Paul Hazelden published an article
[Back to Morality]
Introduction
One difficulty when we try to talk about morality is the language: there are various terms we can use, but they are all ambiguous and problematic in various ways.  One the one hand, we can describe an action as…
yesterday
Paul Hazelden posted an event

May 15, 2025 from 8:00pm to 9:30pm

Online

May 12
Paul Hazelden published articles
May 12
Paul Hazelden posted a blog post
I have recently discovered Ivan Illich; it turns out that I have been promoting much of his teaching for years, without knowing it. Here is one brilliant quote:
“Neither revolution nor reformation can ultimately change a society, rather you must…
May 12
Adrian Roberts commented on Paul Hazelden's article Reforming the NHS
" Paul 
I take your point that the cost of healthcare can be measured not just by the cost of provision but by the cost of not providing it - the reduced productivity of people who are unable to work due to illness or the need to care for someone who…"
May 5
Paul Hazelden commented on Paul Hazelden's article Three Kinds of Sex
"19 April 2025: I have just posted this response to a Facebook article which was seeking to argue for partucular position on the basis of a spurious 'scientific' account. I wrote an article about this topic a while back: Three Kinds of Sex…"
Apr 19
Paul Hazelden published an article
[Back to Ukraine]
We had another discussion about Ukraine last night (17 April 2025, for the record), and we can't see any plausible way to end the war, either by military or political means.  Our suspicions about US surveillance seem to have been…
Apr 18
Paul Hazelden posted an event

Mar 20, 2025 from 8:00pm to 9:30pm

Online

Mar 1
Paul Hazelden published an article
[Back to Healthcare]
Introduction
Almost everybody agrees that the UK National Health Service (NHS) is in need of radical reform, so let's start to spell out what that reform might look like.  Other countries manage to deliver prompt and effective…
Mar 1
Adrian Roberts commented on Paul Hazelden's article A Peace Deal for Ukraine
" Paul 
I think your penultimate paragraph is the best hope for peace, short of one side capitulating completely. I presume and hope that Trump's strategy is something like it. 
The Europeans and the UK painted themselves into a corner very quickly.…"
Feb 25
Paul Hazelden published an article
[Back to Social Challenges]
Introduction
Okay, the title is clumsy: demographics are the details of a group of people, so they always relate to one population or another.  When you consider the demographics of a population, you are often looking to…
Feb 24
Paul Hazelden published an article
[Back to Ukraine]
On the campaign trail, Trump promised to end the Ukraine war within 24 hours of taking office.  This was clearly never going to happen but, as I said (probably, far too often), ending the war was one promise I believed he was able…
Feb 22
Paul Hazelden commented on Adrian Roberts's article Actually I don’t think Trump is All That Bad Really
"Adrian,
Many thanks for another helpful and interesting article.  As always, a lot to respond to!
Very quickly, I would like to comment on one small detail which 'pressed a button' for me.  I accept that liberals can be "just as unthinking", but you…"
Feb 18
Sandy Engelking commented on Paul Hazelden's article Genocide: Remembering is Not Enough
"Two excellent books both by Francois Bizot who was imprisoned by the Khmer Rouge but later released. The Gate describes his cature, improsonment, release and his work as intermediary between the refugees in the French Embassy and the Rouge. Scroll…"
Feb 10
Paul Hazelden commented on Paul Hazelden's article What Makes the World Worse?
"Adrian,
Some good points: thank you.
But on the traffic light front, the situation is more complicated than most people assume.  Some traffic lights in Bristol, just off the M32, stopped working for an extended period, and the traffic flowed much…"
Feb 10
Paul Hazelden posted an event

Feb 20, 2025 from 8:00pm to 9:30pm

Online

Feb 9
More…

The Language of Morality

[Back to Morality]

Introduction

One difficulty when we try to talk about morality is the language: there are various terms we can use, but they are all ambiguous and problematic in various ways.  One the one hand, we can describe an action as 'moral', 'ethical', 'good' or 'right'; on the other hand, we can condemn it as being 'immoral', 'unethical', 'bad' or 'wrong'.

Discussion of the…

Read more…

What Do We Mean By Morality?

[Back to Morality]

Introduction

(By Paul Hazelden; this was circulated as an introduction for a discussion.)

When we say the war in Ukraine (or anything else) is immoral, I would like to know what we mean by this. Are we only saying, as some people suggest, that we disapprove of it? Is morality just a statement of personal or group preference? And, if not, then what is it? Can we find out…

Read more…

Ukraine: Ending the War, April 2025

[Back to Ukraine]

We had another discussion about Ukraine last night (17 April 2025, for the record), and we can't see any plausible way to end the war, either by military or political means.  Our suspicions about US surveillance seem to have been confirmed, as within hours of our discussion, the White House starts to admit that they can't see a way forward and are planning to pull out of the 'peace…

Read more…

Reforming the NHS

[Back to Healthcare]

Introduction

Almost everybody agrees that the UK National Health Service (NHS) is in need of radical reform, so let's start to spell out what that reform might look like.  Other countries manage to deliver prompt and effective healthcare: it's not impossible.  But we have to want to do it, and we have to believe it is possible.

Details

Aim

For a…

Read more…

Population Demographics

[Back to Social Challenges]

Introduction

Okay, the title is clumsy: demographics are the details of a group of people, so they always relate to one population or another.  When you consider the demographics of a population, you are often looking to see how they change with time.

When I was growing up in the 1960s and 1970s, apart from the constant threat of nuclear war, most people…

Read more…

A Peace Deal for Ukraine

[Back to Ukraine]

On the campaign trail, Trump promised to end the Ukraine war within 24 hours of taking office.  This was clearly never going to happen but, as I said (probably, far too often), ending the war was one promise I believed he was able to keep.

The war is an utter disaster for both Ukraine and Russia.  Ukraine has lost (to date) around 20% of her previous territory, and is being…

Read more…

Genocide: Remembering is Not Enough

[Back to Social Theory]

Introduction

In January this year, I attended the Holocaust Memorial Commemoration in City Hall. As usual, it was well attended. Also as usual, good people gave powerful talks: they told us about several stories of survival, and of the work being done to ensure that the worst genocide in history is not forgotten.…

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