Hrkn to .. Thought for the Week

We see distortion of the truth in holocaust and genocide denial, in Donald Trump’s refusal to accept his myriad of indictments, and in Putin's denial of invading Ukraine two years ago. Dishonesty and exaggerated claims are commonplace on social media and even work their way into corporate and public bodies, such as we've recently seen in the sub-postmasters’ scandal. Is our increasingly secular so...

Huge disparities in wealth lie at the heart of most of humanity's problems, including conflict. The route towards participation for all relies on respect for others, however different, and individual freedom: then the respective needs of adults and young people can be met through 'Stock for Data' and inter-generational rebalancing. Here's a summary report from Share Alliance and The Share Foundati...

The UK sub-postmasters' scandal is not just an issue for politicians: it deeply questions the quality and integrity of corporate governance, auditors and the legal profession: for example, surely The Law Society should have monitored the quantum of convictions and cried 'wolf'? The huge quantum of unclaimed adult-owned Child Trust Funds is a similar massive injustice for young people from disadvan...

Steamboat Willie, the original Mickey Mouse, steps into the public domain after 95 years of copyright restriction. Copyright law has been with us for over 300 years, but it's due a serious revision in the light of Artificial Intelligence. The New York Times is relying on current legislation to sue Open AI for infringing their copyright to train ChatGPT, but surely the information and analysis that...

It's time to step up the role and democratic legitimacy of the United Nations in a way that prioritises peace, harmony, freedom and a fair standard of living for all people, from all walks of life — so let's look beyond national manifestos in this 2024 election year (in both the UK & USA) and start addressing the real global challenges of international conflict, climate change and participation fo...

The Holy Family's flight in Egypt was followed by the 'massacre of the innocents' in and around Bethlehem. Today's Middle Eastern tragedy is again denying thousands of children and young people a future — why can we not learn to live in peace with each other? Every child born into our world has the same mix of amazing potential, whatever their gender, nationality, race or religion. It's not nature...

Christmas is with us again, celebrating the birth of Jesus over two thousand years ago. This year, however, it is overshadowed by the horrific events in the Middle East: so our Thought for Christmas includes a reference to Bishop Steven of Oxford looking across the millenia in his recent address (see link below), and our comments reflect the contrast between the yearning for solidarity (whether na...

On 22nd May, following the Public Accounts Committee hearing in Westminster, our commentary was entitled 'Don’t waste the Child Trust Fund harvest!' It's now over three months since the oldest recipient of these accounts turned 21: with the percentage of unclaimed adult-owned accounts still over 40%, it's time to take action. So please register to join us on Tuesday 5th March at Church House, West...

Oxford University Professor Ben Ansell is delivering this year's Reith Lectures on the future of democracy: whether it's in retreat across the world, whether citizens of wealthy countries have embraced a false sense of security, how to build a sense of solidarity in polarised societies, and how to enable continued economic growth without wrecking the environment in the process. But will he tackle...

In the old days we either telephoned someone for a quick answer to a question, or sent a letter which focused the attention of the recipient. Now huge volumes of emails fly across the net, and we're left waiting days for an answer. It may be cheap, but is it productive? Also — People think that debit cards are as safe as credit cards or direct debit authorities — until something goes wrong. And, i...

Adam Smith set out the foundation building blocks for economic growth in the Wealth of Nations, and capital and labour were the key components — Jeremy Hunt says he is now pursuing growth as his key priority, and there's no doubt that increasing capital availability in both public and private sectors will help: but where is the labour capacity? It's on NHS waiting lists .. Background music: 'The N...

A warm welcome back for David, now Lord, Cameron. Let's put the years of struggling in the wake of Brexit behind us, and look forward to a new global perspective in which Britain acts as a catalyst in bringing the world together. What better place to start than by setting out plans for strengthening the democratic legitimacy and authority of the United Nations, with a new perspective on long-term...

In a world absorbed with tension and conflict, it says something about the significance of AI that Rishi Sunak was able to host the conference at Bletchley Park, with government representatives from twenty-eight nations and eight leading Artificial Intelligence businesses. Warnings abound both within and outside the AI industry, including for its impact on employment, to which we referred nearly s...

