A fundamental challenge of our times is to harness the best ideas and use them to bring about positive and lasting change for everyone. The problem today however is that too many of those in power are wedded to old ideas and misguided beliefs that are not fit for the 21st century. These same people are trapped in their ideological bunkers and frame every problem facing society in misguided narratives whose only purpose is to fit their view of the world. The video below reflects this problem – you are either left, right or centre. We need new narratives and beliefs that reflect the 21st century, rather than falling back on stale and jaded theories and ideologies that were fit-for-purpose, and written, in a bygone era. Today, there is no shortage of ideas out there; there is, however, a shortage of new beliefs and narratives and the political will to action them. In fairness to the climate and environmental activists, they understand the power of beliefs and a defining narrative.
What is required is real intellectual leadership of the kind that Keynes provided to the left in the 1930s and 1940s or Hayek and Friedman provided the right in the 1950s/60s/70s. That spawned great political leadership in the form of Clement Attlee on the left and Margaret Thatcher on the right, whether or not you agreed with their standpoint and style of leadership.
Sadly, the intellectual climate is not conducive today to spawn the necessary intellectual leadership that is required.
This will be a recurring theme that I will be revisiting in future blog posts.