likely to destroy a lot of mid-range jobs. So he needs something to say about that and has therefore researched UBI as a possible stop gap.
Another idea from Sam Altman is Universal Basic Compute. Perhaps future societies won't need money -- but use AI…"
Jul 25
Paul Hazelden commented on Mark Collins's article Why are discussions about faith between believers and unbelievers so often a complete dog’s dinner?
"There is too much here to respond to in detail. Here are a few quick thoughts.
The first verse: “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”
This is a description of how faith operates, not a definition of what faith ‘really’ is.  As a description, it's probably not a bad one.
The third verse states ‘By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what is visible’.
Note that this is an…"
Jul 24
Paul Hazelden published an article
[Back to Spiritual Challenges]
This is the place for contributions about religion and spirituality in general, as opposed to any specific religion or spiritual tradition.

A Conversation about 'Other' Religions - that is, religions other than Christianity, sparked by a Facebook discussion.
Talking About Religion
Spirituality
God and Gods
Gods, Ancient and Modern
Wonder, Mystery and Awe

 
Jul 23
Richard Morris commented on Paul Hazelden's article Democracy: An Introduction
"Paul, thanks for your typically well argued article, and your response to my quick thought. 
Just thought I'd mention today's court ruling of a 5 year sentence for Just Stop Oil protestors. On the one hand we had the judge proclaiming that the defendants were subverting democracy by their actions. On the other, we hear outrage that the judge refused to consider the reasons why the defendants tried to stop traffic on the M25 (their sense of desperation about inadequate government action on…"
Jul 19
Paul Hazelden commented on Paul Hazelden's article Democracy: An Introduction
"Absolutely: democracy on its own does not solve all our problems.  But it does provide a good starting point for addressing the problems.  If we want a just society, we have to address the imbalance of power.
To put it another way, some people think that the problems we have are because we need to 'fix' democracy - it is not working because we still have injustice.  But we are not going to create a just society simply by changing the way we do democracy.
Imagine you want to learn the piano, and…"
Jul 18
Richard Morris commented on Paul Hazelden's article Democracy: An Introduction
"In our democracy at present, the criteria you list are present but may be amenable to being skewed towards groups with most power. For example, there may well exist a free press but media backed with most financial clout, perhaps by a small number of extremely wealthy magnates , will have the power to make their message more visible. Political parties may have to modify their manifestos for fear of the influence of these magnates. "
Jul 18
Paul Hazelden published an article
 [Back to Social Challenges: Politics]
Introduction
The term ‘democracy’ appeared in the 5th century BC, in the Greek city-states, most notably in Athens.  ‘Democracy’ referred to a ‘rule of the people’ (δημοκρατία: dēmokratía – dēmos means ‘people’ and kratos means ‘rule’) as opposed to the traditional system of aristocracy, or ‘rule of an elite’ (ἀριστοκρατία: aristokratía – aristos means ‘elite’).  This Greek system was not what we think of as democracy - apart from anything else, the…
Jul 18
Brian Monahan published an article
[Back to Money - An Overview]
Executive Summary Money is something we all need and cannot do without; it is a necessary part of modern society. The bald truth of it is that the financial system that governs how money works is generally a product of human endeavour and invention. This construct has been moulded to serve various human objectives and purposes, with few necessary constraints on how it works. And yet, we all think of this system as a factual given, set in stone, and one that cannot…
Jul 10
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