This week's Thought proposes four key routes towards 'Loving your enemy', including a gradual transition from national to international law. This would mean justice not being constrained by national borders, so we could look forward to a system of international civil law enforcement replacing reliance on military force to resolve criminal outbreaks — it would also help us to resolve the challenges...

There's a rising crescendo of concern over HM Treasury's decision to leave tax thresholds frozen at current levels until 2028. At a time of high inflation, it particularly bears down on low- and middle-income earners, and itself keeps inflation higher for longer. Several suggestions have been made for alternative ways to sort out the public finances, not least in these Share Radio commentaries, bu...

Unbridled revenge leads to an escalation of the cycle of violence: in a world which possesses such an arsenal for mass destruction, we have to learn how to deal with national insecurity in ways which promote rather than destroy international harmony. In this episode of Share Radio's Thought for the Week, we set out realistic routes by which this can be achieved.  Background music: 'Sarabande' by J...

As the Party Conference season draws to a close, we check out last week's rather lacklustre Conservative event and add some thoughts to Sunak's agenda for education. Meanwhile, for those more focused on how to invest and still meet the net zero targets, don't miss the Sustain:Social Investing Conference on Saturday 21st October! https://sustain.social Background music: 'Communicator' by Reed Mathi...

The scars borne by the younger generation reflect parents under pressure: from relationship breakdown, the demands of work, migration, the cost of living. So we must look intelligently at the journey towards adulthood, responding particularly to the call for reason, and underpin it with the firm foundation of unconditional love. Background music: 'Generations Away' by Unicorn Heads Share Radio web...

After the December 2019 election, Dominic Cummings brought HM Treasury under the heel of No. 10. Little did he realise that in 2023 the financiers would be running the whole show. Rishi Sunak, financier par excellence, thinks he is making long-term decisions for a brighter future. Not everyone agrees: but then a week is a long time in politics — or finance, come to that. Background music: 'Somethi...

Here is our 'writing on the wall': the clearest evidence yet that sea temperatures are undermining the Antarctic. Let's not turn a blind eye and follow the mistakes which destroyed the Libyan city of Derna, whose leaders failed to heed the warnings. The total area of missing sea-ice at the height of the southern hemisphere winter is five times the area of the United Kingdom: no-one can justify den...

Last week Jerome Mayhew MP drew attention to the dire state of financial education in the UK: a recent survey for Parliament suggested that 62% of young people had no recollection of being taught about finance in school. But how can it be given proper recognition among teaching staff when there's no Financial Awareness GCSE? Meanwhile King's College Entrepreneurship Lab has launched an inaugural e...

While Pope Francis looks east to Mongolia, bringing praise for their religious freedom and forward-looking encouragement, The Times reports general confusion among Church of England clergy — meanwhile our fast-changing and often lost and lonely society has a real need for the unconditional love offered by the Christian faith. This calls for Fresh Expressions from the Church of England — an initiat...

Enjoy this entertaining romp through capitalist economics from the demise of feudalism to Thomas Picketty’s book ‘Capital in the 21st Century’, but a careful search for any mention of inter-generational rebalancing will leave you disappointed. Welcome to the Black Hole of Economics, the elusive feature which keeps us from integrating free enterprise and individual empowerment with fair provision o...

Last week we heard of sixty migrants dying in an attempt to reach Cape Verde across the Atlantic Ocean: young people risking all for a better life. But, as we wrote on 15th May, it's the underlying challenges, including conflict and poverty, that must be addressed. Global problems like these require global solutions: we suggest a combination of inter-generational rebalancing funding a programme of...

Pixar's 2008 computer-animated movie 'Wall•E' paints a depressing picture of the Earth laid waste by a combination of consumerism, corporatocracy, proliferation of waste and human environmental impact. Just fifteen years later we see this spectre emerging in front of our eyes. But is science the answer, as put forward by Lord Rees in his book 'If Science is to Save Us'? We suggest that the problem...