The aim of the game is to become rich; how you get there doesn’t matter — Winning in society is all about having the most money. If you have the most money, you can buy the best house, the best cars, the best clothes. You can travel first class, stay in five-star hotels and visit the best restaurants. But no one stops to think, has this…

We’re living in a climate emergency, yet people behave as if nothing is happening — There were forest fires in London last month. Not two words you’d usually put together, but 40°C heat and London aren’t two words that had ever been put together either. Elsewhere in Europe, heat records have shattered as the continent experiences a dose of hothouse conditions. And this is just…

Corporations exist to maximise profits, not to create social value — Walmart, Apple and Shell are richer than countries like Russia, Belgium and Sweden. In fact, of the largest 200 entities that exist, 158 are corporations. While many corporations are just as rich as countries, that’s where the resemblance ends because unlike government, corporations conform to a set of rules that…

Taxing what we want less off rather than what we want more off can change everything — Earning income is good for you as it gives you money in your pocket, it’s good for society (because the job or work you do must be of social value), and it’s good for the economy, as that money in your pocket can be spent on goods and services. But…

The debt system is a house of cards — In 2021 global debt, that is, the total amount borrowed by governments, businesses and households, stood at an incomprehensible $303 trillion. Meanwhile, total global economic output amounted to $94 trillion, which means debt exceeds output by 322%. That debt has profound implications. It is a symbol of unsustainability and so…

What may appear to be an innovation makes us less sustainable — The humble salt and pepper grinder doesn’t appear to be all that controversial. But the basic beliefs that led to the innovation reveal how far away we are from becoming sustainable. Sustainable product innovations should be all about making the same products with fewer material or energy inputs. So people…

They’re focusing on the wrong problem — Failed political leadership is a major reason the climate crisis continues to get worse. Our political leaders aren’t brave enough, vocal enough, or visionary enough to pursue policies that will enable us to overcome the crisis. This view is true, but only up to a point. Failed leadership isn’t the…

Necessity is the mother of invention — Unprecedented heat waves, biodiversity collapse, severe droughts and catastrophic flooding. That’s what the world is set to face if global temperatures increase by 4 °C by the end of the century. The risks of a warming planet are so severe many scientists believe social collapse is a real possibility. As…

Freedom of the capitalist variety is a little overrated — Take away someone’s freedom and you suck the air out of their lungs — you blind their eyes, cut out their tongues, block their ears. The West likes to label itself the ‘free world’. …